Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
What is mass? What are the organising principles of our universe? What processes have given rise to our existence? These may seem like grand questions, but there is one place where they can seem quite mundane: the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, more commonly known as CERN. Located on the border between Switzerland and France, […]
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From enzymes to muscle tissue, the DNA held within the nucleus of cells contains instructions for the production of every protein in your body. Mutations in these genomic blueprints, whether inherited or induced by damaging environmental agents (e.g toxins, UV radiation), can result in proteins becoming malformed and dysfunctional and ultimately give rise to disease. […]
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In his famous allegory of the cave Plato suggests that there are a group of people, prisoners, facing a wall, unable to direct their vision at anything else. Behind them lies reality, which has its true form projected onto the wall the prisoners are doomed to watch indefinitely. The prisoners only see the shadows and […]
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“fuck “jokes”. everything i tweet is real. raw insight without the horse shit. no, i will NOT follow trolls. twitter dot com. i live for this” Such is the manifesto of the Twitter user known only as Dril (wint to his friends). An anonymous surrealist comedian, his first tweet was in 2008: the simple word […]
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TEDxOxford has grown quickly over the years: what started as a hundred people in the Keble O’Reilly in 2011 has grown to 1800 this year, and has now graduated to the New Theatre. Chris Williams, the day’s MC, highlighted this achievement in the welcome talk we received at the start of the day, alongside encouraging […]
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Science fiction is, in my wholly unqualified opinion, the best of the literary and screen genres. Its imaginative potential is limitless, providing a blank canvas onto which one can project all manner of intriguing moral, philosophical and entertaining scenarios. Most appealing of all, science fiction transcends the dreary confines of realism. Those of us who […]
Continue ReadingWith his quizzical look and flyaway hair, Ben Goldacre’s departmental photo makes him look every bit the mad scientist, but this scientific polymath (currently an author, broadcaster, doctor and academic) is at the forefront of one of the biggest medical movements in the last 50 years. With the enthusiasm of a Teach First chemistry teacher, he describes himself […]
Continue ReadingNew research suggests a new foot and mouth vaccine might be on its way
Continue ReadingBeing at one of the best universities in the country, let alone the world, has its perks, and several awards to boot. The Science and Technology section would like to congratulate the following for their remarkable achievements. Oxford chemists Professor Fraser Armstrong and Professor Frances Ashcroft have been recognised by the Royal Society in this […]
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