Articles

EUSci magazine is released three times a year, with a wide range of themes covering diverse subjects from across science. Suitable articles that don't make it into the print magazine will usually still be edited and displayed online. Have a look at what other people have written, and submit a piece yourself!

Metabolic Syndrome and the Disease of Kings

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2012-10-01 00:00
Max Anderson sheds light on a medieval disease that is undergoing a renaissance

What did Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, Alexander the Great, and Henry VIII have in common? Apart from all being renowned historical figures, they all suffered from gout. Most people have heard of gout, but far fewer know any further details - aside from its associations with the hedonistic lifestyles of the privileged that founded gout’s popular handle: the ‘disease of kings’. This alias does not mean that if you are one of the gentry you will inevitably suffer from this form of arthritis, nor does it suggest that waking up in the middle of the night in agonising rheumatoid pain is indicative of a Euromillions win. Whilst gout has been shown to be linked to a richer, more luxurious diet it also has a close association with metabolic syndrome, a widespread disease, which knows no class boundaries. Read more »

Let there be life

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2012-10-01 00:00
Jaan-Eerik Past explores the conditions facing life if it was to spread out from Earth

Humanity is expected to live up to the imagination of science fiction writers and leave behind our Earth. In the words of the visionary Carl Sagan, so far we have only “waded a little way out” from the “shore of the cosmic ocean”. We landed on the Moon, set up camp on board the International Space Station (ISS), and recently completed the first private cargo trip to the ISS. Space colonization would require a giant leap forward, but we arguably already have the tools to make the gap Read more »

Dwarf Planets Come Out of the Shadows

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2012-10-01 00:00
Alasdair Burns tells us why Pluto is now one of the five (not seven) dwarves

You may remember the headlines: "Pluto demoted!", "Pluto loses status as planet". It was 2006, and the discoveries of planetary bodies similar in scale to Pluto led to astronomers re-defining what it meant to be a ‘Planet’. A leading astronomer in the field who has discovered several Pluto-sized objects, Michael Brown, has since adopted the informal moniker ‘Pluto Killer’ (he has also written a book: How I killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming). But what are these planetary bodies that re-defined what we call a planet? Read more »

Currently in Transit

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2012-10-01 00:00
Declan Valters gives us an insight into the public fascination with planetary transits and their significance in understanding the mysteries of space

I remember my first viewing of a Venus transit vividly. It was during a physics lesson and I was thirteen years old. Our physics teacher led us out onto the school field, where he had set up a telescope that projected an image of the Sun onto a white piece of paper. It was a clear morning, perfect for viewing a transit. In small groups, we gathered around the telescope to see a small black circle move very slowly across the lower portion of the Sun’s face. No living person at the time had seen Venus pass in front of the Sun before, as the last transit was in 1882. Somehow, I felt quite lucky to be alive to witness such an event. I was fascinated by the little black circle of Venus, and even more so when my physics teacher told us that we might be lucky enough to see it once more in our lifetimes. Read more »

Them

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2012-10-01 00:00
EUSci Sci-fi competition winner 2012: Kathryn Coldham

This year, the Sci-fi competition was based on the question: "What do alien scientists get up to?" We had loads of great entries; the creative juices were clearly flowing! In our dark and thrilling runner up entry, Kathryn Coldham imagines how aliens extend their knowledge of the human race.

Run. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it could burst out of my chest. My exhausted eyes felt like they were burning. My lungs throbbed. My legs ached with exhaustion, begging for me to stop. No! I had to continue, I couldn’t let them win. I cautiously searched for an exit; one false turn could be my last. Daring not to make a sound or they would certainly discover my presence in this eerie silence. Read more »

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