Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
In the storm that is coronavirus the promise of a vaccine is the life-raft we’re clinging to. As the worldwide death toll rises to more than 700,000 the urgency behind the need for a vaccine skyrockets. The UK government has already ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford University vaccine and in the United States, […]
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Global crises change the way we think about work. That might be an oversimplification, but by and large, it stands up to interrogation. The classic example is Europe and America following the Second World War. Women entered the workplace en masse for the first time, mechanisation and technological production accelerated – fuelling the so-called Green […]
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Image description: woman receives face massage with a towel around her head as her skin is moisturised In amongst the controversies of the past few weeks, there has been growing fury over the re-opening of beauty salons and clinics. The guidance for the beauty industry in the pandemic has not been received well by those […]
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Image description: K.K. Shailaja, Kerala’s health minister, smiling Kerala is a small state on India’s Malabar Coast – home to 35 million people and renowned for its peaceful backwaters and the tea-covered mountains of the Western Ghats. Despite being over 5,000 miles away from the UK, Kerala’s careful yet unrelenting response to the COVID-19 pandemic […]
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Image description: Two figures walking in opposite directions while wearing face masks. With the advent of the novel coronavirus came the advent of the mask. To some of us, this painfully unfashionable garment has become something of a necessary evil. To sport one is to do what is right, denying so would be folly. This […]
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Image Description: People sitting around a table with their laptops, working together Oxford students have joined a national consultancy effort to support local charities that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus crisis. Six Degrees Oxford, a sustainability consultancy group, has partnered with the COVID-19 Student Response Network (CSRN), led by University of Bristol students. […]
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Image Description: Graphic of the virus with “COVID-19” text overlay An Oxford University expert believes coronavirus may have come into existence before its outbreak in China. A senior associate tutor at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) at Oxford, Dr Tom Jefferson, stated that the virus was found to have existed elsewhere long before surfacing […]
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Image Description: A medical syringe stuck into a model of a virus on a blue background. The COVID-19 vaccine, developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, has been called the “leading candidate” according to the World Health Organisation’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan, as it undergoes large-scale, mid-stage human trials. At a news conference on […]
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Image description: Oxford’s Broad Street during the lockdown The final week of term is upon us, and a year (or another) has gone by. It was a year which flew by too quickly for some, for others, too slowly during lockdown; but for all of us, it was one which lamented the loss of a […]
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Image description: students in Oxford University Martin Williams, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education), sent an email to students which outlines Oxford University’s developing plans for the academic year of 2020/21, including a commitment to face to face, small-group teaching. The email was received by current students this morning (the 17th of June), with a similar email sent […]
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Across the globe, scientists are working tirelessly to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, with over 100 potential candidates in development. A successful vaccine could prevent millions of deaths worldwide and allow devastated economies to begin the road to recovery. But with an estimated minimum timeline of 18 months, is it possible that a vaccine will be […]
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For the vast majority of us, the experience and impact of Covid-19 is completely unprecedented and unlike anything any of us have lived through. Many of us are stuck at home with our families: counties, countries and even time zones apart from our friends and Oxford. Colleges are far quieter than they normally would be […]
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Photo description: an AIDS awareness mural by Keith Haring in Barcelona The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a proliferation of medical trials seeking to treat and eventually cure the virus, one of which is the convalescent plasma trial. Scientists hope that, by recruiting volunteers who have had coronavirus, they will be able to develop a […]
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Image description: A mask and a vial of vitamin D Amid the coronavirus pandemic the demand for vitamin supplements has skyrocketed as millions seek to ‘boost their immunity’ to combat infection. Although evidence underlying their efficacy in reducing case incidence and severity is sparse, a link between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 mortality has emerged […]
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Trinity Professorial Fellow Chris Butler has launched a trial on the effects that the common drugs Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin have on COVID-19 symptoms in over 50-year-olds. This has been named the PRINCIPLE trial, and is the first trial of COVID-19 treatments to take place in primary care, relying on a network of GP surgeries. PRINCIPLE […]
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Image description: students in academic dress Students can now apply for DDH up to two weeks after the final assessment according to updated University guidelines. This allows students to sit their exams before making the application. ‘Declared to have Deserved Masters’ (DDM) option for postgraduate finalists who find themselves unable to complete their Trinity Term […]
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COVID-19 poses a unique challenge to the lives of all people, but the effect on each individual is not the same. Cohorts with existing vulnerabilities are affected by the symptoms of the disease, but perhaps more so by the measures put in place to ‘stop the spread’ and ‘flatten the curve’. Rough sleepers, people in […]
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Image description: A Canadian anti-lockdown protest The right to protest is a fundamental right which should not be stopped if one does not infringe upon the law. This principle should apply in all circumstances, including that regarding coronavirus. Europe, and the UK in particular, have taken a massive toll from the Covid-19 emergency, and the […]
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It was the end of 8th week Hilary: the last week of term. There is something inexplicable about the way that Oxford life – and the city itself – becomes a strange bubble during the term. Each of us gets sucked into a routine of sorts, moving from college to college, library to library, faculty […]
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