Category: Feature
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Turning invisible: lessons from cephalopod cells
Ellie Bennett looks at the way in which cephalopod cells might hold the key to turning our dreams of invisibility into a reality, albeit at the cellular level. There are few other classes of animal that conjure up such feverish images of deep-sea monsters or otherworldly aliens than that of the cephalopods. Translating from Greek…
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COVID-19, a disease of the blood vessels?
COVID-19 baffled doctors and scientists around the world with its strange symptoms and disproportionate mortality rates. Months after the onset of the pandemic, researchers may finally be closer to understanding how the disease manifests itself in patients. An important clue lies in the circulatory system. Early on, most COVID-19 patients showed signs and symptoms of…
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Lessons from the DRC as they emerge victorious in their 10th battle against Ebola
Simran Kapoor explores what the world can learn from the DRC’s success in combating Ebola, whilst they simultaneously grapple with political tensions, COVID-19, and a killer measles outbreak. Earlier this year, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) found itself in a dire situation. It was simultaneously confronting a measles outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside…
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Myth-busting the Golden Ratio
[latexpage] The Golden Ratio is widely praised for its aesthetic beauty: has its significance been blown out of proportion? Number enthusiasts are likely familiar with the idea of the golden ratio, and the artistically minded may have heard of its applications in design. The golden ratio is a simple relation between two quantities commonly occurring…
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A coronavirus vaccine is desperately needed, but what are we willing to do to get it?
Tom Edwick dives into the ethics of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development. As we move into month four of lockdown, life as we knew it seems little more than a distant memory. Life in this new covid era has thrown up a lot of fun experiences that I wouldn’t have had to deal with otherwise, like having…
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You are what you eat: is cannibalism a good idea?
During lockdown I, like many, have been watching more TV shows. My most recent watch was Hannibal. For those who don’t know, Hannibal is a horror-thriller TV series which follows Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a forensic scientist and secret cannibal. Recently, writers and directors have been reframing cannibalism for entertainment purposes, treating their subjects not as…
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Is this it for Human Evolution?
Humankind, in all our arrogance, have always told ourselves that we were different from our animal relatives– that we were stronger, more intelligent, superior. Even the father of Evolution himself, Charles Darwin, talked extensively of how we may and should use the principle of natural selection to further our acts of domestication and agriculture. So…
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Celebrating LGBT scientists: Audrey Tang
Audrey Tang is a Taiwanese software developer, and a transgender woman. In 2016 she was invited into the executive cabinet of the Taiwan government as a minister without portfolio, the youngest in Taiwanese history to do so at only 35 years old, and the first transgender member of the cabinet. Tang quickly took office as…
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An Alien in Our Sea: A look at the intelligence of an octopus
In 2016, one of my favourite sci-fi films Arrival was released, and – mild spoiler alert – it presented us with an alien species named the heptapods, who challenged human perception of the universe and life. Had these species originated instead from Earth, I wouldn’t blame you for assuming them to be related to the…
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A Comeback for Nature: Is the Silver-Lining of the Pandemic Actually Green?
The hustle and bustle of modern city living have ground to a halt across the globe. With humans shut away indoors, nature is being left alone. The press touts a comeback for nature as the silver-lining of the coronavirus pandemic. In these desperate times, newly clear Venice waters give momentary relief amongst the tragedies depicted…