Category: News
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Coronagenes: A study of the genes behind severe COVID-19
COVID-19 affects individuals in different ways. Some people are asymptomatic whereas others require intensive care; most cases are short lived, but others experience more long term symptoms. The body’s reaction to COVID-19, like most illnesses, is dictated by both environmental and genetic factors. As COVID-19 emerged, environmental risk factors for severe symptoms, such as old…
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The sunscreen of the sea
Coral reefs are one of the most bountiful – and beautiful – ecosystems on the planet. These diverse, underwater rainforests host at least a quarter of all marine life, despite only occupying a tiny fraction of the ocean floor, and provide stability and filtration to our oceans and shores. However, in recent years more and…
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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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Growing evidence for climate change that sparked dawn of dinosaurs
During the Carnian Stage in the late Triassic Period, around 237 to 227 million years ago, three major events occurred: the Wrangellia eruptions, the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), and the emergence and diversification of dinosaurs. The Wrangellia eruptions, which formed the Wrangellia basalt floods in the eastern Panthalassic Ocean, were major tectonic events that caused…
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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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NASA rover ‘Perseverance’ sets off in search of life on Mars
Launched on 30 July, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission is sending the Mars rover ‘Perseverance’ to search for traces of ancient life and study samples of rock and soil in a crater that once held a lake nine times the size of Loch Ness. It was launched at 07:50 local time from Cape Canaveral Air Force…
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Blood iron emerges as a potential key to anti-ageing
Growing old may be an inevitable part of our lives, but can we overcome the wrinkles and debilitating age-related diseases? What is the secret behind why some people spring into old age with energy and good health? According to science, some key answers could lie in your DNA. New research published in Nature Communications has…
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ESA & NASA Solar Orbiter captures first pictures of ‘campfires’ on the Sun
The first images taken by the spacecraft Solar Orbiter have been released, revealing many miniature solar flares near the surface of the Sun, which have been called ‘campfires’. An international collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, Solar Orbiter was launched on 10 February 2020 and in mid-June completed its first close pass…
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New tetraquark particle tests current theories in particle physics
On June 30th, an experiment at the LHC in Geneva (LHCb) reported on arXiv what could be a particle made up of four quarks. The tetraquark particle, named X(6900), is thought to be made of two charm quarks and two of their antimatter counterparts, anticharm quarks. This is the first time that a particle has…
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The road to a cure for HIV: the São Paulo Patient
A possible new treatment for HIV on the horizon Promising news regarding treatment of HIV came out of Brazil on the 7th of July. After participating in a trial study in 2015, the São Paulo Patient is the third person to ever be cured of HIV, joining the cohort of the Berlin Patient and the…