The end of Dunbar’s number: Have our social networks changed for good?
Helen Collins explores evidence for and against Dunbar’s number, the idea that our species’ social groups are limited to around 150 people.
Continue reading
Treating the old with the new: stem cell therapies for Alzheimer’s disease
Artwork by Matthew Kurnia This article was originally published in The Oxford Scientist Hilary Term 2022 edition, Regeneration. ‘The next great advance in medical care will not be a magical pill, it will be a miraculous cell called the mesenchymal stem cell’. Speaking at a TEDx event in Ashland, Oregon in 2019, American physician Dr…
Women are more prone to long COVID, new review finds
A new review finds that women are more likely to experience long COVID than men. Helen Collins explores why and how we can further study the condition.
Mary Somerville: Her Legacy for Women in Science
On the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, Mary Somerville’s legacy highlights the vital role education plays in women’s access to scientific careers.
New insights from monkeys into how the brain makes decisions
The ability to make informed decisions in unfamiliar environments is a necessary human skill, without which we wouldn’t be able to make appropriate choices when navigating the world. We make these kinds of decisions every day, whether that be what to choose from a menu, or where to book our next holiday. In these situations,…
Undoing Scientific Wrongdoings: Is Journal Retraction Enough?
Following a spate of recent high-profile journal retractions, some scientists are questioning the integrity of the peer-review process and how flawed articles can be published in high-impact journals. But what happens when a journal article is retracted, and is it too late to truly disregard the details it contained? Let’s take a deeper look into…