Articles Archives

Behavioural Sciences

Can deeply religious people be intellectually humble?

Intellectual humility – the conscious awareness of the limits and fallibility of one’s intelligence – is a virtue in the search for wisdom. But is what’s true for philosophers also true for deeply religious people whose humility is tied to unquestioning deference to the divine? It is a question that both baffles and inspires those studying the psychology of religion. […]

Physical Sciences

Galactic archaeology: Using chemical abundances to map our galaxy’s history

The different chemical elements we observe across the Milky Way have gone through drastically different formation processes – which have taken place on drastically different timescales. Crucially for astronomers, these differences can be clearly seen in the abundances of chemical elements contained in stars today, providing important clues about our Galaxy’s distant past. In a new overview, Professor Francesca Matteucci […]

Business & Economics

Uncomfortable ethics for autonomous vehicles

Self-driving cars, or autonomous vehicles (AVs), are an inevitability on our roads. That’s probably a good thing – most accidents are the result of human error. Ironically, humans will still need to programme the ’thinking’ part of an AV, especially when it’s presented with ethical dilemmas. But how important is this for AV manufacturers? Dr Tripat Gill of Wilfrid Laurier […]

Health & Medicine

Heart health, fat consumption and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

Cardiovascular disease is a major contributor to deaths globally. One of the most prominent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Special focus has been placed on looking at the effects of fat consumption on LDL particle size in healthy individuals as a way to increase awareness among people in terms of diet and lifestyle. Dr […]

Physical Sciences

Optimising solvent extraction for metal recycling

The platinum-group metals play a central role in several technological applications including fuel cells, electronic devices, and catalysts for oil refining and automobile converters. Owing to the scarcity of these metals, methods for their recycling from end-of-life devices are in increasing demand. Hydrometallurgy, which exploits the ability of specific molecules to selectively dissolve metal ions and separate them from unwanted […]

Health & Medicine

A blow to the head impairs the autoregulation of brain blood flow: Neural consequences

Billions of cells make up the human brain. To keep this super-computer functioning, a carefully autoregulated blood supply provides oxygen and nutrients and removes waste products from the brain cells. In addition, cerebral circulation is involved in the regulation of the pressure inside the cranium. But what happens if this autoregulatory process is disrupted? Building on years of research into […]

Health & Medicine

To edit or not to edit: Changes in microRNAs are associated with asthma severity

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways. While many people respond to inhaled medications, this treatment is not effective for everyone. Understanding more about the molecular pathways that promote severe asthma may provide opportunity for new therapeutic approaches. Dr Kevin M Magnaye, while a graduate student with Professor Carole Ober at the University of Chicago, explored changes in […]

Health & Medicine

Communication technologies for supporting better healthcare

Clear and effective communication is of paramount importance in healthcare, both for patients and healthcare staff. Dr Anne Moorhead, senior lecturer in health communication at Ulster University, investigates how technologies, including social media, health apps, and telehealth services, play a role in enhancing communication within healthcare. With the recent accelerated shift to remote consulting and use of telehealth following the […]

Biology

Look at those feet! Early evolution of rodents and lagomorphs

Rodents and lagomorphs form Glires, a group of gnawing mammals with enlarged ever-growing incisors. In the beginning, Glires were neither ‘true’ rodents nor lagomorphs; we call them basal or stem taxa. Species from this incredibly successful group had different heel structures to suit different lifestyles. Fast running or jumping requires different heel shapes compared to slow clambering or climbing. Dr […]

Physical Sciences

A parametric framework for multidimensional linear regression

While Ordinary Least Squares regression establishes fundamental concepts in data analysis, it requires the independent variable to be error-free and the error term to be constant. Dr Stanley Luck, statistics consultant and founding member of Vector Analytics LLC in the US, has developed an innovative parametric framework for multidimensional linear regression. This provides a more general framework for establishing measurement […]