Author: Hannah Long Do you ever feel like you have had successes, but are undeserving of them? That soon people are going to realise that you are not as good as they think you are? There’s been a mistake; I’ve got here by sheer serendipitous luck and I’m a fraud. Am I really going to … Continue reading Feel like an academic fraud? Tips for shaking off imposter syndrome
Author: Jo Sharpe Parkinson’s disease is a devastating illness that is progressive, incurable, and notoriously difficult to diagnose. It is caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra - an area of the midbrain. Defective dopamine signalling results in severe motor defects in patients, which manifest as tremors, muscle cramps and lethargy, in … Continue reading Parkinson’s Disease: Manchester paves the way for new treatments and diagnostics
So what's the big deal with sleep? It's an unavoidable necessity which takes up about a third of our lives. And despite this time-consuming significance, we don't really understand it that well. Every part of our biology is dependent on a good night's sleep. Everything from regulating our immune system to consolidating our memories. However, … Continue reading 7 Healthy Sleep Habits
A considerable challenge for researchers that investigate human disease is to be able to accurately recreate the disease outside of the human body. Disease investigation in vitro, (or ‘in a dish’) is described as ‘disease modelling’ and generally involves isolating or generating diseased cells before subjecting them to various conditions. Disease models are an invaluable … Continue reading Research spotlight at Manchester: 3D Bioprinting
Author: Stephanie Macdonald Each week we get a great round-up of all the opportunities available outside of our research from the DAGS team. But, what we don’t get to hear are any first-hand experiences. If, like me, you have the tendency to bite off a bit more than you can chew, it can be helpful … Continue reading Joining the Brilliant Club
Author: Jo Sharpe Over 100 years ago, Thomas Hunt Morgan reported the identification of the white gene in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Since then, Drosophila has been established as an excellent model for studying biological systems and human disease. The humble fruit fly is cheap, easy to keep in large numbers, and provides a … Continue reading Science Outreach: A Fruitful Endeavour?
Author: Jason Chu Running. Seems like a grim activity for so many people. Why in the world would you purposely expose yourself to the elements and put yourself through that. As the wise Ann Perkins rightly states in NBC’s hilarious sitcom series, Parks and Recreation: Jogging is the worst! I know it keeps you healthy, … Continue reading The Running Mentality
Author: Paul Humphreys One of the greatest promises of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is the ability to generate functional organs for transplantation. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), derived from IVF embryos or reprogrammed adult cells, have the capacity to form any cell type and therefore may potentially provide the source of cells required for tissue … Continue reading How far are we from growing our own organs in the lab?
Author: Stephanie Macdonald We’re always hearing about the amazing work research groups do here in Manchester. But what about the work our PhD students do? In the midst of failed experiments, months of optimisation and inconsistent replicates, it's good to celebrate when a story does come together, especially when it results in a paper. This … Continue reading Researcher Spotlight: Aris Sfakianos
Authors: Jack Barton and Laura Hemming Welcome to the new home of the doctoral academy blog with a snazzy new name, the Research Hive. The prime purpose of this new blog is to engage interested readers from the Postgraduate community and beyond on the ground-breaking research going on here in the University of Manchester. We … Continue reading Editorial: Welcome to the Research Hive
Research Hive 