Features
Brain Augmentation
Atreyi Chakrabarty in conversation with your brain. In 2006, the first paralysis patient could control a computer cursor using just her thoughts and a brain-computer interface. In 2012, two more paralysis patients were able to control an independent robotic arm to grab a drink from a water bottle. Reading the brain’s electrical signals was an…
When Science Fails
Sian Wilcox on failure: science’s greatest achievement. When most people think of science, they recall news articles detailing logical and coherent stories that reach a satisfying conclusion. Each neatly packaged piece of research is then further condensed into an eye-catching title that showcases the main finding. Nevertheless, this presentation of science does not recognise the…
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…
Too Hard A Problem?
Gideon Bernstein wonders if we will ever understand consciousness. Descartes famously proclaimed that his consciousness was the only thing he could be sure of. Yet despite the monumental advances of modern psychology, an explanation of how consciousness arises still eludes us. But will it eventually fall to the incoming tide of knowledge, as so many…
The Drug Dilemma
Charlotte Green asks which pharmaceuticals are worth developing. When people learn that I study biochemistry, a common joke is whether I’ll find a cure for cancer. As I enter my final year, my mum still thinks it should be my goal. I sometimes wonder why it’s a cure for cancer she wants, rather than dementia,…
Maths and Morality
Aditya Ghosh and Sea-Yun Pius Joung explore an unlikely source for ethical guidance. In Ethics, a central problem is what Nietzsche coined as the death of God. ‘God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him’. Unlike the triumphalist tone that New Atheists have framed this in, the original formulation was one of…
Is Boris Johnson’s 10-Point Climate Plan Up to Scratch?
By Evan Turner The environment is in crisis. The next few decades are crucial to mitigate catastrophic risks and next year the COP26 Climate Conference will be held in Glasgow. The world is looking to the UK to set the tone, and there is growing public and private sector support for green technologies and acknowledgment…
The Radcliffe Department of Medicine Four Year DPhil Scholars Programme
The Radcliffe Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford is a large, multi-disciplinary department, which aims to tackle some of the world’s biggest health challenges by integrating innovative basic biology with cutting edge clinical research. The department has internationally renowned programmes in a broad spectrum of sciences related to medicine, including: Cancer Biology Cardiovascular Science Cellular and Clinical…
Pulmonary embolism – a psychological killer?
Talk Summary by Barbara Walkowiak Many of us are afraid of cardiovascular disease, and very much aware that if a blood clot forms in the vessels in our brain or heart, it can be life-threatening. What we do not usually think about is what happens when such a clot appears in the blood vessels supporting…
The deep, dark secret of the algal chloroplast- Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium
Talk Summary by Barbara Walkowiak The basics of photosynthesis, or why getting your own food is always challenging In times of climate change and rising global population, sustainable and efficient food production is of vital importance. The secret to improving crop yields may lie in the algal chloroplast, as powerfully described by Ella Catherall in…