Category: News
-
Tasting by touch, the unique way octopuses explore the world
Imagine you could taste the things your hands touch. You reach out to grab a slice of apple and can already feel its sweetness before it even touches your mouth. Science fiction? Not for the peculiar creature that is the octopus. This invertebrate is able to touch as well as taste its environment through its…
-
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…
-
Can the US reclaim global leadership on the climate crisis?
On the 4th of November, the US officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement. This came as no surprise, as president Trump announced his intention to leave back in 2017. Joe Biden promised to rejoin the deal on “on day one in office”. Can America, originally a key part of the deal, take back the lead…
-
Are mRNA vaccines our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Seán Dunphy discusses recent developments in COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine development is complex and often takes 10 to 15 years of research. With this in mind the scientific response to the Covid-19 pandemic is remarkable. In a single year, 54 Covid-19 vaccines have been brought to human trials, and 13 of these are in the final…
-
Did warm-bloodedness result from the Permian extinction?
Based on body thermoregulation, we generally divide animals into two categories. Those who can generate and regulate their body heat themselves are called endotherms, or warm-blooded, because the heat generated by their metabolism is distributed around the body through blood flow. Animals who lack this ability are called ectotherms, and have to rely on external…
-
Back Off Chalmers: protect those accessing abortion services
Talking to the campaign Back Off Chalmers, Katie Pickup explores the impact of anti-choice protesters at abortion clinics and discusses some of the science behind abortion. Imagine you have made a deeply personal decision and are seeking medical treatment. Now you are being heckled and shamed on the way to the medical centre, making the…
-
2020 Chemistry Nobel prize goes to Emanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for developing CRISPR/Cas9
Over the past decade, there have been significant advances in genetics and its applications in life sciences. The 2012 discovery of the CRISPR/Cas9 mechanism, also called the genetic scissors, revolutionised the efficiency of genetic manipulation. Now, a few years on, this discovery has been acknowledged as a major scientific breakthrough and thus been honoured with…
-
Multiple sclerosis and stem cell transplants: benefits versus risks
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a complex neurological and autoimmune disease whereby a patient’s immune cells, for unknown reasons, begin to attack the protective layer surrounding the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This protective sheath is known as myelin. When myelin degenerates as a result of this autoimmune-mediated damage, the nerves are exposed…
-
Stem cells in Parkinson’s disease: progress and challenges
Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative motor disorder, caused by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Current treatments only alleviate the symptoms of the disease rather than target the root cause, so they are far from adequate. A cure would require repair of the brain itself. Given that the incidence of this age-related…
-
Caffeine reveals role of epigenetics in anti-fungal resistance
Annually, an estimated 1 billion people suffer from critical fungal infections, with 1.6 million deaths. The impact of fungal diseases, however, is much greater. 16% of crops lost globally result from microbial diseases, with up to 80% of these caused by fungi. Additionally, agricultural animals are severely affected, resulting in low yields and early deaths.…