By Emilia Schmid Creative design is the foundation of science. To be a successful scientist, visionary ideas, innovative experimental designs and imaginative alternative hypotheses are all essentials: Creativity is required in order to make scientific breakthroughs. Hindering creativity through cultural norms will have a strong impact on technological and scientific progress, thereby hindering the progress…
By Natalie Stevenson A recent study highlights the vulnerability of ocean ecosystems to the effects of climate change. Over the past few years, the impact that humans have had on the planet has been at the forefront of public attention—we have seen record-breaking wildfires, droughts, flooding, and storms globally—and we are very much aware that…
By Katie Jones A team of researchers collaborating across the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), and the universities of Vienna, Hamburg, Würzburg, and Konstanz, have successfully sequenced the complete genome of the Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri). The lungfish genome is the largest animal genome to ever be deciphered, a record-breaking feat made possible using…
Video Credit: Andrea Vale As the number of vaccinated people steadily increases, it seems that each day brings us closer to a return to some sense of normality. However, as unprecedented as the current COVID-19 pandemic has been, it is by no means the first disease to wreak havoc upon humanity and, if we fail…
By Albini Dania From the food we eat to the air we breathe, plankton help maintain and produce life on Earth. What is plankton? The word ‘plankton’ derives from the Greek “planktos” (πλαγχτος), which in turn comes from the Greek verb “plazo” (πλαζω) meaning to “drift” or “wander” and is used to describe tiny plants…
By Tom Leslie and Mason Wakley For the past year the Oxford vaccine has been making headlines as one of our most important tools in the fight against COVID-19. This has been especially true in the last few months, over which the vaccine has been authorised for clinical use in the UK, India, and recently…
Admired both for their honey and complex societies, theologians and naturalists throughout the ages have looked to bees for inspiration. Every generation has found a virtue in the bee. Religious scholars praised bees for their tireless industry and the precision of the hexagonal cells used to build their hives, a gift from the divine. Darwin…
The reactions of many across the world to the recent atrocities in America have been varied. However, one common theme has been a greater desire for education, in the knowledge that understanding is the opposite of bigotry. The #BlackLivesMatter movement has sought to expose the extent of racism; it is a problem that is manifested…
Yeast: what is it good for? Well, quite a lot of things. In a talk recently given to the Oxford Synthetic Biology Society, Tom Ellis, professor of synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London, explained how simple baker’s yeast can be utilised in the fight against global health challenges. Baker’s yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is…
How a global pandemic has revealed the fragile relationships between endangered species, ecotourists and local communities. The rise in ecotourism has brought many species back from the cliff edge of extinction, but with the rapid spread of COVID-19 and the ensuing national lockdowns and holiday cancellations, many of the benefits brought by ecotourism may be…
