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Written by Terry Evans
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Welcome to the tenth issue of BlueSci!
Within the following pages, you will find
a host of entertaining and informative articles;
our editorial aim has been to include
a wide range of scientific topics, and to
make them comprehensible to all. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Dr Joanna Baxter finds out what fellow scientists can do to keep Cambridge green |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Alexandra Lopes explores the science behind feeling pain.
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Brynn Kvinlaug reveals the role of stem cells in cancer |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Michaela Freeland explores a far-reaching project to replace fossil fuels on a global scale |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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James Bullock explores the underwater world of sea monsters |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Many important scientific discoveries
begin with simple observations. A
notable increase in the number of hayfever
sufferers, particularly over the
last 30 years, is one observation that
set Professor Strachan thinking. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Also, check out the exclusive additional online content associated with
Issue 10, which includes a prize-winning essay by Harry Leitch on
Kisspeptins, a transcript of an interview with Lord Rees discussing the
Large Hadron Collider and a podcast covering the recent celebration of
50 years of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory.
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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This Michaelmas, SciSoc will be holding three special events in addition to
its regular weekly talks.
On October 3rd, we will be welcoming, at the Cambridge Union, Bjorn Lomborg,
author of the controversial book "The Skeptical Environmentalist" and one of
TIME's top 100 globally most influential people.
We are then delighted to have secured the hugely popular Simon Singh for an
enthralling talk on Cosmology and his new book "Big Bang", followed by a
discussion over refreshments, at our "Enhanced SciSoc Squash" (entry is
free, and everyone is more than welcome, especially freshers).
And finally, postponed from last Easter, our highly acclaimed Annual
Founder's Dinner will be on November 3rd, with an address by Tim Hunt, Nobel
Laureate for his work on the Cell Cycle and widely celebrated speaker.
For more details on these and our other regular events, and to receive
regular updates, simply email publicity@scisoc.com or log on to
www.scisoc.com. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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A team of researchers at Queen’s
University, Belfast,may have found a way to
release drugs only where they are needed.
The scientists, led by Dr Colin McCoy,
have proposed that a technique of lightbased
activation of chemical compounds,
common in organic synthetic chemistry,
can be borrowed by drug designers. In
organic synthesis, specific functional
groups of a compound can be blocked by
chemicals such as 3,5-dimethoxybenzoin (3,5-DMB). Light of a suitable wavelength
can remove the masking agent,
re-activating the compound.
To prevent the freed masking chemicals
from circulating around the body,
the drug can be immobilised on a synthetic
polymer from which the activated
drug could escape but the masking
agent could not.
Dr McCoy and colleagues showed
that three common drugs—aspirin,ibuprofen and ketoprofen—could be
inactivated by attaching 3,5-DMB. The
masked drug was then immobilised in a
synthetic hydrogel. They found that it
was possible to vary the amount of drug
released by adjusting the duration of
exposure to light.
The researchers suggested that the
technology could be used for medical
devices that are prone to bacterial infection,
such as catheters. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Scientists at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, have discovered
the first ever mitochondrial factor to repress expression of
mitochondrial DNA.
Mitochondria are organelles within the cell that function as
the producers of the body’s ATP, its universal energy store.ATP
is used throughout the body, powering everything from keeping
warm to movement. A vital question is how mitochondria can
tailor their energy output to match the constantly changing
needs of the body.
Discovery of the new protein, MTERF3, is a step towards
solving this problem. MTERF3 is the first mitochondrial protein
discovered to specifically repress production of mitochondrial
genes. It has been found to work by binding to mitochondrial
DNA and preventing transcription.Thus, proteins encoded
by mitochondrial DNA, such as subunits of the mitochondria’s
own ATP-producing machinery, are downregulated.
By altering the expression of proteins needed for ATP-production,
MTERF3 might help to control how much energy is
produced in the cell, such as reducing ATP synthesis when less
is required. Its discovery may also lead to the development of
new therapies for diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and even ageing,
all of which can result from mitochondrial disfunction. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Roche, one of the top pharmaceuticals and diagnostics
companies in the world, recently invited 99 graduate students
from across Europe, including seven from the
University of Cambridge, to participate in an exciting oneweek
cultural workshop named “Roche Continents—
Youth! Arts! Science!” in Salzburg.
The workshop overlapped with the famous Salzburg
Festival, allowing the students to enjoy fine contemporary
musical performances.The workshop was aimed at stimulating
the creative sides of young minds: the students learned
about arts, culture and innovation, and participated in debates.
“It is really impressive how the young participants from different
backgrounds can come and work together to present
innovative ideas and inspire creativity among others.” Niggi
Iberg, the program director for Roche, commented. The participants
found the program inspiring and refreshing, enabling
them to explore other dimensions of life beyond academia
and to promote networking. Roche’s five-year commitment
to the Continents workshop will encourage other young scientists
to discover the links between arts and science, innovation
and technology, academia and industry.
www.roche-continents.net |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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The spotted hyena, a native of the
Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, is noted
for its social groups or ‘clans’. It has long
been known that it is predominantly the
males of the species that leave the clan to
join other social groups, behaviour which
minimizes inbreeding.Theories have suggested
that this is due to competition
within a clan between rivalling males, or
a shortage of food forcing the males to
disperse in favour of a better standard of
living. However, a study published in
Nature suggests that the main factor in
this male-dominated dispersion is the
preference of the female.
Female spotted hyenas mate with several
different males in one monthly cycle
and may not be able to identify her own
father. The mate-choice rule states that
the female must avoid males that were
members of their group when they were
born, and favour males that immigrated
into their group after their birth. Rearing
the young hyenas occurs over a very long
period, and is the responsibility of the
mother alone; it is in her best interests to
choose a mate wisely.
With ten years of detailed demographic
data and by observing the behaviours
of 426 offspring using microsatellite
technology, research groups based in
Berlin and Sheffield were able to collect
data supporting the female mate-choice
method in many different clans in the
Crater. This is the first study of its kind
to assess the reproductive success of
social mammals related to male dispersion
decisions. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Mico Tatalovic and Bora Zivkovic explore the future of science communication |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Jonathan Zwart charts the discoveries of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Lara Moss describes a proactive approach to disease prevention |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Meghan Ritchie searches for treasure on the world’s largest island. |
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Written by Chloe Stockford
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Chloe Stockford visits Professor Sir David King to discover what being one of the country’s
most powerful men in science entails. |
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Written by Terry Evans
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Terry Evans meets Luis M. Fidalgo, the scientist behind our cover image. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Human memory can easily be described as fleeting, unpredictable and unreliable. Why is it that we can remember a humiliating event in minute detail but often fail to retell past joyous encounters with equal veracity? Why can we remember where we were during a moment of national importance but can’t seem to remember the word on the tip of our tongue? In his titillating examination of autobiographical memory, Douwe Draaisma, professor of History of Psychology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, attempts to answer these questions and asks many others in his book on memory and our past. |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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This book is a new, abridged version of the findings and conclusions of the Copenhagen Consensus, a project set up by Bjørn Lomborg, in which leading economists met to prioritise goals for global development and welfare. The full report of the 2004 meeting, 'Global Crises, Global Solutions' weighs in at 700 pages. 'How to spend $50 billion...', on the other hand, is a mere 200 pages, and aims, in the words of its publishers, to provide a “serious yet accessible springboard for debate and discussion.” |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
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Please email your queries to drhypothesis@bluesci.org for your chance to win a £10 book voucher |
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