A door that can not be closed – Emergent Technologies and Science Communication.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is all everyone is talking about now. Although the technology is not perfect (and may never be), and it is sometimes very amusing to point out “how wrong these computers can get things”, this is probably the wrong way to look at these innovations. As the saying goes, “the perfect is the enemy of […]

23 and ours – The future of DNA privacy

Should we be worried about DNA Privacy? What is more personal than your DNA? The string of A’s, T’s G’s and C’s is almost exclusively personal to an individual and dictates much of what makes you, you. Knowing this, it is understandable that people would be curious to know more about their past and potential […]

High Score Education — Using video games to teach bioscience

Dr Melanie Stegman is a biochemist who teaches in the interactive media program at Harrisburg University and runs her own independent video game studio on the side. Entering graduate school, Melanie felt her calling was to educate as well as to discover and during her post-doc studying DNA repair in Tuberculosis bacterium, Melanie made the […]

The crystals that really heal

Crystal engineers have the power to create bespoke materials capable of advancing many scientific and technological fields. Prof. Liana Vella-Zarb and her team at PharmaTaxis use X-Ray crystallography and their knowledge of atomic blueprints to create new ways to carry medicine around the body, leading to safer, more effective treatments. We are surrounded by crystals, […]

Apparitions Apparently

Lying in the dark, not quite asleep, not quite awake. You wait for sleep to gently lift you away. Suddenly a strange heaviness spreads throughout your body; you cannot move, trapped within yourself. Any sense of tranquillity has been taken from you, all that is left is inexplicable dread. You close your eyelids so tight […]

Infinite typewriters

School for wayward bots. Our world is governed by invisible technology; behind the screens there are a countless number of simple decisions being made for you, running our daily existence. Depending on your level of tech savviness, you may or may not have any idea of how these “thingys”? programs? Algorithms? bots? actually work, but […]

forget me not

Do we have the right to be forgotten? and in the age of the internet is that even possible anymore? – Everyone has parts of their lives that they wish could be forgotten; a thoughtless remark, or a stupid comment that continues to haunt you on those nights you just cannot get to sleep. For […]

Just your voice

The death of Perfect Paul, and his sister Uppity Ursula? You probably don’t know Perfect Paul, but you will definitely recognise his voice, although you will probably think of a very specific person when you hear it. Perfect Paul is a creation, a placeholder, better than nothing but no one’s first choice. Perfect Paul is […]

Should I chat up my chatbot?

Waiting for a response for an online enquiry, trying to cancel a subscription for a magazine i never read; I was perhaps already slightly frustrated. I found myself infuriated about not knowing if I need to respond to the pleasantries coming up in the text window from “Katie” or if I can just ignore them? […]