Lights, camera, hope: A glimpse into the Conservation Optimism Film Festival
Anka Stankovic reviews the 2023 Good Natured Film Festival, highlighting its blend of environmental narratives and the powerful storytelling.
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Bacteria: Taking a bite out of climate change
Isabel Hubbard explores the challenges of plastic waste and highlights innovative enzyme-driven solutions for sustainable decomposition.
The wheels on the bus… return of the flywheel
Joseph Lailey unveils the potential of flywheels in renewable energy storage, tracing their history and their future applications.
Music to mushrooms
Deyaanjali Deb describes the wondrous world of fungi, highlighting the unexpected effects of music on the development of mushrooms.
Why bananas could disappear from our supermarkets
The lack of genetic diversity in banana plants puts them at risk of disease pandemics that could wipe them off our supermarket shelves for good. Isabel Schmidt discusses how our current bananas have been developed and how to overcome these risks in the future.
Should we ban wildlife trade? The consequences of a global ban of wildlife trade on public health
Toscanie Hulett comments on the consequences of wildlife trade on public health, and whether a blanket ban of the trade would actually be detrimental to sustainable development.
The deep, dark secret of the algal chloroplast- Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium
Talk Summary by Barbara Walkowiak The basics of photosynthesis, or why getting your own food is always challenging In times of climate change and rising global population, sustainable and efficient food production is of vital importance. The secret to improving crop yields may lie in the algal chloroplast, as powerfully described by Ella Catherall in…
Green Algorithms: Quantifying the Carbon Impact of Computations- Oxbridge Varsity Sci Symposium
Talk summary by Gemma Penson Climate change is one of the most critical emergencies humankind and our planet face on a daily basis. Amidst the current pandemic, the situation is not getting any better, with a severe reduction in recycling and mass production of disposable masks. For anyone determined to reduce their environmental damage and…
8.3 billion tonnes and counting: our plastic obsession revealed
Let’s play a little game. Look around you and take note of how much plastic you can see. Is there a water bottle on the side? Perhaps there’s some food packaging littering your floor. Maybe even a polypocket with some dubious notes from a hungover tutorial. Now guess how much of that stuff there is…
Sunflower slants
It has long been known that plants grow directionally, curving and following sunlight to maximise rates of photosynthesis: twelve year olds across the country have demonstrated this in classroom experiments. Now, however, it seems that some plants might not just follow sunlight individually, but whole groups seem to organise into patterns of bending. Scientists in…