We’re halfway through the first semester of term and there is already a lot of work to be done, lectures to catch up on, assignments due and a lot of recommended reading that can be quite boring at times. Here, I’ve come up with a list of some books that I’ve personally enjoyed that reinforced […]
Tag: biology
5 science podcasts that should be on your playlist.
Gaining scientific knowledge doesn’t have to come from a degree or spending hours slogging over a text book. Science is now everywhere we look and listen. Podcasts are a perfect way to gain an insight into the current affairs of science whilst still going about your daily life. Here’s a run down of 5 you […]
Science that fell under the radar..
With 2016 constantly keeping us on our toes it was easy for many scientific discoveries to not receive the publicity they deserve. So in sight of this, I thought i’d share my favourites of the previous year with you! A NEW SPECIES OF HUMAN A previous 1 million year gap in the human evolutionary tree […]
Why Do We Sleep?
Lets start with the basics, what is it that makes us sleepy? Makes our heads drop off during lectures, texts left unread ’til the morning and afternoon naps such an essential… It starts with a substance called Adenosine, a by-product of the use of ATP in our bodies day to day chemical reactions. As soon […]
Reproduction Revamp: Stick Insects and Going It Alone.
Timema cristinae: making a lack of a love life cool. Love can be tough. If you wish awkward dates and trawling through match.com were a thing of the past, you could take a leaf out of this stick insect’s book. Tanja Schwander (University of Lausanne) studies how Timema stick insects are changing the dating game. Rather than […]
A matter of inheritance
The age-old ‘nature-nurture’ debate revolves around understanding to what extent various traits within a population are determined by biological or environmental factors. In this context ‘traits’ can include not only aspects of personality, but also physical differences (e.g. eye colour) and differences in the vulnerability to disease. Investigating the nature-nurture question is important because it […]
Neuroscientists Make Declaration On Animal Consciousness
On 7/7/2012 a group of prominent neuroscientists signed a declaration supporting the view that non-human animals experience consciousness. The statement claims to be a ‘re-evaluation of previously held preconceptions’. It states that: ‘Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical and neurophysiologial substrates of conscious states, along with the capacity to exhibit intentional […]
Scientists discover bees that can reverse brain aging
By Maria Panagiotidi Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that older honey bees can reverse brain aging when they take on nest responsibilities typically handled by much younger bees. This finding could provide alternative interventions for the treatment of age-related dementia. Current research focuses mainly on potential new drug treatments. The study was published in […]
First Steps Toward Emergence of Life Theory
By Stephen Sadler What turned a primordial mixture of amino acids and proteins into the first organized, self-replicating unit? What was it that breathed the vital breath into a collection of inanimate chemical building blocks, giving rise to an unbroken chain of evolution stretching three and a half billion years into the future and culminating in […]
Scientists Implant Biofuel Cell in Living Snail
By Maria Panagiotidi Researchers led by Evgeny Katz, the Milton Kerker Chaired Professor of Colloid Science at Clarkson University, have implanted a biofuel cell in a living snail. Their findings were published in the Journal of The American Chemical Society. The “implanted battery” can generate electrical power for several months driven by glucose, which is […]