Author: isci
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3D Bio-printing: The Single Solution to our Cancer Problem?
Cancer is a disease that has, unfortunately, touched most of us at some point in our lives. With 14 million new cases of cancer each year, it’s the most life-threatening disease in the world (Knowlton, et al., 2015). In 2015 alone, cancer took the lives of 8.8 million people (World Health Organization, 2018). Despite continuous…
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When Viruses Have Sex
The study of sex is a sexy topic in biology. Sexual intercourse in animals has been studied meticulously, especially in humans (Arnow et al., 2002; Drago, 1994; Thornhill and Gangestad, 1994), and the origin of sex is a hotly debated topic in behavioural ecology (Hurst and Peck, 1996). In biology, sex is generally defined as…
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Cymbal Music: All the Bells and Whistles of Hammering Modes Copy
Music is one of the most longstanding and prevalent mediums of self-expression. In society, music carries important civil, cultural, and religious connotations, where the multitude of instruments and vast array of sounds that they can produce are associated with special occasions (Di Giulio et al., 2001). While the acoustics of many instruments belonging to woodwind…
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Brain Injury from Intimate Partner Violence
Almost one third of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner worldwide (WHO et al., 2013). Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as a pattern of physical and/or sexual violence in the context of coercive control by an intimate or ex-intimate partner (Humphreys and…
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The Map That Changed the World of Mars
What signs might a curious extraterrestrial, observing the Earth through a telescope, seek in order to prove the presence of intelligent inhabitants? From interplanetary distances, the human species reveals its presence through the geometric nature and orderly arrangement of our land architecture (Figure 1). It is understandable, then, how the late 19th century observations of an…
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The Ethical and Biological Journey of the Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project (HGP) has been one of the greatest biological accomplishments to date. This endeavour to map each and every nucleotide base that makes up our DNA blueprint was completed by the collective efforts of scientists all over the world. Given the magnitude of this project, one is inspired to wonder––how was this…
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Sustainable Energy for Health Care in Developing Countries
Energy is essential to modern life. We use it every day, for almost everything we do. Imagine living without access to a reliable supply of energy, or in some cases, any energy at all. This is how 1.6 billion people in developing countries live (IEA, 2008). However, reliable and affordable access to energy has shown…
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Cracking the Mystery of Prince Rupert’s Drop
For centuries, the peculiar mechanical properties of the Batavian Tear, otherwise known as Prince Rupert’s Drop (PRD), has mesmerized scientists. Historically, the glass drop dates back to 1660, where it was brought to King Charles II of England by Prince Rupert from Germany (Brodsley, Frank, and Steeds, 1986). As its name suggests, the drop has…
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A New Kind of Addiction
Smartphones aren’t much more than a decade old, yet they have changed the way that we work, play, and interact with one another. The average user checks their phone 150 times a day, which is double what most people think they do. All this time will add up to seven years on our phones over…
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The Alien Cancer Cure
Traveling into space is one way we satisfy our curiosity. We cannot bear to live on our planet without knowing what lies beyond the horizon. However, the microgravity achieved in low Earth orbit at the International Space Station (ISS) can help us explore some of our many questions as well. For example, it is easier…