News
How close are we to fusion power?
By Molly Hammond This article was originally published in The Oxford Scientist Michaelmas Term 2021 edition, Change. Nuclear fusion is supposedly ‘always 30 years away’. It was however first theorised about a hundred years ago. What has changed in a century of research—and are we now, really, only 30 years away? In 1920, Arthur Eddington…
Vaccine drink entering trials in Oxford
By Karen Heathcote We’ve seen and heard plenty about vaccines over the last couple of years, with news outlets all over the world proudly showing images of people receiving their COVID-19 vaccination jabs. However, a new vaccine that is about to enter its next phase of trials in Oxford won’t be administered as an injection…
Is Ageing Reversible? Middle-aged mice have their biological clocks reversed
Gene therapy has been used to safely reverse the biological clock in middle-aged mice. Ines Momodu-Herrero investigates this new finding and its implications for aging control in people.
Women are more prone to long COVID, new review finds
A new review finds that women are more likely to experience long COVID than men. Helen Collins explores why and how we can further study the condition.
The same but different—why I’m not my twin sister
Grace Kirman explores how her choices and the environment alter her epigenetics to make her different from her twin sister.
The T. rex may have been three species, but geologists are not happy
A new study headed by palaeontological artist Gregory Paul proposes that the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) may not be just one species—rather, it may be three different ones altogether. Isabelle Goddard investigates the finding and describes its impact on her field.
A new age of structural biology?
By Rhian Gruar This article was originally published in The Oxford Scientist Michaelmas Term 2021 edition, Change. On the 26 June 2000, President Bill Clinton announced the completion of the first draft of the Human Genome Project (HGP) to the world, ushering in a new age of scientific understanding. The HGP was a decade-long endeavour…
Using Artificial Intelligence to create the Shazam of Ocean Sounds
In recent years, the use of underwater microphones called hydrophones has allowed scientists to listen in on the underwater world in a non-invasive way. Passive acoustic monitoring has already been used in various biological studies, such as documenting the distribution and migration of whales and characterising the responses of fish to environmental changes.
Progress, revived: can evolution change things for the better?
By Giovanni Mussini This article was originally published in The Oxford Scientist Michaelmas Term 2021 edition, Change. In one of the last and most accomplished of his works, Giacomo Leopardi, the 19th century giant of Italian poetry, turns to the natural world to ridicule le magnifiche sorti e progressive–the magnificent and progressive fates–of humanity: as…
Future COVID-19 variants: is the pandemic truly over in the UK?
With a relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, which came into effect on the 24th February 2022, the UK Government no longer requires people to self-isolate if they test positive for COVID-19. Does this mean the pandemic is over in the UK? Rosie Pitcher investigates.