The Oxford Scientist

The Oxford Scientist is the University of Oxford’s independent, student-produced science magazine.

Alfred Russel Wallace: The Natural Selection for the Unsung Hero of Science

by Mirela Smolenska, Year 11, Benenden School, Kent When people think of the Theory of Evolution, Charles Darwin is widely accredited as the sole creator of it, especially as the theory is often known as Darwinism. However, little is attention is payed to the co-discoverer: Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace is also seen as the ‘Father…

Continue reading

Finding the ‘Nemo effect’: no evidence that animal movies drive demand for pets, say researchers

Following the release of ‘Finding Nemo’, numerous global news providers, including the BBC and CNN, reported that the movie’s popularity was driving an increase in demand for clownfish as pets and threatening wild populations. This effect, dubbed the ‘Nemo effect’ by media outlets, was so widely reported that it became conventional wisdom amongst amateur animal…

Continue reading

When experiments fail, can analogies help?

Gaining insight into interiors of black holes, subtleties of the quantum realm, the Big Bang pushes us beyond the reach of experimentation. To get their hands to work, physicists turned to easily manipulable “analogue” systems governed by similar equations. In 2016, a physicist created a sonic black hole by making a fluid to trap sound…

Continue reading

Is international talent the key to the UK’s future success?

Sponsored Earlier this year, International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox and Education Secretary, Damian Hinds announced the Government’s ambition to increase the number of international students choosing to complete higher education in the UK by 30%, to 600,000 per annum by 2030.   Oxford Royale Academy (ORA), a leading provider of summer schools at Oxford and Cambridge…

Continue reading

Keeping Cells in Line

Ligaments, tendons and other musculoskeletal soft issues not only are differentiated by their cellular and extra-cellular constituents, but also the organization of these constituents.  While we are able to create medical products through printing living cells, the technology in engineering tissues for common injuries is yet to be around. “One challenge has been organizing the…

Continue reading

The future of quantum computing is knotty

We all know how the story goes for quantum computing: A qubit (short for a quantum bit), unlike classical bits, can be at the state of 0 and 1 simultaneously. The superposition of states offers quantum computers the superior computational power over traditional supercomputers. Its unprecedented efficiency for tasks like factoring, database-searching, simulation, or code-breaking…

Continue reading

Science Can Change the World – If it is Given the Chance to

by Ben Bradley, Year 12, Reigate College, Surrey. “The good thing about science is that it’s true, whether or not you believe in it”- Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist and science communicator. But in the age of fake news, since when has the truth been important? Despite consensus throughout the scientific community on the threat of…

Continue reading
Top