The University of Oxford's independent science magazine
From DNA to nanoscience to microbiomes, there’s a lot going on in the invisible world
By Dr Alice Thorneywork Be it ice in a drink, chocolate left in the sun, or the wax of a lit candle, melting – the phase transition in which a substance turns from a solid to a liquid – is a scientific phenomenon that we experience every day. While on a macroscopic level we know what melting looks…
Ten years ago, the completion of the Human Genome Project was a milestone in the history of science. The race to be the first team to decode an entire human genome ultimately ended with the two largest groups collaborating and announcing the success of the project in 2001. This was not only a scientific achievement,…
iGEM is an international competition where teams of university students compete in designing a genetically engineered product to tackle a world problem. Oxford’s iGEM team for 2018 is made up of 10 undergraduate students who study a range of subjects including biochemistry, biology, chemistry, engineering and medicine. After a long process of designing and planning…
Figuring out the composition of the bacteria in the gut, mouth, and on the skin is very fashionable at the moment, with papers regularly linking the microbiome to an unexpected disease. However, I can’t help but wonder if microbiotics isn’t the magic wand we were hoping for. Will it stand the test of time? Studying…
Mysteriously symmetric, beautifully complex, the how and why of snowflake formation. So, why do they form in the first place? Ice does not form out of nowhere, the water must condense around something. This is the case for most phase changes, and these “nucleation sites” could take the form of small particles, from dust and…
Quantum technologies to treat it; quantum physics to create it? An ambitious agreement: Tokyo, December 13th, 2016 The agreement is signed, five organisations join forces. Equipped with accelerating lasers and deflecting, superconducting magnets, they will develop a Quantum Scalpel. Their ambition is zero cancer deaths, says Toshio Hirano, chief of the National Institutes for Quantum…
I love bacon so much. And burgers, and chicken nuggets. So as you can imagine, becoming a vegetarian wasn’t something that I’d previously considered. But I’ve now been veggie for 3 weeks and counting, because it felt like something I should do. Globally, the livestock industry churns out more greenhouse gases than transport1, and as…