The Biochemist Blog

On message (a short guide to getting started in science communication)

With Wordpress for bloggers, Instagram for photographers, YouTube for vloggers, and the world’s loudest-ever microphone in Twitter, there’s quite simply never been a better or easier time to get started in science communication. Not only are there a whole variety of different ways of getting your message out, but social media has also democratised the process. You don’t need to be a professional communicator or even an expert user, you just have to want to give it a try: this is the age of the empowered amateur. The range of technologies also means that…

November 7, 2018 Historical / Journal content / Research / Student-focused

The Bloody History of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While TB may seem to be a disease of the past in developed nations, it still kills 1.7 million people annually. Therefore, despite the advances in TB prevention and treatment, complete eradication of this deadly disease is still a global concern.

November 2, 2018 Blog Posts / Research / Student-focused / Uncategorized

OBESITY: MANIPULATING OUR GUT MICROBIOTA IN THE QUEST TO BE LEAN

This is the final instalment of my three-part series that investigates how the correlative link between the gut microbiota and our weight has come to be. Part 3 explores the range of weird and wonderful solutions the market has to offer. Can we force the microbial hand simply through our dietary choices?

October 31, 2018 Uncategorized

OBESITY: MANIPULATING OUR GUT MICROBIOTA IN THE QUEST TO BE LEAN

This is the second instalment of my three-part series that investigates how the correlative link between the gut microbiota and our weight has come to be. Obesity is a worldwide epidemiological epidemic and current interventions, both medical and lifestyle, are failing to thwart its increasing prevalence. Part 2 takes a close look at the association between obesity and the gut microbiota. We hold a microscope to a selection of studies that have provided a compelling link between the microbial community and our expanding waistlines.

October 29, 2018 Historical / Research / Student-focused / Uncategorized

OBESITY: MANIPULATING OUR GUT MICROBIOTA IN THE QUEST TO BE LEAN

This is the first instalment of my three-part series that investigates how the correlative link between the gut microbiota and our weight has come to be. Obesity is a worldwide epidemiological epidemic and current interventions, both medical and lifestyle, are failing to thwart its increasing prevalence. The discovery of that the gut microbial community is implicated in our expanding waistlines has spurred attempts to manipulate its composition – with novel procedures exploding onto the wellness scene.

October 24, 2018 Research / Student-focused / Uncategorized

The hidden power of type III CRISPR immunity: how a prokaryote avoids an autoimmune catastrophe

This article discusses the events that follow a viral infection and reveals how an extended period of self-targeting, a side-effect that is otherwise associated with immunity, is minimised so as to avoid cell death.

October 18, 2018 Biochemical Society / Education & careers / Events / Science communication & public engagement / Uncategorized

The Biology Week Debate: Can artificial intelligence save the world?

‘AI will take over my job’; ‘It will end up like the terminator and end the world’; ‘It will outsmart the human race’; ‘If it makes a mistake it could be catastrophic’; ‘Can we really put that much trust into a machine?’.
There is a lot of negative association with AI, but is that because there often confusion about what artificial intelligence actually is, what it can do, and what it will be able to do in the future?