Category Archives: Feature Articles
Feature: Cracking Codes
Philipp Kleppmann deciphers the advance of cryptography throughout the centuries Recently, a dead carrier pigeon with a secret message from World War II was found during renovation of the chimney of a house in Surrey. It is believed that the message was sent from Nazioccupied Normandy in June 1944. The encrypted message has been sent [...]
Also posted in History, Technology Leave a comment
Feature: Open for Everyone
Haydn King describes the open-source software movement and two of its most striking characters “I’m doing a free operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional)…” announced a young Finnish PhD student to an internet message board on the 25th of August 1991. In the two decades since Linus Torvalds made this announcement, [...]
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Feature: The Myriad Genes
Chin-Chin Chen discusses the implications of a Supreme Court ruling on BRCA cancer gene patents A century after Gregor Mendel proposed the idea of inheritance and nearly six decades since the structure of DNA was deduced, we have come to realise that many human diseases are linked directly to our genes. From infections to heart [...]
Also posted in Genetics, Science and Policy Leave a comment
Feature: Have You Heard the Northern Lights?
Shane McCorristine examines the eerie sounds made by the glowing sky The aurora borealis or the Northern Lights, is a natural luminous phenomenon that occurs in the night sky at polar latitudes and is sometimes visible in the northern hemisphere. For centuries, aurora-watchers have reported hearing strange sounds of hissing and flapping during an auroral [...]
Also posted in Earth & environment, Physical sciences Leave a comment
Feature: Food for Thought?
Brianne Kent investigates the links between appetite and brain development. The hormone that is making you hungry might also be making you smarter. There is growing evidence of an important relationship between metabolic processes and cognitive function. For example, caloric restriction, the dietary regimen that limits calorie intake, has been shown to reduce age-related [...]
Also posted in Life sciences, Medical & clinical, Psychology Leave a comment
Focus: Lazy Universe
BlueSci explores the universal principle of energy minimisation across the sciences One of the most central principles used in all of modern physics is ‘The Principle of Least Action’. As the title suggests, the statement roughly translates to “energy is minimised” or, alternatively, “physics is lazy”. Roughly speaking, the principle means that the basis of all physics lies in minimising the use of [...]
Also posted in Evolution, Life sciences, Mathematics, Physical sciences Leave a comment
Feature: One to Another
Alessandro Bertero looks at our increasing ability to change the fate of our cells Despite being a theme in many works of science fiction, metamorphosis (from the Greek meta “change” and morphe “form”) is hard to find in any human biology textbook. We are all familiar with the notion of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, but we firmly agree [...]
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Feature: Digging for Dinosaurs
Amelia Penny discusses the importance of the fossil record, and the impact of fossil-hunters on our historical knowledge In may of this year, a dinosaur fossil hit international headlines. The specimen, a beautifully preserved Mongolian tyrannosaur called Tarbosaurus bataar, had sold at auction in Manhattan, New York for US$1.05 million. Amid an outcry from palaeontologists, Mongolian president Elbegdhorj Tsakhia intervened, alleging that [...]
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Focus: A World of Music