Thriving against all odds: Navigating a PhD as a black woman in palaeosciences

Author: Precious Chiwara // Editors: Cherene de Bruyn & Sarah Charlin Klingberg My journey to pursue a PhD in palaeosciences, specifically archaeology, started in 2021 when I received the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) #Advancing Woman Award for black female students at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. This #Advancing Woman program was … Continue reading Thriving against all odds: Navigating a PhD as a black woman in palaeosciences

Selling the Disease to Sell the Cure: Parasite Cleanses of Social Media

Author: Erin Pallott // Editors: Nithya Eswaran & Vicky McIntyre I enjoy browsing social media under hashtags relating to my research fields. There are so many talented and dedicated scientists making science publicly accessible. However, tags like #parasite are being bombarded with something else entirely. Millions of posts across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are … Continue reading Selling the Disease to Sell the Cure: Parasite Cleanses of Social Media

Between Two Worlds: Understanding if discrimination and social identity causes psychosis among ethnic minorities in the UK

Author: Rashmi Danwaththa Liyanage // Editor: Erin Pallott A Mother's Journey I woke up in the gloom and I could see some black and white pigeons huddled together on a neighbour’s roof embracing the warmth and serenity, a sheer contrast to my inner disarray. Just days after the Southport tragedy, and riots occurred a few … Continue reading Between Two Worlds: Understanding if discrimination and social identity causes psychosis among ethnic minorities in the UK

Cosmic Curiosities: From the Moon to the Milky Way

Author: Rojita Buddhacharya // Editors: Cherene de Bruyn & Emily Barrett Cover image by Binita Buddhacharya. If you imagine the Kathmandu Valley as a bowl, we live right at the centre, surrounded by hills and mountains. Standing at an altitude of 1,400 meters, Kathmandu’s residents are sometimes called “frogs in a well” – implying a limited worldview. … Continue reading Cosmic Curiosities: From the Moon to the Milky Way

Starting a postgraduate degree as an Autistic person

Author: Nina Wycech // Editor: Poppy Dunn Notes: In the light of the Neurodivergency movement, many try to retire the medical view and call it Autism Spectrum Condition instead of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Many people prefer using person-first language (person with autism) when it comes to ASD. I consider Autism to be an undetachable … Continue reading Starting a postgraduate degree as an Autistic person

“I Don’t Want to Cause Trouble”: Acceptance of Bullying in Academia

Author: Erin Pallott // Editors: Luke Marshall, Sophie Alshukri When I joined my PhD programme, I needed to figure out which lab I wanted to join. I got given lots of advice on what to ask other PhD and postdoc members, and a prominent suggestion was to find out what the lab environment is like. … Continue reading “I Don’t Want to Cause Trouble”: Acceptance of Bullying in Academia

Metals in Tampons:  A Health Risk or Social Media Hype?

Author: Dalia Aziz // Editor: Erin Pallott Photo by Karolina Kaboompics on Pexels.com If you’ve been on social media recently, you may have heard widespread concern about metals in tampons, based on the 2024 study by a group from the University of California, Berkeley. The detection of 16 different metals raised alarms among consumers, who are now … Continue reading Metals in Tampons:  A Health Risk or Social Media Hype?