Amber Roguski, Correspondent (Science) What does it take to make a brain? 10 years, 135 research organisations and €1 billion from the European Union. Last week on Monday, October 6, scientists from all over Europe attended the inaugural meeting for the Human Brain Project — the latest attempt to reveal the secrets of the brain and how it functions. The project was dreamt up by neuroscientist Henry Markram, who inspired by his lifelong fascination […]
Amber Roguski, Correspondent (Science) After a lifetime of secrecy, a new species has been officially identified by scientists of the Smithsonian Institution — the Olinguito. Hiding high up in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador, the Olinguito is the first new species of carnivore to be discovered in the western hemisphere for (after?) more than 35 years. The bear-faced creature weighs an average of 2lb and has a thick brown-red coat that allows it to […]
Amber Roguski, Correspondent (Science) Stem cells have done it again. These unique cells, capable of differentiating and growing into virtually any cell in the human body, cause public debate weekly: whether it is concerning the seemingly never-ending medical uses for them, or the controversial extraction of them from human embryos. This time, however, the spotlight is on something less human, and perhaps more humane. Under the watchful eye of Dr. Mark Post and […]
Shameena Syed, Correspondent (Science) There’s much commotion in the scientific world on a recent study on the effects of Omega 3 fatty acids and its link to increased incidences of pancreatic cancer. How much should the average consumer be affected? Why do we need to take Omega 3 as a supplement in the first place? Omega 3 is a poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), rendering it an essential oil and hence the need to […]
Amber Roguski, Correspondent (Science) WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, August 6, nearly 50 million miles away, NASA’s Curiosity rover celebrated its one-year anniversary on Mars. Emitting a monophonic rendition of ‘Happy Birthday To You’ from its Sample Analysis on Mars instrument, the rover then set about the daily grind of exploring our second closest neighbour. Whether or not there is anything on Mars to hear the lonesome song is the very reason why Curiosity is […]
Suryatapa Mukherjee, Correspondent (Science) WASHINGTON – A new scientific report released by the World Bank Group stated that the next few decades will witness a two degree Celsius rise in the world’s average temperatures, which if left unchecked, will rise by four degree Celcius. As a result, in Sub-Saharan Africa, food shortages will become more common, while in South Asia, shifting rain patterns will leave some areas under water and others without enough water for power […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Science) KANSAS CITY – Scientists at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, published a recent study concerned with 4000 year old mummies, from Egypt, Peru and many other countries, in The Lancet. This study focused on examining their heart conditions by looking at their vascular calcification. The results were baffling. 47% of the conserved corpses presented severe cases of atherosclerosis. They also found that older mummies seemed to be […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Science) NEW YORK – Carbon dioxide poses an enormous environmental problem. As an odourless, colourless greenhouse gas, it is one of the greatest concerns of our century, as the Earth’s temperature is ever rising. Though scientists and engineers are working towards developing environmental friendly engines to fuel cars as well as Scrubber devices implanted in chimneys, the effort is poor in comparison to the damage it has already caused and is […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Science) MASSACHUSSETTS – Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a program which shows the way brain wires operate. This incredible project is tasked with seeking an explanation as to why some people are more artistic or scientific than others. The program uses an extremely powerful scanner which runs on the same voltage as a nuclear submarine. The scanner traces a map of the brain using dual magnetic fields placed on […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Science) CAMBRIDGE – Research scientists at Cambridge University have observed DNA on quadruple helixes in human cells. This incredible discovery, published in the journal Nature Chemistry, might help in the fight against cancer. In fact, usually, this molecule carries our genetic code presents itself as a double helix that could be intrinsically linked to cancer. Professor Shankar Balasubramanian, one of the chemists who worked on the project, explains, “The existence of these […]
