If you asked the ‘archetypical’ university student what is their favourite type of alcohol, the response would be A LOT (and for a reasonable price, naturally). Yes, it is undeniably true that alcohol plays a big role in many student’s social lives, whether it be that glass of wine at the end of the day, […]
The placebo effect: worthwhile or a waste of time?
The placebo effect is where a drug of no therapeutic value, often sugar pills or saline injections, causes a physical effect. Although commonly talked about (people acting drunk before realising they’ve been sipping on non-alcoholic beer, or feeling immediately better when taking paracetamol, before any analgesic effects could have kicked in), the process by which […]
A loss of face
Until recently I thought that social media was a force for good. As someone who sometimes finds social situations fairly exhausting, social media seemed more of a solution than a problem. There is no doubt that it has revolutionised the way we interact with others. Social media can incite change and spread messages across the […]
Apocalypse sooner than we thought
On Monday 8th of October, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released an alarming report warning politicians about the impact that any future rise in temperature would have on our planet. Stated plainly, this impact will be enormous and tragic; far worse than previously projected. Whilst European governments are putting some policies in […]
Living the Dream
Exploring the concept of lucid dreaming, and why research into sleep science has culminated in the launch of an app that you could only dream of! Dreams are odd. They can be things of complete and utter joy or frightening nightmares where you just want to wake up. Would our dreams be different if we […]
Every breath you take
As we all well know, air pollution is the result of the release of various harmful gases that negatively impact the environment, like Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Particulate Matter (PM) and other pollutants. In 2014, Europe had an estimated 500,000 premature deaths due to abysmal air quality, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) […]
Solar Eclipse – What happens in the eye!
For some on August 21st night came early! It then promptly left again; with confused flocks of birds and awed onlookers in its wake. A total solar eclipse, visible last year over the central states of the USA, is one of the most staggering public astronomical sights and comes about from a wonderful quirk of […]
Watch this Space
Have you ever felt the need for speed? Want to run away from your exams? Tired of carrying your friends in Fortnite? Have no fear, for soon you’ll be hurtling towards lower earth orbit at around 2,000mph with Texas in your rear view mirror. For many, the idea of travelling into space seems like a […]
There must be something in the water…
Water water everywhere, but what’s in the bottles we drink? 1 million plastic water bottles are purchased each minute, worldwide. But, are we really getting what we pay for, or is there a hidden truth inside each bottle we guzzle? The answer lies in recent findings by the World Health Organisation (WHO): revealing that 90% […]
When Stars Collide
This story really has it all. Really it does; astronomy, physics, chemistry, two dying stars spiralling into one another (resulting in a cataclysmic explosion) and a whole lot of gold, the earth’s mass in gold to be precise! It all started in a galaxy not too far away – about 130 million light years away […]