
Mary Somerville: Her Legacy for Women in Science
On the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, Mary Somerville’s legacy highlights the vital role education plays in women’s access to scientific careers.
On the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, Mary Somerville’s legacy highlights the vital role education plays in women’s access to scientific careers.
The changes in public perception of mental health topics have been very clear in recent years where once a never-to-be-discussed topic has now become widely reported, discussed and recognised. The number of widely shared and heard discussions about anxiety and depression has been further increased by the coronavirus pandemic. This change can be witnessed everywhere…
Authored by Matthew J Lennon MD, Grant Rigney MSc, Zoltán Molnár MD, DPhil Self-experimentation has shaped the history of neurological research1, from Isaac Newton mapping out the visual distribution of the retina by inserting a needle into his eye socket, to Henry Head distinguishing between types of somatic sensation by transecting branches of his own…
By Georgia Shave People working in science get to decide what is important, and how it gets researched. These decisions determine what society views as truth in science. When there is a lack of diversity in the people deciding what counts as truth, we are only getting a partial scientific perspective. Having only a partial…
By Rosa Parker Music soundtracks every aspect of our life; be it lullabies, a club classic, the first dance at a wedding, or the final curtain at a funeral. It has the power to lift or destroy moods, and to convey emotion without words. Music is also puzzling in its ubiquity: it is present in…
Image credit: Anoop Dey and Clarissa Pereira If I ask my two nine-year-old brothers to name a female scientist, they might tell me about Jane Goodall, and perhaps Mary Anning too, although it will take them a few minutes to remember them. If they’re feeling particularly kind, they might name me. But the one scientist…
The ability to make informed decisions in unfamiliar environments is a necessary human skill, without which we wouldn’t be able to make appropriate choices when navigating the world. We make these kinds of decisions every day, whether that be what to choose from a menu, or where to book our next holiday. In these situations,…
Lucy Kelly, Year 12, Barton Peveril College Perhaps for many young people today, science is seen as a rigid and formula-abiding subject, for which there is little room for creative liberty. In reality, creativity lies within the heart of science, just as it is of music, art and literature. The development of fresh scientific ideas…
Theo Hawkins, Year 11, King’s College School Wimbledon Psychologists, historians, sociologists, and philosophers have attributed scientific creativity to genius, logical method, and the influence of society. Patenting organisations have measured it in terms of originality and usefulness. Scientists themselves have considered the topic, such as when, in 1801, Humphrey Davy (1778–1829) lectured on the original…
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…