The Weakened ‘Glue’ In Your Body
Li-En Tan introduces Marfan syndrome — a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissues (the glue in your body), and explains the associated cardiovascular complications.
Category: Life Sciences
The Future of Stratified Medicine
It is becoming increasingly obvious that for many diseases, the idea of a one size fits all approach is coming to an end. Instead, a precision approach targeting an individual’s unique genetic code is the way ahead. In this cover article for the August 2016 GIST magazine, Alisha Aman delves into stratified medicine and the important role that researchers and clinicians in Scotland are playing in paving the way forward.
Why You Shouldn’t Burn Your Toast
Derek Connor explores the world of chemistry taking place in your kitchen every time you cook a meal and looks at why it may be better to take your food out the oven a little sooner than you may normally.
Vampire Squid: Not a New B-movie Monster
The visage of the mysterious vampire squid evokes a certain kind of menace that few other animals can but what is it exactly?
Chimpanzee Culture
Chimpanzees display culturally-learned behaviours, such as tool use. But what’s the purpose of a mysterious, almost ritualistic, behaviour involving trees and stones?
Caring for Bacteria in Intensive Care Patients
Compared to healthy people, patients in Intensive Care Units have drastically different gut bacteria – leaving them vulnerable to serious infection and even death.
Shrimp Fight Club: Wasteful or Lifesaving?
Research on the mantis shrimp was initially scoffed at but quickly gained respect — why did people change their minds so quickly?
The Cupid Called Brain
Love and heartbreak — just chemicals? Alisha Aman explores the biology of falling in and out of love, and how it serves an evolutionary purpose.
