SciBox Archives


Welcome to the Scibox archives. This is where you will find a list of all articles our contributors have written for us since this section was launched! 

Click on the photos or links to retrieve the full article text.

If you wish to comment or share any of our articles, please click the links to the full article page and use the comment boxes or share buttons. Thanks for looking!

Stroke Vs Brain: Harnessing the Brain’s Survival Skills
by Ranya Bechara, 27th Feb 2013

Picture
Can we use the brain’s inherent survival mechanisms to develop better stroke treatment? In an exciting new study in Nature Medicine, scientists at the University of Oxford reveal a novel way in which the brain protects itself in response to stroke. 

Full Text
Picture
like us!
Picture
follow us!
Picture
add us to your circles!

The "Dirty Little Secret" About Vaccines
Gavin Hubbard, 31st Aug 2012

Picture
In some ways, the immune system's like a brain: it can learn, it can adapt and, so it’s ready for the next time, it can remember. This is, perhaps, its single most important feature. The immune system has the chance to learn a unique signature on the surface of an invader every time we’re infected by something, be it virus, bacteria or even a parasite.
FULL TEXT

Egging on Heart Disease...And Controversy
Rebecca Grey, 22nd Aug 2012

Picture
Media reports this week have been buzzing over the link between egg consumption, smoking and heart disease. The study has already received much criticism, many because causation (egg intake) does not equal causation (plaque build-up) and because, as has been noted by the authors, these results do not take into account saturated fat intake...


FULL TEXT

Bendy DNA Biosensors
Sarah Loftus, 26th March 2012

Picture
A new method for studying the way genes are controlled has been developed by a team at the University of Oxford, potentially dramatically decreasing the amount of time required to carry out experiments.



FULL TEXT

Distracted By Placebos
Gavin Hubbard, 18th Feb 2012

Picture
add us to your circles!
Its study can be traced back to World War II and the white lie of a nurse, working with the anaesthetist Henry Beecher, told to a severely injured soldier...Pain and the placebo effect – where a sham drug or treatment somehow results in a perceived or actual effect – have long been study partners since that time.


FULL TEXT

Hard Drives Without Magnets
Steven Farkas, 12th Feb 2012

Picture

There's a good chance that you are reading this article with a notebook computer on your lap, feeling some degree of discomfort from the hot air that is being driven out by the cooling fans in order to keep those silicon components inside nice and cool. FULL TEXT

Bacterial Evolution In The Lab
Amanda Coutts, 11th Feb 2012

Picture
Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health concern. The spread of which, in part, is due to the widespread use of antibiotics. 



FULL TEXT

Human Brain Volume Predicts Social Network Size
Sarah Loftus, 6th Feb 2012

Picture
New evidence suggests that the size of a region of the brain known as the orbital prefrontal cortex determines a person’s social ability and, in doing so, determines the size of the social group an individual belongs to.


FULL TEXT

Mind Reading? New Math Model Raises the Possibility
Sophie Douglas, 6th Feb 2012

Picture
Did you ever wonder how Derren Brown does it, demonstrating numerous times that he has the capability to read the minds of complete strangers? Whilst some people get sucked into the illusion others explain it through an ability to manipulate people into thinking something that he wants them to.


FULL TEXT

Alternative to Exercise?
Sophie Douglas, 30th Jan 2012

Picture
With London hosting the world’s foremost sporting competition, the Olympic Games; sports, health and fitness is on our minds more than ever. However if you’re more couch potato than Linford Christie you might be interested to know the latest news in the research of exercise which suggest an exercise pill maybe on the horizon. The benefits of enduring exercise might be easier to achieve than once thought.

FULL TEXT

New Evidence Suggesting Badger Culling is Counter-Productive
Sarah Loftus, 6th Jan 2012

Picture

New insights  from a study looking at how culling affects the movements of badgers and the spread of bovine tuberculosis amongst them has suggested that culling may in fact help rather than hinder the spread of the disease.


FULL TEXT

Bugs Not Burgers
Gavin Hubbard, 1st Dec 2011

Picture
In a world where people are increasingly aware of their greenhouse gas emissions and environmental footprint, scientists think it may be in our best interests to switch from beef and pork to witchetty grubs and meal worms.

FULL TEXT

Social Evolution of Primates
Sarah Loftus, 20th Nov 2011

Picture
Research from the University of Oxford has demonstrated that primates underwent a step-wise pattern of social evolution, progressing from solitary foraging directly to living in large groups, a transition that coincides with a move from nocturnal (night time) to diurnal (daytime) living.



FULL TEXT

A Neat Tug To Move A Gene
Amanda Coutts, 15th Nov 2011

Picture
The regulation of gene expression is a complex process and one that is incompletely understood. Precise control of gene expression is crucial for proper development and is required to keep us healthy.
FULL TEXT

The Future of Discovery: A Cancer Biologists Perspective
Sarah Loftus, 12th Nov 2011

Picture
At our October 2011 SciBar  Professor Russell Stannard discussed whether there would ever be an end to scientific discovery as we now know it.  His argument was that our brain evolved to help us find food and a mate and avoid predators, so why should we think that we can answer all questions using “such an imperfect instrument”.
FULL TEXT

Fruit Fly Work Identifies New Possibility for Drugs to Combat Ageing
Gavin Hubbard, 12th Nov 2011

Picture
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have identified a potential new target in the fight against ageing, as well as shedding some light on the role of the digestive system in ageing.


FULL TEXT

Laughing Away The Pain
Amanda Coutts, Nov 6th 2011

Picture
It’s been said that laughter is the best medicine and a recent study performed by a group of researchers including a team from the University of Oxford(1), suggests that this may indeed be the case. The group found that social laughter was associated with an increased pain threshold which suggests that the act of laughing releases endorphins.

FULL TEXT

Mid-Brain Light Sensor helps birds respond to seasons
Sarah Loftus, Oct 30th 2011

Picture
Recent research published in Biology Letters by Davies et al. (open access) has identified a light-sensing pigment in the mid-brain of chickens thought to be involved their response to seasons.
FULL TEXT

Drugs, Chimps, Side Effects and World Domination
Gavin Hubbard, July 28th 2011

Picture
OK, so, on the subject of partial topicality, there’s this new Planet of the Apes origins movie coming out. You may have heard.

How did the apes become intelligent? The slow, dumb gradual process of evolution?
FULL TEXT

The Strangers Inside You Pt 2
Gavin Hubbard, March 29th 2011

Picture
I’m afraid to tell you that you’re riddled with viruses; in almost every cell of your body. Sorry to be the one to break it to you. You have your parents to blame. Though not because of anything they did wrong, in fact, without these viruses, you wouldn’t even be here reading this spam.
FULL TEXT

The Strangers Inside You Pt 1
Gavin Hubbard, March 8th 2011

Picture
How much of you is, well, you know, you?

Obviously, all of you; but where did it come from?  There’s quite a lot about you that’s interesting, and might be a surprise to you.  It was to me and this is why I’ve embarked on writing this
FULL TEXT