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The Brain: A Book Review

 Are you curious about the great lump of mush that sends electricity throughout your body? 'The Brain' - created by the NewScientist - spans 14 chapters that discuss neuroscience and neuropsychology. In other words, it is a summary of how the brain works. Or - as NewScientist has put it - 'A user's guide to the supercomputer inside your head.' I was eager to read this book as it was first published in 2018. Science develops rapidly and I was aware it could not be long until something new was discovered and the contents could have become outdated. The topics discussed were fascinating (more on that later!) and I appreciate the use of accessible language; the definitions of technical terms were easily integrated into the flow of the literature. However, it was not an easy book to read. Despite my interest in the subject I found it difficult to engage, often willing myself to pick up the book and to read another page. As 'The Brain' is, essentially, a collectio...
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Scientific Terminolgy

  If you've ever read a scientific paper you would have noticed some complicated words or phrases that leave you stumped. This lack of accessible language can push you away from exploring new ideas. While science communication will not improve overnight, let's make it a bit easier by looking at a few definitions of scientific terminology. Phospholipids are components of cell membranes. They consist of a phosphate group, a glycerol molecule and two fatty acid molecules. They are amphihilic : Their heads are hydrophilic (attract water) and their tails are hydrophobic (repel water). Peptidoglycan forms many bacterial cell walls. It is made up of sugars and amino acids. A  Polymer is a large molecule. It is made up of repeated monomers (small subunits) that are covalently bonded. They can be natural or synthetic, for example cellulose or plastics. Catalytic is used to describe a reaction that involves a catalyst. A catalyst, for example amylase, speeds up a reaction (i.e. catalyse...
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Tiny Bugs: Some Interesting Things About Microorganisms

 Microorganisms - viruses, bacteria, protists, and fungi - are all around us. They are so small that you need a microscope to see them. We battle these microbes (aka germs) on a daily basis. As we can't normally see these tiny bugs we probably don't give them much thought. Here are some interesting facts about the types of microorganisms we encounter every day: 1. Viruses are non-living. Viruses are not alive... but they're not dead either. They are non-living microorganisms; this is because they lack cellular structure, metabolic processes, and cannot reproduce independently. Viruses reproduce by hijacking host cells and using their resources to replicate. 2. Coronavirus. Coronavirus is a term we are all familiar with, but did you know it refers to a type of virus, not an individual one? Each coronavirus has a similar shape and causes upper respiratory illness. Currently there are seven known coronaviruses. 3. Gram-positive vs Gram-negative. There are two types of bacteria...
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What is Biology?

  Biology is the study of living organisms. You may imagine it as dissecting frogs or looking at cells through a microscope, but it is so much more than that! To give you an idea, let's take a look at some of the branches of biology... Genetics is the study of genes. This involves heredity (how genes pass from parents to offspring), gene expression and genetic variation.  Ecology is the study of how living things (animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria) interact with each other and their environment.  Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses. Marine biology is the study of life in marine ecosystems. This includes plants, animals and other organisms. Cell biology is the study of cells, including their structure, function, processes and behaviour. Bioinformatics is the collection and analysis of complex biological data. Zoology is the study of animals, including their behaviour, structure, physiology, classification and distribution. Biology c...
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