2021

New Gene Therapy Strategy With the Potential to Delay Ageing

2021, Medicine • February 17, 2021

Figure 1: Age-related diseases are devastating for the people affected and the family members supporting them. Finding new and better treatments for these diseases is a top medical priority Source: Unsplash Ageing is a mysterious, albeit inevitable, part of life for which the science is hardly understood. Only in the 1980’s was it determined that …

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Unusual Chemistry of the Rare Element Einsteinium

2021, Chemistry • February 15, 2021

Figure 1: One of the few things that we know about it, einsteinium has a strong luminescence because of its highly radioactive nature. Many of its other physical and chemical properties remain unknown due to its rarity Source: Wikimedia Commons In studying the chemical properties of transition metals many properties such as the placement of …

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N501Y COVID-19 Variants – Should We Be Worried?

2021, Medicine • February 15, 2021

Figure 1: 3D printed models of the SARS-CoV-2 virion (the blue sphere in the background) decorated with spike proteins and a larger model of the spike protein (the multi-colored shape in the foreground; the Receptor Binding Domain is the green section of the model) Source: Wikimedia Commons The so-called “UK”, “Brazil”, and “South Africa” variants …

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COVID-19 Pneumonia – A Different Illness Than Its Traditional Counterpart

2021, Medicine • February 15, 2021

Figure 1: This is an image of a child with pneumonia. The fluid build-up in the lungs (known as pleural effusion) is visible here Source: Wikimedia Commons Pneumonia is a common illness with a variety of causes. It is often triggered by some form of viral or bacterial infection, like influenza. The alveolar space, the …

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Neutron Stars and The Universe’s Strongest Magnet

2021, Physics • February 15, 2021

Figure 1: The image above shows an artist’s depiction of a magnetar in a cluster of other young and bright stars Source: Wikimedia Commons Neutron stars are one of the most perplexing celestial objects in our universe and are believed to be formed from supernovae and the collapsing cores of massive stars. These anomalies are …

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Twin Impacts of the Chernobyl Disaster: Birth Defects and Mental Health

2021, Environment, Medicine, Neuroscience • February 13, 2021

Figure 1: Damage caused to reactor 4 of the Chernobyl plant after the explosion Source: Wikimedia Commons Introduction: The notorious Chernobyl Disaster took place at reactor 4 near the town of Pripyat, Ukraine on the morning of April 26, 1986. According to the National Cancer Institute, the accident caused 5 million people in Belarus, Russia …

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Nuclear Fusion Startup May Hold the Key for Long-Term Nuclear Fusion

2021, Environment, Physics • February 9, 2021

Figure 1: The image above shows the steps for inertial confinement fusion. In the first step, energy is concentrated toward a target with the materials for fusion in the center, after which point, in step two, the energy causes an explosion, which creates compression. In the third step, compression generates the extreme thermal conditions needed …

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