Science and Religion: An Interview with Dr Bethany Sollereder
Sea Yun Pius Joung, Editor for OxSci interviews Dr Bethany Sollereder from the Theology and Religion Faculty
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Why politics has no place in science
Joshua Mitchell With the pandemic likely drawing to an end, mass vaccine rollout for COVID-19 underway, and climate change issues very much in the mainstream, science has never been so broadly and so prevalently in the headlines. While this undoubtably sparks interest and inspiration, the increasing incorporation of political themes is sowing distrust, ultimately undermining…
Human genome editing is here—and you’re right to be wary.
Frederico Caso Human genome engineering has long sounded like a concept out of a Sci-Fi movie; believed to be possible sometime soon, but difficult to imagine happening right now. While engineering of the human genome might appear an implausible feat, over the last 20 years technological advancements have been turning this concept into a concrete reality….
The truth behind the lies of conspiracy theories
COVID-19 is a hoax; 5G is infecting us; the Royal family have been replaced by shape-shifting lizards. All are examples of real conspiracy theories and they seem to be everywhere at the moment, with a recent survey reporting that 60% of the participants at least partly believed in one or more conspiracy theories1,2. Although some…
The Chief Medical Officers – the definitive voices of science (apart from all the others)
Over the past year Vallance and Whitty, as well as Anthony Fauci from further afield, have become household names. Separating fact from fiction, the phrase ‘next slide please’ echoed in our collective memories as we huddled round the television watching the Downing street briefings like listening to Churchill on the wireless, an analogy that annoyingly…
Apollo’s Reckoning
Angus Barrett asks whether there is an ultimate destination for science. Nietzsche thought that existence was found in the tension between two forces: the ordered, rational and conscious Apollonian, and the chaotic, emotional and unconscious Dionysian, both of which he named after the Greek gods who represented these differing concepts. He believed that life was…
Covid-19: A Researchers Perspective
Darlan da Silva Candido on what it’s like to work at the frontier of COVID-19 research. When the first cases of Covid-19 were reported early this year, I had no idea how much this would change the world, my life and my career. Just over six months into the amazing experience of working on the…
Is Growing Old Getting Old?
Maribel Schonewolff on why we age and how we might combat senescence in the future. When I asked my friends to brainstorm about ageing their first responses were “white hair, wrinkles, no teeth”, “calm and wise grandparents”, “no sex”. These associations are quite common and show that aging is mostly referred to as something negative…
Biology Meets Physics
Tasmin Sarkany on how interdisciplinary science might lead to major insights about disease and the origin of life. It can often seem that biology, chemistry and physics are growing further apart, but some of the current major scientific frontiers defy this. Lying on the boundary of theoretical physics and cell biology is the fascinating study…
The Frontier in Your Living Room
Jake Burton on the unlikely benefits of citizen science. Your Scientists Need You Citizen science, where members of the public contribute to collecting and analysing data to further scientific research, has a long history. One project, the Christmas Bird Count, has been taking place across North America every year since 1900. And though ecological surveys…