Category: Feature
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Music was my first love…
New research illustrates the potential for music therapy for people with Alzheimer’s. We’re all aware of the power of music – be that its ability to make you move your feet, shed a few tears, or take you back to the first time you ever heard a song. This power is being harnessed by music…
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Robotic Touch: Artificial skin brings robots closer to ‘touching’ human lives
When we anticipate the different future innovative technologies we imagine that the manufacturing industry will be completely automated, routine medical procedures will be robot-assisted and the world’s most puzzling crimes will be unraveled by robotic-detectives. It’s fair to say that robots have made significant developmental strides since their inception into our society. Although robotic process…
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Venus Flytraps Generate Measurable Magnetic Fields
Magnetic fields produced by the venus fly trap have been measured by an interdisciplinary team of scientists. Lily Sharratt-Davidson explores the impact these findings could have on plant diagnostics. The venus flytrap (or Dionaea Muscipula) is a well-recognised carnivorous plant – infamous for its ability to capture small insects inside its cage-like leaves. This unusual…
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Mine, Mine, Mine: The Epidemic of Vaccine Nationalism and Hoarding
Linta Nasim explores emerging vaccine nationalism and its implications on public health strategy and ending the coronavirus pandemic. Ugly vaccine nationalism, as feared by the World Health Organisation (WHO), human rights and public health advocates worldwide, is here. As recently as September last year at the UN General Assembly, nations were united as the global…
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Can our oceans save us? The role of seaweed in large scale carbon capture
With governments such as the UK’s looking to rapidly accelerate investment into large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that will target excessive carbon dioxide emitted found in the air, should policy-makers and ministers set their sights on the sea instead to find an effective solution to the mounting carbon emissions? Sami Cheqrouni-Espinar investigates. A…
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The Weird and Wonderful Platypus
Sophie Teall explores some of the more surprising features of this unusual mammal. Imagine a glowing creature with venomous spikes that stalks its prey in the night with eyes shut tight. It may sound like a thing of legends (or nightmares), but this creature is very much real. It is also surprisingly adorable, covered in…
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Long COVID, the enduring toll of COVID-19 on public health
Seán Dunphy discusses the long term impact of COVID-19 on patients and public health. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, was first identified at the end of 2019. Now, a year later, the long term health implications are becoming clearer. The high infection rate and immediate danger of the virus were apparent early in the…
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How does space affect the body?
From microgravity to radiation, space is an extreme environment. Kate Summerson examines the impact this can have on the human body. As we know, NASA plans to increase the length of space travel, making deep space more accessible than ever before. To achieve this, NASA has been increasing its efforts to understand how longer term…
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How smart are you? Artificial intelligence can tell based on your Twitter feed
A new machine learning algorithm could predict students’ academic performance based on the length and quality of their social media posts, with potential to uncover previously overlooked factors contributing to learning outcomes. It might even find applications in social research far beyond the domain of education. The algorithm was developed by Ivan Smirnov, leading research…