
Features

You are what you eat: The gut-brain connection
Iza Basharat reviews what is known of the connection between the brain and nutrition—and particularly the microorganisms in our gut.

ME/CFS: The fatigue that sleep can’t shake
Megan Stoker reviews the current medical understanding of the enigmatic condition ME/CFS, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Distributed communication networks: Bridging science fiction and reality
Tanmayee Desprabhu describes how the development of de-centalised communication networks are making science fiction ideas a reality.

Is the blood-brain barrier a barrier to medical progress?
Sophie Beaumont reviews research into how the blood-brain barrier protects the brain, and poses challenges for delivery of medical treatment.

Checkpoints: Progress in cancer immunotherapy
Cecilia Jay describes the challenges facing immunotherapy as cancer treatment, and its potential to revolutionise personalised medicine .

How WEIRD biases reduce diversity in behavioural science
Bessie O’Dell explains how bias towards people from Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic (WEIRD) societies skews research.

Intellectual property in the life sciences: A barrier or a key to a better future?
Jacques William Bouvier debates the pros and cons of intellectual property in the life sciences, and how regulation might foster innovation.

What stops us from saying tongue twisters fluently?
Sakshi Rajesh explains what linguistics and brain sciences have to tell us about tongue twisters, and why we find them so difficult to say.

The ecological legacy of nuclear fallout
Paris Jaggers describes the surprising environmental legacy of nuclear fallout from the bomb testing era of the mid-20th century.

Optimal transport theory from sandcastles to artificial intelligence
Duncan W. Martinson describes the progression of optimal transport theory through various applications from economics to AI.