In the 1982 classic Bladerunner, synthetic beings on the boundary between life and artifice known as replicants serve as humanity’s slaves. Made from the same organic material as us, they are expertly bioengineered to be improved versions of the humans they are based on. Masterful manipulation of life in this way could be a reality…
It’s not about the science. In 1983, a gene from Agrobacterium (a plant-infecting bacterium) was successfully inserted into a plant cell, marking a ‘coming-of-age’ moment for plant genetic engineering. The resulting possibilities seemed endless; pest-resistant, self-fertilising and nutritionally-fortified crop varieties. But relatively little of this technology has been implemented on a global scale. Casual viewers…
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is spreading at an alarming rate, yet the antibiotic industry is only shrinking—could a pre-antibiotic era return as our future? Antimicrobials revolutionised medicine. Before antibiotics, the average life expectancy was 47 years. Infections such as pneumonia could easily be fatal, and to put it bluntly, a scratch could kill. There is no…
Where would the modern world be without efficient, rechargeable sources of power? The 2019 Nobel Prizes recognised transformative work to tackle this problem carried out in the Oxford Department of Chemistry. John Goodenough’s work in Oxford built upon the ideas of his co-recipient Whittingham, who had been amongst the first to use a material that…
by Jake Pugsley, Year 13, The Cotswold School, Gloucestershire When I hear the term “unsung hero of science,” the first thought that comes to mind is of an underrated, belittled researcher, his theses discredited by the wider world of erudition. I imagine a man, slumped at his desk, disparaged by his fellows’ baseless accusations that…
by Kitty Joyce, Year 12, Oxford High School, Oxfordshire It is an insignificant day in 1869, and Edward Morley, aged 31, arrives at Western Reserve College to begin teaching. His mission is simple: to instruct the students in experimental technique. However, upon arriving, this seems impossible. The laboratory contains only a lamp, a slide rule,…
by Jakub Sypek, Year 12, Peter Symonds College, Hampshire What was the name of the first satellite launched into space? The name of the first dog in orbit? The name of the first man in space? The first woman? These have become household names around the world, and rightfully so, but behind the curtains one…
by Mirela Smolenska, Year 11, Benenden School, Kent When people think of the Theory of Evolution, Charles Darwin is widely accredited as the sole creator of it, especially as the theory is often known as Darwinism. However, little is attention is payed to the co-discoverer: Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace is also seen as the ‘Father…
Arianna Schuler Scott “What is privacy to you?” The large black letters on the board set the tone immediately for Arianna Schuler Scott’s talk which asked us all to think carefully about the privacy of our data, how secure it is and how bothered we should be. In her five minute talk, Schuler Scott (a…
We all know how the story goes for quantum computing: A qubit (short for a quantum bit), unlike classical bits, can be at the state of 0 and 1 simultaneously. The superposition of states offers quantum computers the superior computational power over traditional supercomputers. Its unprecedented efficiency for tasks like factoring, database-searching, simulation, or code-breaking…
