Category: Uncategorized
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Do viruses make your clock tick wrong?
With the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic happening, let’s delve into one of the many clever strategies that viruses use to successfully infect their host – disruption of the body (circadian) clock. What is a circadian rhythm? Circadian rhythm is a natural cycle that repeats roughly every 24 hours. The circadian rhythm controls the timing of various…
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Coronavirus – a breakdown
2019-nCoV, a previously unknown type of coronavirus, emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31. Thousands of cases have been confirmed around China, with a few others scattered internationally. What is 2019-nCoV? Samples taken from patients exhibiting respiratory symptoms revealed a previously unknown virus within the coronavirus species, of the Coronaviridae family.…
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Early melting of snow in the Arctic drives advancing springtime
New research indicates that spring snow melt, and to a lesser extent temperature, are key drivers of the timing of spring in the Arctic. These findings, from studies of plants from coastal sites around the Arctic, are important for understanding and documenting how the region is responding to climate change. The Arctic is warming more…
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Scientists shed new light on volcano formation
While studying the Earth’s layers deep beneath Bermuda’s sandy pink shores and turquoise tides, geologists found evidence of volcanic material rising from the mantle’s transition zone—a layer rich in water, crystals and melted rocks—suggesting the possibility of a third mechanism for volcano formation. Previously, volcanoes were thought to form through one of two mechanisms; either…
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New method allows scientists to watch an enzyme at work
A team at the University of Bonn, Germany, have developed a new method of ‘photographing’ enzymes at work in order to study the behaviour of the enzyme as it works. Enzymes are protein structures which help reactions to take place, they are often referred to as ‘chemical catalysts’ and they perform a wide array of…
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Five rules for antibiotics: Calling for a new paradigm in resistance management
The invention of penicillin, the first true antibiotic, in 1928 was a monumental day in the history of medicine. Over 90 years later, antibiotics are a common feature in all our lives. We get a bacterial infection, go to the doctor, get an antibiotic, and it clears up. Easy. However, today there is increasing concern…
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How ancient chewing gum could revolutionise archeology
We finally have a way to connect archeological findings with genetic studies, using ancient chewing gum. In a new study published in Communications Biology, researchers from Stockholm University have found a way to extract DNA from saliva preserved in ancient chewing gum. This innovative technique could provide a source of DNA in excavation sites with…
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Thinking Through Animals review
It was an uncharacteristically pleasant spring evening as I joined the waiting crowd for the evening’s event, Thinking Through Animals, a discussion panel on what we know about how animals think and behave. As we filed into the venue, I was struck by the relaxed on-stage atmosphere. The speakers for the night sat on a…
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A review of 12 years to save the planet Earth
As stated in the Edinburgh Science Festival brochure, “In 2018, top environmental scientists issued a final call to save our planet from catastrophic climate change. They argued that ‘rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society’ are necessary to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.” The…
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Crohn’s disease research set to benefit from £1.8m funding boost
Crohn’s disease is a chronic and often debilitating condition that causes inflammation of the digestive system and gut. It leaves sufferers in a constant cycle of relapse and remission of symptoms that include malnutrition, abdominal pain and fatigue. With it affecting at least 115,000 people in the UK alone and up to 80 per cent…