Features
Anorexia nervosa and the microbiome- Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium
Talk Summary by Jasmine Charles On the third day of the Varsity Sci Symposium, Gayatri Tadikamalia from the University of Oxford delivered a thought-provoking presentation on anorexia nervosa and the microbiome. Throughout this clear and well- constructed slideshow, Gayatri pointed out the links between gut composition and the psychiatric illness, and tried to establish whether…
Recurrent UTIs are not associated with increasing antibiotic resistance in E. coli
Talk Summary by Leah Hurst For the second talk in the Translational Medicine series of the symposium we owe our thanks to Aaron Koh, an incoming Natural Sciences student at Cambridge. Following a research project during his holidays based at the Genome Institute of Singapore, Aaron not only shared with us his findings of a…
New Hope for HIV Treatment
Talk Summary by Sam van Druten Viruses are a prevalent topic of discussion nowadays. I thought it would be interesting to watch the Varsity Sci talks on virology to help me understand the subject better, and to help distinguish between the fake news and real facts making their way through the media. I was grateful…
Engineering enzymes to recycle CO2
Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium. Talk Summary by Harry Crook. Recently the world reached the one-degree centigrade rise predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as the first step in irreparable global warming; this has led to much research into CO2 emissions reduction. Initially this involved methods such as sequestration underground or simply planting trees,…
The link between body and mind can’t keep being ignored – Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium
Talk summary by Barbara Walkowiak Current diagnostic criteria that guide doctors through the complexities of the human body may often feel like checklists. If a doctor can tick enough boxes for the patient, the diagnosis is straightforward. For example, a patient may experience low mood persisting for longer than two weeks, trouble sleeping, weight imbalance…
Green Algorithms: Quantifying the Carbon Impact of Computations- Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium
Talk summary by Gemma Penson Climate change is one of the most critical emergencies humankind and our planet face on a daily basis. Amidst the current pandemic, the situation is not getting any better, with a severe reduction in recycling and mass production of disposable masks. For anyone determined to reduce their environmental damage and…
My all-or-nothing gamble – Daria Sipos (PPE, Magdalen College)
Let’s get the most controversial thing about me out of the way first. I study Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). Now is the time to look at the title of this publication and confirm that you’re indeed reading The Oxford Scientist. And yes, you are. So how does a PPE student fit into this picture?…
“Bits and bobs of everything”- Diana-Gabriela Oprea (MChem Chemistry, Christ Church)
I’m Gabriela, a second year Chemistry student at Christ Church1. I’m passionate about science, outreach and literature, attending as many talks as I can and generally trying to make the most out of this university experience. Why did you decide to study your subject at Oxford? “I think I’ve been a science person all my…
“Field trips are a pretty big part of the course” – Stephanie Halwa (Earth Sciences, St Hugh’s College)
I’m a 2nd year Earth Sciences student (second from the left in the picture), and also the first from my immediate and wider family to go to university . I’m from a small market town in the South of England, so Oxford didn’t seem like a reachable goal for me for most of my life….
“Oxford […] always keeps me occupied with either work, attending society events, or playing sports” – Konrad Mayer (Physics, St. Hugh’s College)
Hi, I’m Konrad, a second-year physics student at St. Hugh’s College (on the left in the picture above). I am also the Treasurer of the Oxford University Polish Society (OxPolSoc) and I’m on the committee for a couple of the sports societies at my college. Why did you decide to study your subject at Oxford?…