Origins - The Downe House STEM Magazine - Issue 1 2021

ORIGINS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING MATHS

Blue Zones: Is there a secret to living forever? ● Genetic testing ● Sustainability and biodiversity ● Art under the microscope

A N N UA L S T U D E N T- L E D S T E M M AG A Z I N E

WELCOME Welcome to the first ever edition of the Downe House STEM magazine, Origins, a name which is of course inspired by the history and evolution of Downe House. Careers in STEM are arguably getting more publicity than ever at the moment and with very good reason; it is thanks to the determination, innovation and creativity of people working in STEM that we are finding our way through the Covid-19 pandemic. STEM subjects are already popular at Downe House, with many girls keen to pursue these at university and beyond. We are delighted to be celebrating STEM in this edition of Origins and we hope you will enjoy reading about some of our favourite topics and ideas.

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In this bumper first edition you will find a broad spectrum of articles from our pupils, staff and our fantastic Downe House alumnae. We very much hope you will enjoy reading the magazine, especially those ideas and topics which you have not come across before. Origins will be published annually and if you are inspired to contribute to our next edition, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Dr Rachel Pilkington Deputy Head of Science i/c STEM

MAGAZINE TEAM Editor-in-Chief Freya Illingworth Editors Cheuk-Yu (Queena) Wong, Tumai Ogunyemi and Dr Rachel Pilkington.

Our thanks to Pixabay and Pexels for the use of images

CONTENTS 4 7 8 9

BLUE ZONES Freya Illingworth

ART UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr Rachel Pilkington GENETIC TESTING Hao Yan (Helena) and Yuchen (Rebecca) Gao SUSTAINABILITY AND BIODIVERSITY AT DOWNE HOUSE Mrs Rachel Phillips-Morgan

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CLOAKING DEVICES AND METAMATERIALS Tumai Ogunyemi

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MY JOURNEY TO BECOMING A SURGEON Tamara Gall (DH 2001)

LIBRARY CHEMISTRY Dr Richard Jones SCIENCE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION Dr Rachel Pilkington THE WORLD OF MOTION CAPTURE Louisa Neill

AN INSPIRATIONAL SCIENTIST Louisa Neill

WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SCIENCE Dr Rachel Pilkington AN INTERVIEW WITH EMMA CLIFTON-BROWN (DH 2002)

POPPY MASPERO (HOSKINS DH 2001)

SARA ENGLISH (SHERIDAN DH 1997)

MY FAVOURITE TREE Aleksandra Cork CENTRE OF GRAVITY Mr Richard Smith CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

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MAKING A RAINBOW WITH SKITTLES

MICRO-ORGANISMS IN THE KITCHEN

WORDSEARCH

SHOULD WE MAKE ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE HUMAN GENOMES? Zi Xin (Sunnie) Wei DH DISCUSSION WITH MISS FOOTE, TEACHER OF CHEMISTRY Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong

36 38 39 40 41 42

MATHS AND THE SIMPSONS Cléo Durtertre-Delaunay

44 46

AERODYNAMICS OF PLANES Nga Man Cheng

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HISTORY OF THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE Cheuk-Yi (Cherie) Lau

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FERMAT’S LAST THEOREM Maria Taraban

CARLO ROVELLI Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong

COMPUTER SCIENTISTS Mrs Siobhan McClure

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FIONA MCNEILL (DH 1993)

PROFILE ON DR LOUISE NATRAJAN Dr Rachel Pilkington THE FORGOTTEN ORGAN OF YOUR GUT MICROBIOME Phoebe Whiting

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITIONS IN LOCKDOWN Dr Rachel Pilkington

SOCIAL MEDIA ALGORITHMS: PERSONALISATION Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong

KEY Pupil contributor

Staff contributor

Alumnae contributor

Other

BLUE ZONES Freya Illingworth, LVI

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Is there a secret to living forever?

This question which has fascinated mankind since the beginning of time is becoming even more compelling in today’s wellbeingfocused world.

In the early 2000s, Dan Buettner (an American adventurer, educator and writer) and his team of researchers began an investigation into the environments inhabited by the highest proportions of centenarian residents. Working with National Geographic magazine in 2005, he published their initial findings in an article titled, ‘The secrets of long life’. Buettner went on to produce two New York Times bestsellers exploring the lessons for living longer based on his concept of blue zones.

More recently, the team has attempted to fabricate longevity in contemporary America utilising the identified lifestyle factors of these health hotspots in experimental blue zones.

Buettner identified five regions with the highest percentage of centenarian inhabitants and has since been able to associate them with nine commonalities in psychosocial and dietary habits. They coined the regions the blue zones (after the blue circles he marked on a world map).

The longevity hotspots included Icaria in Greece, Okinawa in southern Japan, Loma Linda in California, the Barbadian region of Sardinia in Italy, and the Nicola peninsula of Costa Rica.

Were these 100 year olds merely winners of a genetic lottery? Or did their lifestyles really have the power to slow the effects of time? Interestingly, the Danish Twin Study concluded genetics probably only account for 20-30% of longevity. Therefore, environmental influences, including diet and lifestyle play a huge role in determining our life span.

As geographically or historically isolated regions, each of the zones was found to maintain a traditional way of life. Nine denominators were common to all of them: ● Moderate physical exercise incorporated naturally into daily activities ● Living with a sense of daily purpose

● A strong support system and interdependence within the community ● Locally sourced and predominantly plant-based diet ● Moderate alcohol consumption ● Low calorie diets ● Connection to spirituality or religion ● Reduced stress levels These unifying principles all contribute to substantial health benefits and prevent the contraction of a range of modern day diseases present in the developed world. Heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, depression and anxiety are all health issues which afflict a shocking majority of the world’s population but appear to be virtually non-existent in Buettner’s blue zones.

Moderate alcohol consumption is a factor that many may be pleased will contribute to a longer life! Studies have shown that drinking one to two alcoholic drinks per day can significantly reduce mortality, particularly from heart disease, and aid the maintenance of cognitive abilities in old age.

This beneficial effect may depend on the type of alcohol. Red wine, specifically Sardinian Cannonau, which is made from Grenache grapes has been found to lower cholesterol due to its high concentrations of polyphenols and flavonoids (a type of antioxidant).

Perhaps the cocktail of the drink’s contents and the way in which it is enjoyed is how Sardinians reap wine’s benefits. The psychosocial habits associated with consumption are also what gives the beverage its longevity inducing properties. Residents of the Sardinian blue zones enjoy Cannonau in the company of members of their community. The mortality risk for people who find themselves socially isolated is equal to that caused by obesity and physical inactivity.

In fact, having close relationships increases life span at a rate equal to that of quitting smoking. The cortisolreducing effects of social interactions decrease inflammation in the body which in turn lowers blood pressure and protects against cancer, heart disease

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The results of the blue zones study illustrate the importance of spirituality in reaching 100.

Inhabitants of the Adventist Blue Zone community in Loma Linda, California live between four and fourteen years longer than their American counterparts. Increased optimism and gratitude, cultivated through daily prayers, have both been connected to reduced levels of dementia.

The value of community which is enforced by congregational religious practices (regardless of denomination) also aligns itself with the Japanese concept of a ‘moai’. This is best described as a lifelong relationship formed in childhood, to provide support from social, financial, health or spiritual interests. Traditionally, groups of about five young children were paired together and it’s then that they made a commitment to each other for life. Social connectedness leads to a sense of responsibility for others which in itself translates into taking better care of oneself and avoiding life threatening situations to remain available to support others.

SO HOW CAN WE IMPLEMENT THE LESSONS TAUGHT BY THE BLUE ZONES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY?

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and various chronic illnesses. Additionally, the release of the neurotransmitter, serotonin can powerfully benefit immunity and increase life satisfaction – another factor for longevity. Of course, alcohol is not the only centenarian drink of choice! Nicoyans in Costa Rica experience lower rates of heart disease thanks to the high calcium content in the local river.

There is quite literally something in the water there!

Research suggests that a strong mechanism behind the longevity and reduction of chronic disease in blue zone residents is the anti-inflammatory benefits of their dietary choices. With a predominantly vegetable-centric diet, typically rich in legumes – which provide the microbiome enhancing benefits of fibre and antioxidants – healthy fats and limited consumption of red meat, these populations maintain moderation and balance. Okinawans use the ‘hara hachi bu principle’ – a Confucian-inspired adage said before mealtimes to remind oneself to stop eating at 80% fullness. The practice of self sufficiency and growing fresh produce also contributes to the endurance of residents of this Japanese archipelago. Naturally nudging them into daily physical activity, gardening, in combination with walking is a source of stress reduction and encourages the daily absorption of vitamin D. Mugwort, ginger and turmeric are all staples of an Okinawan garden, each with their own medicinal benefits. Besides physical benefits, these habits also have positive psychological consequences. Older Okinawans can readily articulate the reason they get up in the morning – terming this their ‘ikigai’ and Costa Rican centenarians all have a ‘plan de vida’. Purpose-imbued lives gives them clear roles of responsibility within society and have been shown to increase levels of DHEA – a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that many believe to be the miracle ‘longevity hormone’. In Okinawa there is no word for retirement!

In 2009, Buettner partnered with the United Health Foundation to apply the nine blue zone principles to the town of Albert Lea, Minnesota. It worked.

After just one year, participants added an estimated 2.9 years to their average lifespan and healthcare claims for city workers dropped 49 percent. A bike and pedestrian plan provided more opportunity for physical activity and the replacement of stop signs with traffic lights to maintain a smooth traffic flow was shown to reduce stress-induced cortisol levels.

Local supermarkets implemented promotions on fresh produce and school meals were also altered to provide healthier options. The programme included creating spaces for members of the community to gather socially, pavements were even widened (so that walking could become a shared activity).

Albert Lea has continued on as a Blue Zones Project community addressing built environment, tobacco policy and citizen engagement and implements such changes today.

Despite its merits, the blue zones theory has received its fair share of controversy. Damning hypotheses behind the high rate of centenarians in these regions include the absence of birth certificates and general bureaucratic errors leading to an inflation of numbers. In 2010, an investigation into Japanese records found that 238,00 people older than 100 years of age were actually missing or dead, leaving just 40,400 with known addresses.

Another study uncovered multiple incidences of fraud in order to claim a pension. Although these allegations appear to undermine the concept of a lifestyle for longevity, they truly highlight a common problem in science: when looking at incredibly rare populations or conditions, data can easily become skewed. All in all, however, there is no doubt in the validity and benefits of emulating a blue zone lifestyle but even so, our chances of surpassing the age of 100 are pretty slim!

ART UNDER THE

MICROSCOPE Dr Rachel Pilkington, Deputy Head of Science i/c STEM and Medicine

On 27 January, Downe House unplugged.

The students spent their day off timetable, away from the screen and working on a project of their choice.

1 Science and Art may not seem like the most obvious combination, but the closer you look the more similarities you will find. We invited the girls to take inspiration from micrographs and create a piece of art inspired by cells. Thanks to everyone who submitted a piece, they were all brilliant and will all go on display in the Murray Centre in the Summer term. Do keep them coming as we would love to have more!

Some of the pieces are included here if you want a bit of inspiration!

1. In this drawing, I combined different components of microscopic images of cells, including DNA, RNA strands, plant cells, and the epidermis. Some artistic elements were also added to it, based on what I think the inner cells should look like.

The beauty of nature—they are complex but very coordinative to perform certain functions.

Sunnie, LVI

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2. This bright and beautiful drawing is a cross section of a piece of grass, and was chosen thanks to the uncanny resemblance to smiley faces; the ‘eyes’ are actually the xylem vessels. Xylem vessels are responsible for transporting water and minerals from the roots of a plant, up to the stem and leaves.

Madhulika, LVI 3. We decided to create a painting based on some onion cells, something many of the girls will have seen when learning about cells in Biology.

This image can be achieved using a light microscope. The beautiful purple colour is achieved thanks to the stain used on the slide, the sample itself is colourless.

Nampetch, UVI and Pailin, LV

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4. This is a painting of a coccolithophore under an electron microscope. Electron microscopes are much more powerful than the light microscopes we use at School. A coccolithophore is a single-celled plantlike organism that is classified as a species of phytoplankton. They are spherical cells of around 5-100 micrometres across, enclosed by plates of calcium carbonate called coccoliths. They are the leading producers of the ocean’s calcium carbonate, making them play a primary role in the global carbon cycle.

Kelly, UVI

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GENETIC TESTING Hao Yan (Helena)Yuan and Yuchen (Rebecca) Gao, UIV

As modern science and medicine progress into a new era of highly efficient and accurate computers and machines, the role of genetic testing becomes indispensable in the ever-challenging fields of diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders.

WHAT IS GENETIC TESTING?

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Every cell in the human body contains individual units called genes. Genes are basically instructions that tell us what properties the cell has. Both genetic testing and genome sequencing look for changes, called mutations or variants, in the DNA. There are many different types including somatic mutation or germline mutation. A somatic mutation happens after fertilization; it can happen spontaneously or be caused by tobacco smoke, radiation or hazardous chemicals. A germline mutation is an inherited mutation from the person’s parents.

Genetic testing is the process of identifying mutations from cells. Scientists extract a sample of blood, saliva, tissue, etc from the patient and a high frequency soundwave is used to break the DNA into smaller structures of 600 sequences long.

The sample is observed under a special machine called the sequencer, which allows medical experts to identify variants that may be potentially dangerous and analyse what any mutation may be responsible for.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF DNA SCREENING? Genetic testing plays a vital role in many different ways; determining the risks of diseases; determining whether a disease is passed down through the family or developed by the individual; testing for ‘hidden’ mutations, that have not shown their effects on the present generation but may affect their offspring, when donating sperm cells; deciding the method of treatment, such as the body’s response to certain powerful drugs or demanding treatments like chemotherapy.

Here are some specific purposes:

Diagnostic testing – testing to give a diagnosis when symptoms have already appeared.

Pre-symptomatic and predictive testing – testing for potential genetic diseases that are commonly found in the family.

Carrier testing – testing to determine whether the next generation are at high risk of getting a disease the parents or grandparents have.

Pharmacogenetics – If you have a particular health condition or disease, this type of genetic testing may help determine what medication and dosage will be most effective and beneficial for you.

Prenatal testing – genetic testing done during pregnancy to see whether the foetus has any abnormalities.

Newborn screening – newborns being tested for certain genetic and metabolic abnormalities that cause specific conditions. This type of genetic testing is important because if results show there is a mutation which causes a genetic disease, care and treatment can begin right away.

Preimplantation testing – this test may be used when you attempt to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization. The embryos are screened for genetic abnormalities before being implanted in the uterus.

THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF GENETIC TESTING Generally, genetic tests have very little physical risk; blood and cheek swab tests for instance have almost no risk. However, prenatal testing such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus tend to carry more risk. Amniocentesis involves inserting a thin hollow needle through the abdominal wall into the uterus to collect amniotic fluids. Chorionic villus involves collecting a tissue sample from the placenta. Both have a small risk of pregnancy loss or miscarriage.

The benefits for most people outweigh the risks as genetic testing can give the patient a sense of relief from uncertainty. Genetic testing can reduce the risk of an individual developing cancer. For example, the possibility of getting liver cancer if you are unaware of the fact that you are fructose intolerant and are consuming a lot of fruits.

In short, an in-depth knowledge about your genetic condition and earlier detection increases the chance of successful outcomes.

Genetic research is an ever-expanding field of medicine and with new experiments and studies being conducted every day, there are great hopes that one day cures for ‘immedicable’ diseases will be found.

SUSTAINABILITY AND BIODIVERSITY AT DOWNE HOUSE Mrs Rachel Phillips-Morgan, Teacher of History and Politics, Environmental Awareness Co-ordinator

In my role as Environmental Awareness Co-ordinator, I work with students and staff to consider ways that we can reduce our harmful environmental footprint and behave in a more sustainable way.

WHAT IS DOWNE HOUSE’S APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY AND BIODIVERSITY? The positive messages that we are keen to promote at Downe House is that there is still time to turn things around, if we start acting now. As well as this, we are focusing on what changes we can make in our own community, as whilst there are clearly huge global environmental problems facing us, lots of small changes can add up to make big differences.

Therefore, we are looking at what we can do in our immediate community to have a more positive environmental impact and sustainable approach and instil more positive habits in our community that our students can carry with them into the future.

HOW DID DOWNE HOUSE START THEIR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY? We first established a Student Eco Committee, containing one representative from each year group,

voted for by their peers. We meet roughly once a month to discuss and implement ideas to help make our school more sustainable and to raise awareness about environmental issues. In one of our first meetings, the Eco Committee voted to change their name to the ‘DECOs’, which stands for the Downe House Eco Committee. The DECOs have been following the Eco Schools step-by-step guide to becoming a more sustainable school and we have an online newsletter on the School website which keeps members of our community updated about key events and actions.

Alongside the DECOs, a Staff Eco Committee was also established, which allows different members of the School community to come together from departments across the School to look at how we can support students with their eco agenda and also put forward their own ideas about positive changes they would like to see around the School.

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WHAT SUSTAINABLE MEASURES HAVE WE INTRODUCED SO FAR? I am delighted to say that the DECOs and Staff Eco Committee have been hugely supported by the Downe House community and as a result we have managed to achieve the following:

RECYCLING Recycling has been expanded to include crisp packets, confectionery wrappers and glass.

Clearer signage has been placed on all recycling bins in departments to encourage students to recycle clean and dry cardboard, glass, cans and paper.

We have eliminated the use of single-use plastic bottles on all School trips and instead use water containers to refill reusable bottles. This has saved an average of 720 plastic bottles being wasted each week!

Some boarding houses are starting to offer recycling for beauty product packaging.

EVENTS

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We have run events and talks, including taking part in Microsoft Education’s annual Global Learning Connection conference, where we had the privilege of hearing about the experience of Pulitzer Center journalist Elham Shabahat and her first-hand experiences of the impact of climate change around the world. Fashion Consultant, Ginnie ChadwyckHealey also delivered a fascinating assembly in December last year, explaining how we can make more sustainable fashion purchases.

We have run Eco-bricks workshops with the Lower School and Upper School. Read more about Eco bricks here https://www.ecobricks.org/ The DECOs were invited to take part in the British Standards Institution’s Horizon Scanning Day in London and present to board members about key environmental concerns facing young people today.

To celebrate National Tree Week, students helped the Estates team plant shrubs around the School in 2019, and last year took part in a woodland walk, as well as collecting and planting acorns in the School greenhouse, recycling staff soup pots to use as plant pots.

The DECOs team have delivered multiple assemblies on a range of important issues, including cobalt mining, palm oil and the problems with fast fashion.

To celebrate World Environment Day on 5 June 2020, the Downe House community was encouraged to do something at home that would encourage biodiversity. We had members of staff and students planting wildflower seed, building bug houses and composting.

We participated in Waste Free fortnight towards the end of the Michaelmas term, which is a campaign that aims to raise awareness about energy consumption and encourage students and staff to switch off all lights and appliances when not in use.

GARDENING CLUB Under the careful direction of Ms Vickery, Downe House now has a fully-fledged gardening club.

The club has already grown its first crop of potatoes and is working through the Royal Horticultural Society levels. Watch this space as more seeds are delivered to the School this spring in the hope of developing the vegetable patch even further.

CATERING We trialled Meat Free Mondays in the Lent term of 2019 and created a survey at the end of the term to gauge student feedback. Please have a look at our DECOs newsletter which outlines the reasons why a reduction in meat consumption is good for the environment: https://www.downehouse.net/ decos-newsletter/ We have worked closely with the Catering Department and were delighted they decided to make the switch to free range eggs!

Staff were asked to demonstrate where their schemes of work contained links to environmental issues, and this has been brought together in the DECOs newsletter. From English to Drama, Chemistry to Art, it’s clear that there is a wide range of opportunities to discuss the environment in lessons.

ECO-SCHOOLS Due to the hard work of the DECOs and Staff Eco Committee, and as a result of completing an environmental audit and generating and implementing an action plan, we have achieved the Bronze, Silver and Green Awards! Thank you to the whole School community for working so hard and getting involved!

WHAT NEXT?

Food waste caddies have been distributed to residential staff which allow them to recycle their food waste, which will be collected and use to create biogas.

We are very proud of our achievements so far, but this is certainly a journey rather than an event.

There is lots more that we can do. Downe House approaches environmental matters with hope – we know that when we work together towards a common goal, positive changes follow. We will keep championing the environment and working towards a more sustainable future in which biodiversity thrives.

Due to Covid-19, staff have been having take-away lunches of soup and sandwiches. The DECOs have encouraged staff to champion ‘Waste Free lunches’ and recycle all elements of their waste, as well as bring in their own coffee cup, water bottles and reusable bag;

Please keep up to date with the DECOs news at our online newsletter https://www.downehouse. net/decos-newsletter/, and should you have any ideas about how Downe House could become more sustainable, please do contact myself or a member of the DECOs. We would be thrilled to hear from you.

STAFF

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CLOAKING DEVICES AND METAMATERIALS

Tumai Ogunyemi, LVI

Cloaking devices and invisibility have always been a common theme in fantasy works, for example Harry Potter and Star Trek, however physicists are now beginning to believe that the production of devices with these properties may actually be viable. Invisibility is defined as ‘the state of an object that cannot be seen’. An object in this state is said to be invisible (literally, ‘not visible’). For something to appear to be invisible, the eye must not be able to detect it.

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When you look at something, the light enters your eye from the object you are viewing and interacts with the rods and cones in your eye resulting in an electrical impulse sent to your brain which then processes the image so that you perceive the object. Therefore, for something to appear invisible, the light from the object needs to not enter your eyes and not get absorbed by the object. This can be done in several ways by bending the light around the object rather than the object reflecting the light or transmitting all the light through the object with no scattering. The best way to ‘cloak’ an object is to bend the light around the object in such way that you see what is directly behind the object without seeing the object in front of you, rendering it ‘invisible’ to your eye.

Cloaking devices are effectively electromagnetic cloaks, where only certain electromagnetic radiations can detect the object depending on their wavelength. The invisibility aspect commonly talked about in sci fi novels applies to the electromagnetic cloaking that is working in the visible wavelength of the spectrum. To cloak an object, scientists have developed metamaterials which can bend light and other electromagnetic radiations around an object which makes it appear as if it is not there. Objects become harder to cloak, the larger they are and the higher their frequency/shorter their wavelength.

That is why it has taken scientists so long to develop technology even close to cloaking a human to visible light as it has a much shorter wavelength of roughly 10^-7m compared to radio waves, which have wavelengths greater than 10^-1 m. Due to this, cloaking military radars to radio waves has been possible for decades.

Metamaterials are artificially engineered materials that possess unnatural electromagnetic properties.

In recent decades, scientists have been investigating how light interacts with metamaterials and this has resulted in them being able to curve and bend the path of light in ways that are impossible with natural materials. The properties of these metamaterials are formed from the materials they are composed of and therefore there is freedom in designing a metamaterial for a particular

electromagnetic function. In order to obtain a particular electromagnetic property in a material at a certain wavelength, the material needs to appear at a similar nature at the scale of this wavelength.

This means that the material’s wavelength needs to be much larger than the size of its molecules and the distance between them. Therefore when trying to cloak visible light for an object, its high frequency means the size of the engineered molecules in the metamaterial need to be in the order of 10^-6m or smaller, making it very hard to actually produce and has not been done until recent years.

Metamaterials that were designed and built for cloaking were first developed by a team from the California Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich in Switzerland in 2010. The team used quantum physics, typically used in relation to much smaller subatomic particles, but manipulated to a macro scale to predict the behaviour of micro and nano particles. They discovered that it would be possible to design a vast variety of metamaterials such as waveguides and acoustic lenses by making a group of particles represent each repeating structure.

When a progressive wave hits it, each repeating structure can potentially deform in different ways to the others. The way in which it deforms is decided by the geometry, the structure, by how the structures are connected and by how the other structures react around them. The team from California Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich was able to interpret how these systems would react by modelling them as a system of masses and springs. This led to them being able to predict how these systems would work in metamaterials once engineered.

In 2010, the team from the California Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich were able to produce a 10cm by 10cm silicon wafer that when exposed to ultrasound acted as a waveguide. It is composed of 100 tiny plates connected via thin beams to each other. The corner plates would vibrate whilst the rest of the wafer remained still despite being connected. Waveguides are commonly used in communication networks and are significant as they direct electromagnetic waves in a certain direction, this is the principle of using metamaterials to bend light in the chosen direction of away from and around the object a person is trying to cloak. By 2018, UK and German scientists had developed a small device which caused small objects to become invisible to near-infrared radiation and worked in three dimensions. Its creators claim there is nothing stopping them from scaling up their invention to hide larger objects from visible light. Furthermore, researchers at Boston University and Tufts

RECOMMENDED READING

University claim they can invent an invisibility cloak that functions within the terahertz band (radiation between infrared and radio wavelengths) but could be modified to work with visible light as well.

The furthest advancement to achieving an invisibility cloak is the Canadian camouflage company, Hyperstealth Biotechnology with their Quantum Stealth material. This paper-thin technology was designed in order to obscure the positions of ground troops and heavy artillery. The technology has recently been patented and makes objects near to invisible to the eye as well as concealing the objects from infrared and ultraviolet imagers.

Quantum Stealth is created using a lenticular lens (a corrugated sheet where each ridge is made of a convex lens). When multiple lenticular sheets with varying lens distribution are layered in a particular way, this enables them to refract light in a range of different angles to create ‘dead spots’ where light can no longer pass through. This hides the object in that dead spot and shows what is behind it instead.

Not only are the exciting advancements in cloaking promising in the defence sector as shown by Quantum Stealth and the goal of the Hyper Stealth company, but developing research shows that metamaterials also have the capability to extend further than just invisibility. For example, they could also play a part in neurosurgery. In 2014, a study looking at graphene-based metamaterials found they could control and enhance neuro regeneration with electric field stimulation and make innovative advancements from tumour treatment to spinal injuries. At this stage however, the possibilities are all theoretical and have not been proven.

Additionally, metamaterials may allow subwavelength acoustic absorbers to be formed, essentially acoustic invisibility. They allow the possibility of 0 refractive sound index, allowing scientists to control acoustic sounds and patterns at sub-wavelength scales. Aviation sectors could use this in the future to look into how metamaterials could hypothetically reduce noise pollution in communities. Although again this is still in the theoretical stages.

As you can see, metamaterials theoretically have a wide variety of possibilities that could enhance and improve life and science in numerous ways.

Discoveries have been accelerating in recent years as scientists try and incorporate new findings into their studies although it is important to remember all these theories and hypothesis are still very young, however it is exciting to see what the future may bring.

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13 1 Piot is the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He writes about his work at the forefront of the discovery of the Ebola Virus.

2 A fascinating read looking at materials that we rely on in our everyday life and the science and creativity behind them.

3 Stories of the science behind the little things we observe every day and the science behind them.

4 Funny and Insightful stories from a junior doctor’s time working in an NHS hospital.

5 Explore the most absurd reaches of the possible with the help of infographics and fun illustrations. Full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.

Helps us understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day.

6 We discussed this in the Downe House Scholars’ book club with Eton College in November. Fascinating book with lots of facts and myth busting!

7 Carlo Rovelli’s excellent bestselling book, for those of us aspiring to understand more about physics.

8 Fascinating book containing some of life’s biggest questions, broken down into small easy to understand chapters.

9 The opening few chapters of this book provide some interesting, and often concerning, views about the future…

10 What with so many missions to Mars, this book should be on your to-read list! There are also some shows available on iPlayer for the next few months that you might enjoy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p07922lr/the-planets

LIBRARY CHEMISTRY Dr Richard Jones, Teacher of Chemistry

Library chemistry makes use of the huge variety Drug discovery is a very long and complex process. The normal start point is to select a disease of interest. This decision is based not only on identifying an unmet need, but also on how well understood the disease is. Ideally the drug discovery team will understand which molecule in the body, known as the ‘target’, to affect in order to treat the disease and have an idea of what sorts of properties the new drug molecule will need to produce the desired effect.

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One of the biggest limiting factors to drug discovery before the 1990s was the speed that chemical compounds could be screened against possible drug targets; where ‘screening’ is the process of testing whether a chemical affects your target.

Technology limitations meant that very little of the process was automated, and so scientists carried out screening reactions manually. Even under ideal conditions and with lots of scientists working together, the number of compounds that could be screened this way was low. With the development of reliable robotics and high-throughput screening (HTS) techniques in the late 1980s, drug discovery teams were in a position in the early 1990s of being able to screen thousands of potential drug compounds against their targets every week. Unfortunately, this highlighted a new problem for companies working in this field, the lack of suitable chemical compounds to test in the new high-throughput screens.

The solution to this problem came with the development of combinatorial chemistry techniques, allowing access to thousands of compounds based around a common theme, what came to be known as ‘libraries’ of compounds. It was against this background that I was employed in my first job after eight years at different universities. Library chemistry requires a very different skillset than I was used to from my doctoral work; I was accustomed to working on one or two reactions at a time, three at once meant I was having a really good day! My introduction to library chemistry soon disabused me of my previous benchmark.

To successfully produce a library of thousands of compounds, it is necessary to carry out many more reactions. We used to count on a success rate of approximately 60%, meaning for every 1200 compounds, a library produced we would need to carry out at least 2000 simultaneous reactions. Of course, you cannot just put on 2000 different reactions and hope that 60% of them work, there is a lot of preparation and planning that is needed first. The first step when planning a library of compounds is design. Depending on the intended purpose for the library, the compounds will require different properties, and these need to be considered when planning the library.

Part of this stage is also planning the types of chemical reaction that will be used to access the required compounds.

After the planning stage comes ‘validation’, which is checking

of skills that a Chemistry qualification gives you that the planned chemistry can produce the required number of compounds in the desired purity. During the validation stage, any problems with the planned chemistry are identified and troubleshooted; it is also at this point that any purification needs are determined and trialled. At the end of the validation stage, you should be in position to start producing your library, and if the targeted library is small (400-500 compounds is considered small!) then you would normally proceed with ‘production’, which is making the compound library. For larger numbers of compounds, it is common to carry out a ‘preproduction’ first, normally targeting 10% of the total number. This pre-production serves to test the chemistry and purification methods on a wider subset of compounds than is possible in the validation stage and identify any final problems that need to be solved before the final library is produced.

With the library of compounds produced, it was then necessary to analyse them all to confirm that the correct compounds had been made, and in the required purity for the intended purpose.

Typically compounds going forward for high-throughput screening in drug discovery programmes would need to be at least 85% pure to avoid having too many false positive hits showing up. From start to finish, a library would typically take a team of five chemists six to ten weeks to produce.

Library chemistry makes use of the huge variety of skills that a Chemistry qualification gives you, not just knowledge of Chemistry itself, but also the strong organisation and numeracy skills that studying Chemistry at an advanced level teaches you.

One of the problems of combinatorial libraries is that all the compounds made tend to be very similar, which leads to a very narrow range of possible starting points for drug discovery teams. Modern drug discovery tends to rely less on the kinds of large libraries seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and more on smaller targeted libraries that specifically focus on a desired set of properties or structural motif.

Improved computer technology also makes it possible to carry out virtual screens of compounds and identify specific groups of compounds to synthesise in the laboratory. Although the synthesis of large compound libraries is no longer common, there are still thousands of compounds that were made using these techniques in the collections of hundreds of pharmaceutical companies around the world. Library chemistry contributed, and undoubtedly still contributes, to the discovery of many new drug compounds over the last thirty years and as such is very deserving of recognition for the importance of libraries in drug discovery.

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SCIENCE PHOTOGRAPHY

COMPETITION Dr Rachel Pilkington, Deputy Head of Science, i/c STEM and Medicine In January we launched a Science Photography competition and had some stunning entries. I am delighted to announce that Gracie N (Remove) is the winner of the Lower School category, with her photographs showing her science experiment, and Lottie (Lower Sixth) wins in the Upper School & Sixth Form category.

LOWER SCHOOL WINNER Gracie, Remove

UPPER SCHOOL WINNER Lottie, LVI

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Gabi, Remove

Thea, LVI

Rebecca, UVI

Sasha, UVI

Madhulika, LVI

Cassie, LVI

Alice, LV

Heloise, LVI

Sasha, Remove

THE WORLD OF MOTION CAPTURE

coding and how to use animation software in order to correctly map the ‘virtual skeleton’ onto the desired character and manage their interactions.

This requires maths and technology skills.

Louisa Neill, UV

Motion capture is comprised of two systems that work together to produce the final image. They are:

OPTICAL SYSTEMS

WHAT IS MOTION CAPTURE? Motion capture or ‘mocap’ for short, is a method of capturing an actor’s performance digitally so that it can be translated into the performance of a CG (Computer Generated) 3D character on screen. When the animation process also includes measuring facial expressions, it is often referred to as performance capture. It is most commonly used in video games and movies, such as the 2019 film, Alita: Battle Angel.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Actors wear a suit covered in markers that look like tiny ping-pong balls. These mark points on the actor’s body that are recorded by multiple cameras which together are able to map a 360 degree ‘virtual skeleton’ in real time. This is what the animators use as a base for the movie or game character as they can create a background behind, and features on top of the virtual skeleton. Actors may also wear headsets to record audio and facial expressions. This was used in Avatar and for Andy Serkis’ Golem in Lord of the Rings.

HOW DOES MOTION CAPTURE RELATE TO STEM? Motion capture is a key example of the incredible advances that have been made in film technology over the decades. The whole idea of motion capture or ‘rotoscoping’ as it was once known, was invented by animator, Max Fleischer in the early 1900s. Nowadays, motion capture would be useless without the engineers and animators who help to build the sets and bring the story to life. These workers typically need knowledge of bio-mechanics,

These systems use data from sensors on the actor’s body to triangulate their 3D position.

This is accomplished using two or more cameras with overlapping ranges. The positions can also be calculated by tracking surface features dynamically. This method can include a large number of actors, can be used underwater and can record facial expressions.

NON-OPTICAL SYSTEMS These systems are a group of three types of sensors: inertial, mechanical and magnetic.

Inertial sensors, including miniature gyroscopes, are solely for motion tracking. They do not record facial expressions. Mechanical sensors record the specific movements of the joints and allows the computer to transmit data about the specific position of the joints. This is done by placing a skeleton on the actor that repeats their movements.

Magnetic sensors send data to cameras that can detect movement by looking for magnetic distortion.

WHY IS MOTION CAPTURE IMPORTANT AND WHAT ARE ITS APPLICATIONS OUTSIDE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY? Motion capture is a key component of the film industry. Without it, characters in movies such as Avatar and Lord of the Rings would lack human-like emotion and would be far less realistic. Many video games as we know them would not exist. Motion capture also has valuable applications beyond the film industry, including providing valuable insight into adapting the world for the blind, humanising robots and making the construction world safer by analysing what causes ladder accidents and correcting workers’ positions.

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AN INSPIRATIONAL SCIENTIST Louisa Neill, UV

Professor Francesca Happé is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at King’s College London, and for the last 30 years she has been studying autism, especially in women and the elderly. She is also a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Medical Sciences and is a Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award winner, just to name a few of her achievements. However, her accolades are not what make her an inspirational scientist. She has helped to further the world’s understanding of autism using new techniques and has produced research about neglected groups affected by autism, such as women and girls.

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This article was written by Louisa for the Oxford Scientist Magazine Schools competition in the Michaelmas term.

The theme of the competition was ‘An inspirational scientist, alive now, whose work is helping us to advance into the future’. Well done to Louisa for being a runner up in this competition; a fantastic achievement!

After studying Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, Professor Happé developed an interest in autism while working as an assistant for cognitive researchers in London. She got involved in a study researching memory skills on autistic ‘savants’ – high-functioning individuals with incredible memory skills but low measured IQs. Although she originally found the field of autism too upsetting, Happé eventually developed a true passion for the subject, and visited autism special schools across the country.

For her PhD, she studied Theory of Mind and how autistic children interpret the world around them.

Theory of Mind refers to the ability of people to pick up subtle social cues or recognise when someone needs or does not know something, even if they have not said anything aloud. Happé’s work was on the small group of children that passed the test but still had difficulties. Her work allowed doctors and scientists to understand the true variety of autism symptoms, and how some seemingly normal individuals can still display autistic traits.

This ensures fewer people who still require help end up slipping through the cracks.

Eventually Francesca Happé began to use functional neuroimaging and new and more complex cognitive tests. She travelled to Boston in the USA to find out how some stroke patients displayed behaviours similar to that of autism, and who struggled with basic Theory of Mind tasks.

They did indeed discover that strokes affecting the right hemisphere caused autism-like symptoms, indicating that autism is very much a physical condition with a set group of brain networks controlling Theory of Mind. Connecting two fields like this is an original and advanced way of making new discoveries, and further proves why Happé is such a forward-thinking, innovative scientist.

She also used this technique to discover what affect genetics had on autism and to what extent it was hereditary. Autism did in fact turn out to be at least partially hereditary, with many parents and twins of neurotypical children displaying both an abnormally advanced eye for detail and autistic tendencies.

The study of women with autism is one of the most under-researched areas in science, but this is one of the deepest areas of research for Francesca Happé. It has been assumed for many years that women simply do not get autism as much as men, but in fact Happé has proven that the ratio is only around 3 males to every 1 female with autism, far smaller than previous estimates. Another reason discovered by Professor Happé as to why women slip through the cracks is that they tend to have a very different diagnostic profile than men and are therefore often misdiagnosed. For example, many girls have very typical interests for their age but will only be interested in a very specific area or are only gathering facts rather than experiencing their interest. Including women in cognitive studies and furthering knowledge about women’s cognitive health is modern and inspiring and part of a larger movement towards equality for women worldwide.

In the future, women will hopefully be diagnosed correctly and far earlier in life.

Professor Francesca Happé is an awe-inspiring woman who has been instrumental in advancing the world of autism and has been able to further women’s equality at the same time. She is helping society understand that those with autism are not to be stigmatised and is helping the health service better protect and understand the people they work with. She is truly incredible.

WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SCIENCE Dr Rachel Pilkington, Deputy Head of Science i/c STEM and Medicine

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On 11 February, we celebrated the achievements and potential of Women and Girls in Science. According to the UN, amazingly, less than 30% of researchers worldwide are women. You can read the full article here https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day.

But why is this? Some people believe that long standing gender bias and gender stereotyping are responsible. It may just be that the scientists we look at in education are often male – Einstein, Newton, Galileo, for instance. A study was done of US Biology school textbooks and it was found that for every one woman, seven men were featured, and black women were not featured at all. You can read the article here; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ science-environment-53158292 It may not be a surprise then, that if you ask a small child to draw a scientist, they often draw an old man with test tubes! Even in cartoons and TV shows, these stereotypes are often used, or worse, made fun of. In fact, recently there was a twitter storm around one of the BBC home learning lessons, as the introduction described typical physics teachers as grumpy, scary and smelling of cabbage. This could not be further from the truth, as we know!

Adam Rutherford (author of How to argue with

a racist) responded and made the point that these stereotypes are damaging and must be avoided.

On the whole, I do believe that this is in the process of changing, thank goodness! And we are seeing more and more amazing women breaking new ground in science and working in research positions.

In 2020, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

You can read the BBC’s write up here https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54432589 In the same year, Andrea Ghez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, becoming the fourth woman to win the prize in the field of Physics.

In celebration of this important day and the superb contributions that women have made, the Science Department distributed the Amazing Women in Science quiz, for families to take part in and learn about some of these impressive women. We also asked some of our students to write about a female in STEM that inspires them.

QUEENA’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS DIANNA COWERN Dianna Cowern is a popular science communicator. Working alongside PBS Digital Studio and other STEM-based content creators, she produces videos for the videosharing website YouTube and has recently reached the milestone of having √3 x 106 followers on her channel Physics Girl. She explains science in an engaging and fun way – using M&Ms to represent quarks – which makes this subject easily accessible even to non-science-inclined audiences. As a female physicist, she is a role-model to many aspiring young girls hoping to work in this male-dominated field. Queena recommends her video on reflections in spoons. https://youtu.be/p8oqDwb4zj8

FREYA’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS PARDIS SABETI Pardis Sabeti is an Iranian-American female geneticist who sequenced the Ebola genome from the most recent outbreak. Sabeti led a team responsible for sequencing the viral genome; an important task since it determined that the disease was indeed spreading between humans. She has worked tirelessly all over the world in countries including Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia facing huge challenges; many of her fellow researchers died during the outbreak. Sabeti works hard and plays hard and sings in a rock band when she is not in the lab. You can have a look at her group’s research pages here: https://www.sabetilab.org/

TUMAI’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS ANDREA GHEZ

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Andrea Ghez is an American astronomer and Professor at UCLA, who recently discovered the existence of a supermassive black hole, named Sagittarius A*.

Research surrounding it has helped to prove Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which is vital to and underpins the Laws of Physics. This discovery led to her being awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Physics. It was shared between her and her colleagues, Roger Penrose and Reinhard Genzel. This makes her the fourth woman ever to receive the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Hear her talking about her prize here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=VNUJ8Uknv-M

SOPHIA’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS EDITH CLARKE Born on 10 February 1883, Edith Clarke led an intriguing life as a ‘human computer’.

Edith Clarke was a renowned electrical engineer during the turn of the 20th Century and was the first female professor of electrical engineering in the country.

She worked as a ‘human computer’, which meant that she executed formidable mathematical calculations, brought to her by society. This was before modern-day computers and even the invention of calculators! Edith Clarke struggled to find work as a female engineer, instead of the stereotypical jobs allowed for women of her time but managed to fight her way to becoming the first professionally employed (female) electrical engineer in the United States in 1922. She led the way for women in STEM and engineering. Finally, in 2015, Edith Clarke was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which was more than deserved.

REBECCA’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS CHIEN-SHIUNG WU Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-American physicist, who pioneered the studies of nuclear physics. She is known for contributing to the Manhattan Project, a project that developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II. In her early childhood, she went to the Mingde Women’s Vocational Continuing School, which was founded by her father who recognized the importance of educating girls. After graduating from the University of Nanking, her mentor encouraged her to continue her education in the United States. With financial support from her uncle, Chien-Shiung took a ship to San Francisco. After teaching in multiple universities, Wu took a job at Columbia University in New York City, and joined the Manhattan Project. One of her other vital

contributions to science was confirming Enrico Fermi’s 1933 theory of beta decay (how radioactive atoms become more stable and less radioactive) and later she came up with the Wu Experiment that proved Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang’s theory on Parity Law (a nuclear physics law). Lee and Yang were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1957, while Wu did most of the practical experiments. She should be recognised and remembered for her work which laid the basis for nuclear powerplants, which are the second largest power source that supplies our daily usage of electricity.

JU-EUN’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS MERRITT MOORE Merritt Moore is an academic quantum physicist as well as a professional ballet dancer. Due to this varied but difficult career she gained recognition and respect and is a role model to many young women. Doctor Moore graduated from Harvard with Magna Cum Laude Honours in Physics. The Magna Cum Laude award is given to those exceptional students who have achieved academic excellence at university.

She then moved on to do a PhD at Oxford University in Atomic and Laser Physics researching the interaction of light and matter over an enormous range of conditions Currently, Doctor Moore is creating and researching the industrial robotic arm (a robotic arm powered by mechanics and usually programmable). Furthermore, in recognition of her scientific talent, she was awarded the Michael von Clemm Fellowship to pursue a Physics PhD at Oxford and the Forbes 30 Under 30 award.

She was one of the 12 selected candidates to undergo rigorous astronaut selection on the BBC show, Astronauts: Do you have what it takes? She was also invited to be the featured speaker at the Forbes Women’s Summit in New York, a panellist for the US Embassy ‘Princeton Physics Department Women in STEM’ Panel in London and is featured in the bestseller, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. Overall, she has worked hard to pursue both her dreams and is becoming an important person in STEM. She tells her story here for the BBC’s 100 Women Series. https://www.bbc.co.uk/ news/av/technology-55087627

HARRIET’S INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE IS ELIZABETH GARRETT ANDERSON Elizabeth Garett Anderson was a pioneering physician, political campaigner and the first English woman to qualify as a doctor. She was born in Whitechapel, East London on 9 June 1836, one of twelve and daughter of a pawnbroker. When she was young her father became a very successful businessman and was able to send all of his children to private boarding schools. She was extremely successful at school and top of her class in every subject. As a young woman of that era, she was expected to marry a wealthy man and have children. However, after meeting the feminists, Emily Davis and Elizabeth Blackwell, she was convinced to lead a life of her own rather than live off the income of another. She had decided that she wanted to be a doctor.

In the 19th Century, it was unheard of for women to become enrolled in a highly skilled career such as Medicine. She attempted many times to study at different medical schools but was always denied. However, when she applied at Middlesex Hospital as a nursing student she was accepted. She joined a course that was intended for male doctors and many of the other students complained about her.

The Society of Apothecaries did not specifically forbid women from taking their exams, so in 1865 she passed and became qualified to become a doctor. The Society then changed its rules to prevent any other woman entering the same way as she had done.

However, she remained determined to gain a medical degree so decided to teach herself French and go to the University of Paris where she successfully earned her degree. In 1872 Anderson founded a new hospital staffed entirely by women in London.

Anderson’s determination paved the way for many women. In 1876 an Act was passed permitting women to enter the medical profession. In 1883 Anderson was appointed the Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women which she helped found in 1874.

In 1902 Anderson retired to the Suffolk coast. In 1908 she became the Mayor of the town and the first female Mayor in England. She was a member of the Suffragette movement and her daughter Louisa was also a prominent Suffragette. She died on 17 December 1917.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH

EMMA CLIFTON-BROWN (DH 2002) During the Christmas break we were fortunate enough to interview Emma Clifton-Brown, the Head of Health and Value at the global pharmaceutical company, Pfizer.

Emma has been working at Pfizer for almost ten years and is a Downe House alumna, having left school in 2002. Now she works with a team of people responsible for demonstrating the value of medicines Pfizer produces in the UK and their cost effectiveness (how much value for money do they bring to the NHS?). In the day to day, this entails having strong analytic and numerical skills as well as good communication skills to convey complex topics to the rest of the company. She has also found her background in science and particularly Biology to be beneficial.

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Emma has always been interested in STEM and science from an early age especially Biology.

She says this passion was encouraged by the opportunities presented to her and the teachers at Downe – specifically Miss Mae. As a result, she went on to take Biology, Physics, Chemistry and French for A Level with an AS in Maths to land her a place at Durham University studying Molecular Zoology.

After her degree, Emma volunteered for a charity in Mozambique working in places where there was a conflict between people and conservation. During her placement, a cyclone hit Mozambique and she became fascinated by the healthcare response to the cyclone. This inspired Emma to be more involved in international development, particularly in health and so she completed a Master’s degree in Health Economics at LSE where her interest in UK healthcare gradually increased. After completing her Master’s, she went into consultancy as one of her first jobs and despite it not being the right fit for her, it did introduce her to the pharmaceutical world where she has been thriving ever since.

Since starting work at Pfizer, Emma has developed a very positive view of the pharmaceuticals industry, despite vowing to never work in this field in her early 20s. She has found it to be incredibly diverse and inclusive as most companies are global so additionally produces many travel opportunities.

For example, Pfizer are striving towards gender equality and so put all job advertisements through a gender decoder – intended to remove language and factors that could dissuade women from applying. This has proved to be successful with her leadership team being comprised entirely of women! She firmly believes that with the right working environment and some effort that all

companies should be attracting brilliant women into working in science and that there should be more female leaders in STEM organisations. Emma was also able to debunk a common misconception that STEM-related fields are overly work intensive, Pfizer, amongst other companies, is very big on flexible working and allows an active work life whilst also being able to raise a family. She has also been highly impressed with how ethical the industry is, ultimately the companies are businesses that need sustainable pricing of medicines so they can continue doing their job however their integrity is never compromised. Emma said that the most rewarding and satisfying part of her job comes when a new medicine is approved by the NHS and NICE and knowing that this will enable patients in need to receiving that new medicine, With the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine being approved in December 2020, Emma’s team is currently focused on the post-pandemic era and trying to appropriately value the vaccine. The creation of the vaccine was controlled by a very tightly managed group of people so her team was not involved in the actual creation but rather the economic benefit to governments of vaccinations and why they should be supporting mass vaccination.

When asked if she had any advice for students potentially going into STEM, Emma suggested that research, internships and courses are a great way to explore what interests you and broadens your horizons. She explained that her younger self had not known much about the pharmaceutical industry but much later she has come to realise all the different sectors there are available – from research and medical roles to more social and commercial opportunities. She also warned against rushing into a job immediately if in the fortunate position to not need to, and rather to take time to explore and find the right pace and setting in which you will thrive.

She believes any STEM degree or science-related studies will provide a brilliant platform as they teach a logical approach to situations which is a vital skill for many professions. Although ultimately she encourages everyone to follow their heart, not be put off by anybody and to do what makes you happy.

MY JOURNEY TO BECOMING A SURGEON

TAMARA GALL (DH 2001) I left Downe House in 2001 with A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, General Studies (as well as AS Spanish). I went to study Medicine at the University of Edinburgh with the ambition of becoming a surgeon. Throughout medical school, whenever I was in theatre, I was fascinated and energised. My interest in both hepatopancreatico-biliary (HPB, liver and pancreas) and academic surgery was sparked after spending time with the Edinburgh HPB surgeons, writing a research paper for them and presenting this at a conference in Hong Kong. I graduated with a distinction in 2007 following a 1st class honours degree in Physiology. After my foundation years in London, I spent a year working as a trauma surgeon in South Africa. This was a fantastic eye-opening experience and reconfirmed my wish to be a surgeon after a brief dalliance with the idea of becoming a management consultant.

On a day-to-day basis, dealing with pus, blood and faeces seemed much more exciting than a business meeting about profit and revenue, and so I started surgical training in London. During this time, I completed a two-year research doctorate at Imperial College, investigating genetic, epigenetic and clinical prognostic factors for pancreatic cancer. I also developed an interest for surgical innovation and was involved in the development of new techniques for laparoscopic liver and pancreatic surgery.

I am passionate about minimally invasive surgery, in particular robotic surgery, and have been fortunate enough to work for one of the only, and certainly the most experienced, robotic HPB surgeons in the UK. I completed a robotic fellowship in 2019, to become the first UK surgeon to be specifically trained in HPB robotic surgery.

I am the robotic representative for the trainee committee for AUGIS (the Association of Upper Gastro Intestinal Surgery of GB and Ireland) and sit on the robotic and digital surgery committee for The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

The beauty of a robotic operation, the benefit to patients, and the scope for technological advancements in this area in the future is extremely exciting. I am now in my final year of surgical training, with 45 published peer-reviewed manuscripts to my name and having had the opportunity to present at conferences all over the world including Zurich, South Korea, Washington DC, Shanghai, Beijing, and, unfortunately, virtually in 2020. There is so much variety in medicine and science, and great job satisfaction, which I think becomes more and more important with time.

Surgery is definitely a career to consider.

WHO INSPIRED YOU? This is a great question and has me wondering about the defining moments in my life which brought me to where I am in my career now.

There is no one person who has inspired me but a combination of people throughout my life at home, Downe House, Edinburgh, and as a surgeon.

I often see an incredible attribute in someone, whether this is management skills, diplomacy, patient care, social skills or empathy, and this stays with me, inspiring me to be a better person. I feel incredibly privileged that, from a young age, what my family and being at Downe House taught me, was that you can do whatever you want to do with hard work, determination, and kindness.

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POPPY MASPERO (HOSKINS DH 2001)

I started my time at Downe House in UIV where I spent three years in Holcombe. Highlights of my time in Upper School include: Ending up in hospital a month into term after vaulting across the beds in the UIV dorms and slipping and catching my coccyx on the hard wooden bed frame (which is still there!).

House Drama! Holcombe won in my first year with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We used to perform the whole play back then and it spanned over the whole weekend.

Sport – as much of it as possible! I loved learning lax but spent most of my time playing netball and tennis and being persuaded to learn squash

by Mr Payne.

Netball tour to St Lucia at the end of my UV year – still brings back SO many happy memories!

I moved into Willis for LVI and then York for UVI. I studied Maths, Sport Science, Chemistry and General studies for A Level as well as taking Leiths.

I remember my A Level Chemistry lessons so well – even which seat I used to sit in in C1 and C2.

Mrs Wood taught me for GCSE and A Level and she had the neatest writing I have ever seen. I was terrified of her to start with but that wore off by A Level and she was a fantastic teacher. She definitely inspired me to continue with Chemistry at university despite the subject never coming

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SARA ENGLISH (SHERIDAN DH 1997) University: Newnham College, Cambridge This is a short biography to give you an insight into the career path of an old Downe House girl!

Having joined in the UIV, I spent three happy years in Tedworth before moving into the Sixth Form to study Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and General Studies (for enrichment!) at A Level. A STEM career was already firmly on the cards for me, and I drew on my love of designing and creating as well as the inspiration of the Young Enterprise scheme and CCF (at Bradfield College) to apply for a degree in engineering. The question was which part of the very diverse field of engineering? A couple of summer schools run by the Royal Academy of Engineering and WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering)

for Year 12 students helped me immensely, and I decided to study Aeronautical Engineering, securing offers from Cambridge, Imperial and Warwick.

Cambridge (Newnham College) was my first choice and I opted to defer my offer for a year in order to have a year in industry at BAe Systems (previously known as British Aerospace).

According to Mr Bayliss (previous Head of Oxbridge Applications), I think I was one of the first girls to be leaving Downe House with a company pension in her hand, and although I did have pangs of regret for not travelling the world like so many of my peers, I definitely had a foot well and truly on the career ladder. BAe Systems sponsored me throughout my undergraduate studies and I returned each summer to experience a different part of the business before

easy to me when I was at school. As cheesy at it sounds, it definitely confirmed for me that having confidence in a subject is all you need. I try and build that with girls in my classes now that I am in her shoes.

During my time in Sixth form I played first team netball, squash and tennis and so it seemed natural that I would seek out a university where I continue playing sport alongside my chosen degree. After a year’s travelling around the world, I took up my place at Loughborough University to study Chemistry and Sport Science. I had three of my happiest years at Loughborough and loved everything it offered me.

I had planned to take a year out after university to work and then return to study Sports Nutrition at Loughborough.

The job I took for that ‘year out’ was as a Chemistry teacher and Netball coach at Reeds School in Cobham. I loved this job far too much to drop it after a year and so I continued and completed my PGCE. The rest is history! I moved from Reeds to Cheltenham College to Wetherby Senior in London and then back to Downe House.

Beyond the classroom I still use my Leiths qualification and have cooked as part of jobs all round the world. I even made it to the final 20 of the Great British Bake off but fell at the final hurdle.

I still love my sport and have played regional netball since my time out of university.

Downe has changed so much in the time since I left but it is still the same happy school. I have loved being back in the same labs (they have not changed one bit!) and seeing the girls get excited about the same things that I loved when I was at school. It is amazing to see the same excuses being used for missing prep, being late to lessons, etc. Some things do not change!

joining their graduate scheme. It was on the graduate scheme that I got to see a bit more of the world (well, Europe) and I was soon working on big cross-nation projects that took me to Italy, France and Sweden!

Marrying a military man sadly meant that my time at BAe Systems had to come to an end due to his posting to a remote part of Yorkshire, and I hence changed my focus to motherhood and bringing up three young children. Although it was wonderful to have the time at home with my children, after five years of being a full-time mummy, I needed a new focus as well as considerably more stimulating conversation, and hence decided on a new career in teaching, starting with a PGCE at Cambridge (again!).

The rest, as they say, is history!!!

MY FAVOURITE TREE Aleksandra Cork, Remove

My favourite tree is definitely the Sycamore, I think it is the best tree because I have always loved the helicopters which fall down in Autumn. There are also many more reasons why this is the best tree; they are so massive, giving you lots of shade in the summer! This amazing tree symbolises strength, eternity, protection and divinity. It is very much a crime to cut down any tree, but if you do cut down Sycamore trees sustainably, you will find that they have amazing wood, hard and very difficult to split which is great for furniture! Sycamore wood is also great for musical instruments. There is also a medical point of view, Sycamore leaves are very good for bone pains, skin burns, epilepsy and skin disorders. Those are some of the reasons why Sycamore trees are so great. I am sure everyone will agree that the helicopters that fall down in Autumn are the most fun!

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CENTRE OF GRAVITY MAKE A TIGHTROPE WALKER AT HOME Mr Richard Smith, Teacher of Physics

Ever wondered why some tightrope walkers carry poles with them when they walk? It’s to help them with their centre of gravity (the point on an object where the whole weight of an object appears to act). A lower centre of gravity makes an object more stable.

You can make your own tightrope walker that will seemingly defy the laws of gravity by showing amazing powers of balance.

THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED ● Two forks ● Cork(s) or carrot ● Matchsticks or cocktail sticks ● String (or similar eg phone charger cable) ● Scissors and imagination!

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METHOD Make the body using the corks or carrot (other vegetables or fruit might work as well if they are firm enough) Cut the head of a matchstick off square and cut the other end at an angle. Stick the angled end into the cork/carrot

D OUL E W M H T E SO OS SMI MR E TO SE R VIDE S! N LOV URES O EATIO R T C C I P OUR OF Y

Stick the forks into the body on each side so the handles angle downwards Stretch the string across two points and then balance your creation on the tightrope you have made.

net

use.

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C R CRYPTIC O S S W O R D 1

2

3

4

5

Thanks to Miss Foote for putting this super science-themed cryptic crossword together!

ACROSS

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1. North-easterly pain results in avian behaviour (7) 7

5. Run with French water for temperature scale (4)

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7. Heavy weight gets to magnetic pole (3) 9 10

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8. Backward help bumped into the Queen on Circle line (8) 10. Muddled curia related to gold (5) 11. Macbeth might have identified himself as this type of gas (7)

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13. Set fire to headless brown coal (6)

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15. Muscle is metallic element with fungi (6) 18

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17. Normal type of selection (7) 18. Girl’s organic compound (5)

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20. Unit of power may question the time this(4-4) 22. Subatomic particle is endlessly tight (3) 23. Drug in French wine results in blood vessel (4)

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24. Insectivorous plants need natural light and early morning moisture (7)

DOWN 1. Chemical reactions are fool’s provisions (10) 2. Child with noble gas gets echo-sounder (5) 3. Colour changer caught in India on high point (9) 4. Mass from old school losing gas for drug (6) 5. Cook ore to get fish eggs (3) 6. Organic salt from top card on gallery (7) 9. Chap idly plays guitar around university to get solvents (10) 12. Ron rid the confused shape (9) 14. Anion from night workers pay scale on the radio (7) 16. Pieces of furniture get rid of TB to produce metals (6) 19. Small bird is about aliquot (5) 21. Drink container is element (3)

ANSWERS ON PAGE 51

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MAKING A RAINBOW WITH SKITTLES

MICROORGANISMS IN THE KITCHEN!

This quick and easy experiment allows you to investigate diffusion of coloured compounds that are in the coating of Skittles.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED ● One bag of Skittles ● Small sized round flat white plate ● Warm water All you need to do is lay the Skittles out around the edge of the plate (I tried to get them in an order but there wasn’t enough purple ones!) then gently pour the warm water into the middle of the plate until the Skittles are about half submerged and wait. It is important you keep it totally still!

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You will start to notice something within a few seconds! The longer you leave it the more the colours will diffuse. Will the colours remain separated? Have a go yourself.

Micro-organisms! What comes to mind when you hear the word micro-organisms? Maybe bacteria and fungi? Maybe their roles in causing illness and the spread of disease? But have you ever given much thought to the role micro-organisms play in food production? Take a look in your fridge and cupboards; what would not be there if we didn’t make use of these amazing micro-organisms?

Here we are just going to look at the role of yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an absolutely fascinating organism! S. cerevisiae, baker’s yeast, has been used for thousands of years to make beers and wines and breads. S. cerevisiae carries out fermentation, whereby ethanol and carbon dioxide are produced as sugars are fermented. The carbon dioxide produced causes bread to rise. In addition to its role in making some of our best loved foods, S. cerevisiae is also a widely used ‘model organism’, due to its cells being similar in structure to cells which form multicellular organisms. This has enabled scientists to investigate a range of biochemical and cellular process processes, and to study the pathology of common human diseases.

Picture taken from: Saccharomyces Cerevisiae – The Definitive Guide | Biology Dictionary Here are some recipes which require yeast which you might like to try! All recipes taken from BBC GoodFood.

Please could we ask that any students making these recipes, do so under the supervision of their parents/guardians. Potential allergens are NOT indicated in these recipes.

Simnel share ’n’ tear buns recipe Foccaccia rolls recipe Gruyère & onion tear & share recipe

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ANSWERS ON PAGE 51

SHOULD WE MAKE ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE HUMAN GENOMES? Zi Xin (Sunnie) Wei, LVI

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Imagine the future of technological humans, with precisely controlled technology like computer programs, genetic surgery that cannot be done manually, long life span, new senses, and the ability to tackle many incurable diseases.

GENETIC SCISSORS REWRITING THE CODE OF LIFE It may sound like science fiction, but if humans ever succeed with genome editing, it will no longer be a fantasy. And yet, there have been some remarkable observations on the tools in editing the code of DNAs. Eternal life, advanced humankind—all rooted in a snap of the human genome.

HOW? This is when the CRISPR-Cas9 technology comes into the play—a powerful tool to edit and reprogram the genome, a future tool to rewrite the code of life. Over the past years, biologists have been intrigued by the possibilities of using genetics to understand the function of genes. We need precise genetics that allows us to recognize sites, specifically DNA, of genomes of cells and organisms, to modify genes and their expression and this is what the CRISPR-Cas9 technology does.

A NATURALLY OCCURRING IMMUNE DEFENCE SYSTEM CARRIED BY BACTERIA The last 50 years have witnessed huge developments in the technology, all originating from research on bacteria and viruses. Similarly, the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system for genome editing was inspired by the identification of repeated genome structures present in bacteria and archaea. Back in 1987, Yoshizumi Ishino noted an unusual pattern array in the Escherichia coli genome. These repeated structures contained a sequence of 29 base pairs. According to this uncharacteristic trait, the term CRISPR was introduced, an abbreviation for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.

Viruses are everywhere. In the microscopic world, viruses are attacking the bacteria all the time. Most bacteria will die after the invasion of the virus due to the unfamiliar gene sequences inserted to the bacterium gene sequences; while some others do survive and become resistant. Those which survived from the invasion of foreign DNA were identified with repeated genome structures and the experiment revealed that resistant bacteria had acquired new spacer sequences, which matched sequences within the infecting phage. Therefore, in the same way that vaccines work, when viruses came along a second time, the resistant bacteria would be able to recognize the familiar sequences and therefore defend itself in an adaptive way

by cleaving. The CRISPR-Cas systems were widespread in prokaryotes and functioned as adaptive immune systems to combat invading bacteriophages and plasmids. The research carried out by Emmanuelle Charpentier and her colleagues had been focussing on this bacterium and exploring based on how bacteria interact with the environment ie human hosts, how they cause diseases, how they can adapt to their environment ie survive in the human host, and how the human host can defend itself against bacterial infections.

CRISPR-SYSTEM MECHANISM CRISPR-Cas is part of an ancient bacterial immune system that first detects and then cleaves the invading virus’ DNA. Let us shrink to the size of a molecular level and observe how this mechanism works when encountering the invading virus’ DNA. When millions of spider-like viruses are ‘crawling’ on the surface of a bacterium, they send their own identification marks, or the harmful DNA, into it. A bacterium would instinctively insert a piece of the virus DNA in the CRISPR section of their genome just like inserting a bookmark into one chapter section of a book called CRISPR, so this piece of information is noted and stored for future use. Between each viral DNA is a repeated sequence; just like inserting bookmarks in every three chapters following a certain periodic pattern.

This sequence is copied and gets infinitely large to make a long RNA molecule. Then there are two types of RNA produced by this bacterium: tracrRNA and CRISPR RNA which are of different shapes and functions. TracrRNA looks like a key in which it has a pre-translated sequence. It fits with the repeated section of CRISPR RNA like pieces of a puzzle. When they attach and form a complete puzzle, the scissor protein Cas9 also links to the complex. Thereafter, the tracrRNA acts as a GPS guide to direct the Cas9 proteins to the right location. The Cas9 enzyme is directed to target DNA by a guide RNA and produced a doublestranded break. The long molecule is then cleaved into smaller pieces by a protein called RNase III. The finished genetic scissors contain code from a single virus, the exotic insertion is being detected and therefore being dumped out of the environment. In the future, if the bacterium is reinfected by the same virus, the genetic scissors will immediately recognise and disarm the virus by cleaving it, just like the body’s second response.

But clearly, these bacteria do the job much more spontaneously than we do.

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THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANKIND

THE FUTURE OF HUMANKIND

RNA PROGRAMMABLE CRISPR-CAS9 SCISSORS

The application of the CRISPR-Cas9 system is a powerful and versatile tool in genome editing.

By introducing a vector encoding the Cas9 nuclease and an engineered single-guided RNA, scientists are now able to make precise single base pair changes or larger insertion. With the availability of genome sequences for a growing number of organisms, the technology allows researchers to explore these genomes to find out what genes do, move mutations that are associated with disease into systems where they can be studied and tested for treatment, or where they can be tested in combinations with other mutations. The technology has enabled not only in medical, public health but also in agricultural aspects by efficient targeting of the modification of crops and can be developed to treat and cure genetic diseases.

TracrRNA and CRISPR RNA work collaboratively and independently. Therefore, simplifying the duplex of RNA and fusing these two RNAs to have a single guide RNA is a vital, programmable element of the CRISPR-Cas system. As this brings simplicity for the design of the technology in which the mechanism is very sophisticated and versatile according to its ability of using two nucleus domains to cleave the DNA. The aim is to develop the CRISPR-Cas technology further into a tool that can perform modifications on the genome such as replacement of the correct mutation, introducing new mutations on DNA so it can allow to delete genes and certain sequences or to add new ones at the site of interest. It is also possible to adapt this technology into different cells, for example, in human cells, plant cells, organoids and modal organisms.

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED. Over time everything undergoes transformative change. Will there be a day when another species replaces humankind? Our survival will be threatened. We need to find new ways to survive and evolve, more intelligently. Now, everything that was thought to be impossible in the past has become a reality.

Imagine if someone wants to have a child that has infrared x-ray vision or dark hair? Right now for the most part these genetic bases of traits are unknown and therefore it is impossible to engineer someone with characteristic traits. With CRISPR Cas9 technology, scientists are able to figure out the functions of genes in humans. Programmable life and humankind are reachable and achievable in the far future by germline editing.

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REFERENCES [1][2] Nobel Prize(2020): The method for genome editing https://www. nobelprize.org/prizes/ chemistry/2020/pressrelease/ [3] Jennifer Newton (2020): CRISPR, Not just for gene editing Crispr, not just for gene editing | Opinion | Chemistry World [4] Philip Ball(2020): The ethical debate around CRISPR The ethical debate around Crispr | Opinion | Chemistry World [5] Claes Gustafsson(2020) Scientific Background of CRISPR technology, Nobel Prize, 7 October, p. 12

In principle scientists could make changes to the evolution of human beings. Taking control of our own genetic inheritance, discovering new ways of expanding our life spans, preventing certain fatal flaws and developing what was thought to be impossible in the past.

Genome editing relies on the existence of natural pathways for DNA repair and recombination.

By introducing modified genetic sequences as templates, it is possible to introduce defended genomic change such as base substitutions or insertions. DNA can be introduced into mice embryonic stem cells and recombine there with the matching sequence within the host genome to produce gene-modified animals. This method is powerful but very labour-intensive, since recombination events are rare and require a selectable marker, such as an antibiotic resistance gene or drought-resistant gene to be identified.

Recombination efficiency is enhanced if a double stranded break is introduced at the site of the desired recombination event, which led to a search for endonucleases that can be programmed to cleave DNA at locations of interest.

However, it requires careful thought before forging ahead. The gene editing technique has a bright future, but we should continue to interrogate how it is used. The CRISPR technique is for precise editing of genomes which enables specific genes or DNA sequences to be accurately targeted and snipped out or replaced. The power of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology also raises serious ethical and societal issues, such as how far we should go with the capability for making precise changes to the human genome? Should genome engineering be restricted to the avoidance of genetic disease? Might it be justified for genetic enhancement? How can we distinguish one from the other? Where are the limits on the possible or the permissible such as giving us infrared vision, tolerance to extreme weather, the ability to live eternally?

The last issue has become particularly explosive since the revelation that CRISPR was used in 2018 by Chinese biologist, He Jiankui to modify twin embryos, resulting in the birth of two girls containing alleles that would confer protection from infection by HIV. This had an explosive opinion on public affairs—the CRISPR technology is now at its pre-mature state where it is not being fully introduced or revealed to the public—it is a long-term goal in terms of putting everything into place and raising public attention on this new technology by gradually feeding to the masses the information of CRISPR techniques. Aside from the ethical questions about inheritable modifications, CRISPR may lead to off-target modifications, the health consequences of which are unknown and unpredictable.

It is of utmost importance that the technology should be carefully regulated and used in a responsible manner. To this end, the World Health Organisation has established a Consensus Study Report on Heritable Human Genome Editing on the control of the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology and to ensure that it is being used wisely.

DH DISCUSSION WITH...

MISS FOOTE, TEACHER OF CHEMISTRY Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong, LVI

Miss Foote has been a Chemistry teacher at Downe House for 35 years.

She has taught hundreds of students and inspired many great minds, including Emma Clifton-Brown. Moreover, she is especially passionate about DNA and has conducted research on viruses.

Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong: Good morning and thank you so much for joining me today.

Miss Foote: Thanks for having me.

I know that you have been a Chemistry teacher for a long period of time, so how long have you been teaching at Downe House exactly?

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I have been teaching at Downe House since 1986 and it was actually my third job. I did three and a half years of comprehensive training before that in Witney, and I also did two terms at Abingdon School.

It’s been quite a long time really.

Can you tell us a bit about your own education and career before you started teaching?

I went to school, obviously. [laughs] I went to a boarding school in Oxford and did three A Levels in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Then I went to Bristol University, where I read Cellular Pathology.

Next, I did research at Oxford University for three and a half years. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out very well but, you know, it was an experience. In my research, I was looking at protein synthesis in cells that are being affected by the herpes simplex virus.

Can you provide us with more details regarding the research?

I was infecting cells in tissue culture (cells in glass bottles) with the virus, and at the same time feeding the thing with some radioactive amino acids. We observed that any proteins that were made after the infection became radioactive. What it showed was that when a cell is infected by this herpes simplex virus, first it shuts down the cell’s own protein synthesis very quickly within about an hour. It turns off the cell’s own protein synthesis and then you can start seeing viral proteins being made.

Does this mean that the virus starts reproducing?

Yes, it starts reproducing its own proteins. Herpes is a DNA virus so it has got the DNA in the middle

and a protein coat. The protein coat forces the cell to attack. It’s like a pirate – in fact, there’s a book called Pirates of the Cell which is about viruses. The virus takes over the machinery, the protein synthetic machinery of the cell and starts using its own DNA to get the cell to make its own proteins. It then cleverly manages to assemble these viral proteins into typical virus particles, and then they burst out of the cell and go around infecting other people and other cells.

To my understanding, DNA must have been a relatively new field at the time. Is there a particular event or person who inspired you to go into this field?

I was inspired by Rosalind Franklin who made a very significant contribution to the elucidation of the double Helix structure of DNA for which she didn’t really get the credit that she should have.

There was a lot of sexism in the environment that she was working in but she did a lot of important work. Tragically, she died when she was 37 of ovarian cancer.

Could you tell us a bit more about why she inspired you?

Well, just because she was a woman working in a man’s world, really. But she was a very good scientist, very accurate and didn’t miss anything.

I see… so despite being accurate and careful, what do you think are the other qualities of a good scientist?

Well, I think, one of the most important things is to be able to spot patterns in behaviour. When something follows a pattern of behaviour – when I say behaviour, it could mean chemical behaviour or any other sort of behaviour – then there’s probably something underlying that pattern.

Also, it’s important to be able to spot when things deviate from that pattern, and then you need to be able to form a hypothesis to try and explain what’s happened or what you’ve noticed. You need to be able to test it, but you also need to be prepared for when your hypothesis is wrong and then to adjust it to the different idea.

You need be persistent and observant…

So, you have to be persistent, observant, and diligent?

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Yes, yes. You need be persistent and observant… and you need to be prepared to change your mind.

So, you need to be flexible.

I think that’s really interesting because in science… at school, teachers give us an experiment and then we would try and obtain a result that fits the hypothesis… because the teachers know what the answers are.

Yes, well they know what the results should be. [laughs] So, we always try to get results that are as close to true value as possible. In terms of conducting experiments, it is quite a big change from being a science student to an actual scientist.

It is. But you can’t… it would be impossible to do school science at the level where you need to be making original hypothesis. It just wouldn’t work, really. And also, the other thing that is important is that you have to be able to communicate your results effectively and precisely. I quite often end up having to correct people, you know, people will say molecules when they mean atoms, or atoms when they mean molecules, or ions when they mean electrons. It’s very important to get those words right, because they have a very important, very precise meaning in science. If they use the wrong word, the meaning is all wrong.

Which aspect of science fascinates you the most?

Well… I think that it is really clever how DNA, which is a completely linear code and only has four different bases, can code for so many things in life. The four bases are like having four different letters in the alphabet, and their codes work in triplets, or three different bases at a time. So, you’ve got four bases and they code in threes and that means the total

permutations is 64. And between them, they could code for the 20 amino acids that are commonly found in the body. You might say 64 seems too many, and yes quite a lot of the amino acids have more than one combination that would code for them, but you also have to consider things like… there’s a code for telling them when you have to stop building the protein or the peptide, and in fact I think there’s a start code to say when to start building a new protein chain as well.

So, DNA is almost like lines of instructions?

Yes. And now people are talking about using DNA as data storage, but I don’t know how far they have got with that. Because in theory, you should be able to. But also, it’s not so much that, it is the fact that the actual sequence of amino acids in the peptide determines how it folds up into its 3D structure.

As in the active site?

Yes, the shape of a protein is very important. Typically for enzymes, the active site… the shape of the active site matters but the shape of the overall protein depends on how the protein chain folds. If you want certain sections to be helical, then there will be a bend, a little change to a helix and it will gradually work its way in little mini helical sections. But the reason for its helical shape is due to the intermolecular bonding between some of the different amino acids… since different amino acids have different side chains and some of them interact with each other. And if they interact with each other in a regular way then you’ll get it folding up into a spiral, because every so often there will be ones that stack up and interact with each other… some of basic side chains and some of acidic side chains and they will attract each other.

These proteins sound like really intricate designs… and the DNA is the blueprint which explains how the proteins are to be constructed?

Yes, yes. So, that’s one thing. Another thing is, just imagine how from some simple molecules, you end up with a life form like you or me. Even going from molecules to amoeba is an enormous jump. It is just hard to imagine how life started.

Yes, and finding out about how life started seems to be the scientific focus for the last… fifty years?

Oh, I think it’s forever. The other thing that’s really interesting is embryo genesis. So, you have this fertilized egg which divides up to about 16 cells.

And after that, it starts organizing itself – some of it becomes the placenta and some of it becomes the embryo. Then within that, you know, some cells know that they’ve got to turn into liver cells and the liver cells, cleverly enough, all end up being together in a liver and all in the same place in your body. I mean, you haven’t got a liver stuck on your shoulder. [laughs] So, how does it know? Can you imagine?

Every higher animal species has got this organ called the liver, which is generally stuck somewhere in the middle of its body… And also, bones know where to form and how to connect, how do they do that?

And that originates from one single cell!

Yes, well two because there are two gametes… it’s really fascinating.

How do you think technology has impacted education? Because in the last 20 years, technology has reformed society in many different ways…

Last 30 years, really. I mean it’s accelerating, it’s growing exponentially, but in fact it’s going too fast.

I mean, it didn’t take me long to learn how to write on a chalkboard. Then, I managed to progress to writing on a whiteboard, and even sometimes using the overhead projectors. And then computers came.

When I first came to Downe House, computers were not what we call WYSIWYG, that is ‘what you see is what you get’. If I wanted to type a formula, I had to type… if I wanted to do CH4, I’d have to do CH**#4*** and then print it. So, on the screen you saw the stars and the hashes, but when it actually printed, you got CH4.

It sounds as if you are coding but in order to see the final results, you would have to physically print it out? Wow. But the problem with technology now is that it has created a lot more work for teachers… because it takes a lot longer to prepare all the materials since there is so much you can do. If I want to make a PowerPoint it usually takes me about two days.

I mean some of the PowerPoints I did for the Upper Fifth Bridging course took two whole days to make.

I think that’s very interesting because all we talk about is how technology has made our lives more convenient and now, it’s actually slowing us down.

Well, yes, in one way. But for instance, if you make a PowerPoint, you can then use it again and again, so you only have to put that work in once. Yet it’s kind of fixed, once you make a PowerPoint then… I mean you can tweak it, but you do often have to come back and spend time improving and polishing it. I used to be able to teach everything off the top of my head!

I believe that the internet was first developed in order to accelerate the transmitting of information between scientists. Can you give us examples of how technology has impacted science?

That is a very important way in which the technology has impacted the whole field of STEM. It means that you could involve many more people in a project… for example, in Zooniverse, which is where you get lots of volunteers, just to do things like looking for the odd things in pictures in astronomy.

Isn’t it the open-source project where you can help identify different types of galaxies?

Yes, yes. I mean, the power of taking anybody… having the ability to recruit 100,000 humans across the world who happen to have a computer to look at it… It’ll get things done much more quickly.

It has accelerated enormously the pace of scientific discovery.

I believe we have run out of time now. Thank you again Miss Foote for giving us so many insights into the field of STEM. I am sure that everyone reading this has learned a lot!

It’s a pleasure.

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MATHS AND THE SIMPSONS Cléo Dutertre-Delaunay, UV

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It goes without saying that The Simpsons is one of the most beloved and influential animated series in entertainment history, inspiring inventions like smart watches, autocorrect and even hamburger earmuffs. However, very few people know that behind the humour and memorable characters lie some of the most prestigious mathematicians, who explore their love for mathematics throughout the series by subtly imbedding clever maths jokes, ranging from Pi to Fermat’s Last Theorem.

Before we can fully appreciate and look at these discretely imbedded mathematical references, it is vital to recognise the brilliant minds behind this award-winning international pop culture phenomenon. When you look at the mathematical backgrounds of the writers you would think that they sound more like a ‘team from Nasa than a group of gag writers’, which is an extremely reasonable remark to make when you consider the many PhDs and Bachelor’s Degrees that are attached to their names. The show’s writing team includes several mathematical heavyweights like the executive producer, Al Jean, who studied Mathematics at Harvard University, at the ripe age of 16, graduating with a Bachelor’s in mathematics.

And if you think that is impressive, David X Cohen, a long-time writer for The Simpsons, he too, a fellow Harvard alumnus graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and went on to receive a Master’s degree in Computer Science from UC Berkley. Others have similarly impressive degrees, which is why it is not surprising that they pepper mathematical references into the episodes from time to time.

The writers went from academia to Fox Studios with their love for mathematics intact, but it is not the only reason that motivates them into dropping in mathematical references. In fact, in an interview on the Science Show with Simon Singh, a particle physicist that is the author of Fermat’s Last Theorem as well as The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets (who is also a fan of the show and has frequently interviewed the writers), he makes it clear that the writers ’want to share their love of mathematics’ with the viewers. In this interview, Singh mentions that he had asked one of the writers, David X Cohen, whether he ever regretted not being a mathematician and he replied with, ’You do, you kind of lie awake at night, you wonder what would happen if I hadn’t been a comedy writer, could I have been a professor, could I have solved the P versus NP problem, could I have won a Fields Medal?’.

However, Cohen concludes his answer by explaining that he can sleep at night because he knows that his mathematics makes its way into his creative writing and as a result of this, there are young students like him, who were in the Mathletics team in secondary school who will perhaps become inspired to do the work Cohen, himself, never got around to. There is something very wholesome and encouraging about Cohen’s answer, not only does he love maths but he wants to fill the gap, that he had when he was younger, for the young maths lovers out there. And for those who do not have a particular interest in maths and just watch The Simpsons for a laugh, that is okay because the mathematical jokes are often what are called freeze-frame gags. To elaborate, freeze-frame gags are up for a moment and then the episode continues. Singh explains they are there on a blackboard or they’re there on a shop sign... The idea is that if you don’t get the joke or you don’t notice it, you don’t miss anything, you can carry on... your enjoyment is not hindered’.

Many people’s, including Simon Singh’s, favourite freeze-frame gag appears in The Wizard of Evergreen Terrae episode (1998), in which Homer tries to become an inventor. In one scene, Homer seems to be scribbling equations on a blackboard and among them, the second equation seems to be a counterexample to Fermat’s Last Theorem, in other words the equation seems to prove Fermat wrong!

When Singh saw this, it immediately stunned him as he had even written a book on Fermat’s Last Theorem. Singh wrote in an article that “Homer’s scribble sent a shiver down my spine”. In order for you to understand the significance of Singh’s reaction as well as all the reactions numerous other mathematicians must have experienced, it is important you know the historical context behind Fermat’s Last Theorem. So long story short, Pierre de Fermat was a French lawyer, who was alive during the 17th Century. Despite his occupation, Fermat also practiced maths problems in his spare time and came across a puzzle revolving around Pythagoras’ Theorem. He could not find any solutions to the equation mentioned and he believed that it was impossible to find whole numbers that fitted this particular equation. So in the margins of his copy of Arithmetica (Ancient Greek text on mathematics written by the Mathematician, Diophantus) that had introduced him to the puzzle, he scribbled ’I have discovered a truly marvellous proof of this which this margin is too narrow to contain’. Having not written this proof down, for almost four centuries the answer regarding Pythagoras remained unproven, mathematicians tried and failed to rediscover Fermat’s ’Proof’ until 1995 when Andrew Wiles published a 130-page paper that did indeed confirm

that Fermat was right as the following equation has no solution: xn + yn = zn, for n > 2 (n being powers).

Wiles had finally put the question to rest.

However, the equation on Homer’s blackboard, at first glance, disapproves Fermat’s claim and Wiles’ proof. When inputting the equation into a calculator, it clearly balances. (Check it for yourself on your phone calculator). But do not be fooled because Homer’s equation is not actually a legitimate solution to Fermat’s Last Theorem, I am sure Fermat, Wiles and Singh were relieved to know, as it is in fact an extremely near-missed engineered trick that was deliberately done by one of the writers: David X Cohen.

Let me explain, when Homer’s solution is inputted into a proper scientific calculator that displays more than ten digits, the answer is actually out by a miniscule margin of error. So it is only natural that if the viewer does not interrogate the equation further, they are fooled into thinking that the writers had stumbled upon a legitimately game-changing mathematical formula within a joke in an episode of The Simpsons.

You have probably realised by now that Simon Singh is a recurring theme in this article, this is because he probably knows the most about The Simpsons and its harmonious relationship with mathematics, apart from the writers. As a massive fan, Simon Singh, among others, was curious about the disproportionally large number of mathematicians working so successfully in comedy writing. And in an interview with a few of The Simpsons writers, they came up with a range of ideas to explain why their mathematical backgrounds heavily influence the success of the show. Some of them came up with the idea that writing comedy is intellectually quite difficult so you have to have a certain amount of brain power, whereas others said it was about stamina.

They said this because when you are trying to work on a hard maths problem, you have to be determined and patient to work on it, likewise, for comedy, writers find themselves working days on end trying to write a script of high quality. In addition, others explained to Singh that ‘mathematicians love logic and they love playing with logic, bending logic …and that can be quite humorous’. There are all sorts of reasons why their comedic scripts are so successful, but like Singh says, ‘whatever it is, the mathematicians seem to have it’.

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CARLO ROVELLI THE SCIENTIST WHO STUDIES TIME CHEUK YU (QUEENA) WONG, LVI

The Professor realized that the consolidation resulted in time disappearing from the equations, suggesting that time does not exist at the most fundamental level.

Inspirational, cheeky, wise, original, and passionate, Professor Carlo Rovelli is one of the great theoretical physicists of this century. He is determined to understand the nature of time, to pick apart the underlying clockwork of our universe and to study the invisible engines that relentlessly propel us forward into the future. As one of the founders of loop quantum gravity and an author of more than two hundred scientific papers and five books, Rovelli has impacted people worldwide, allowing us to follow his lead into the world without time.

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References: 1. https://www. theguardian.com/ books/2018/ apr/14/carlorovelli-explodingcommonsensenotions-order-oftime-interview 2. https://www. waterstones.com/ book/the-orderof-time/carlorovelli/ 9780141984964

Rovelli’s fascination with time began in his adolescence, stemming from his chance encounter with LSD. The drug gave him a ‘mind-opening’ experience; he recalled hallucinating vibrant colours and misshapen objects, but ‘among the strange phenomena was the sense of time stopping. Things were happening in my mind, but the clock was not moving forward; The flow of time was not passing anymore’. This sparked his interest in attempting to better understand the concept of time. He then took seven years to complete his undergraduate Physics degree, having spent lots of time participating in political movements. He went on to do a PhD focusing on the quantum nature of gravity; since no one in Italy was working in this field at the time, his PhD was largely unsupervised.

Early in his research career, Rovelli has rejected many mainstream approaches to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. All the rebellion, he says, has taught him the benefits of challenging the status quo and seeing the world under a different light. In 1988, he (along with Lee Smolin and Abhay Ashtekar) had introduced a theory named ‘Loop quantum gravity’. It is an attempt to deal with the incompatibilities between general relativity and quantum theory, not the least of which is the so-called ‘problem of time’ – that time is taken to have a different meaning in the two sets of mathematical descriptions of the world.

To interpret this ostensibly ridiculous outcome, Rovelli proposes the idea that time is not elemental – it is ‘merely a function of our blurred perception of the world’. In his book The Order of Time, he includes an elegant analogy to illustrate this. Imagine a deck of cards, with the first twenty-six cards being all red and the next twenty-six being all black. We can swiftly agree that this configuration is ‘ordered’, and this order will be destroyed when the pack is shuffled or changed. However, this configuration appears only when we look at the colours. Another configuration might be if the first twenty-six cards are all odd numbers, and the next twenty-six all even numbers. The order of this configuration emerges when we focus on the numbers. Rovelli concludes that ‘every configuration is particular’. If we look at all its details, there is always something that ‘characterizes it in a unique way’.

The analogy can then be applied to the great pack of cards of the universe. The passage of time (transition from the past to the future) is analogous to shuffling and consequently, an order is disrupted.

To find out what is the ‘order’ in our universe, Rovelli asks, ‘What distinguishes the past from the future?’ Scientists have only discovered one physical law which knows any difference – the second principle of thermodynamics, which states that entropy will always increase as time passes. As we advance from a low-entropy past to a higher-entropy future, we perceive the flow of time. Thus, time is not an integral part of the universe; it has been created by us when we decide to view the world in a particular way.

Even though Rovelli’s ideas are remarkably convincing and promising, it is important to bear in mind that the nature of time is still a hotly debated topic and a ‘theory of everything’ is yet to be constructed. Nevertheless, Carlo Rovelli’s philosophy has undoubtedly influenced countless minds, reshaped our perspective on reality and deepened our understanding of our universe. He has allowed us to stand on his massive shoulders and look beyond the horizon to catch a glimpse of a timeless world.

COMPUTER SCIENTISTS TODAY’S ROCK STARS! Mrs Siobhan McClure, Head of Computing and ICT

There’s no escaping the fact, that we are living in a digital age and that Computer Science impacts every aspect of our lives. This year more than ever, we have relied on computer technology to keep us connected.

The hardware and software we all use every day, has enabled us to carry on. This has not happened by chance. It’s a result of the brilliant minds of generations of computer scientists. We are becoming increasingly reliant on technology for sharing information, for banking, entertainment, sport, even household devices like fridges can now be connected to our Wi-Fi networks!

Computer scientists have an important role to play in making the world better and taking humanity forward. So, learning how to read and write code has never been more important.

In an interview with Venturebeat, Rockstar Will.i.am was asked: “What’s cooler: music or computer programming?”

“Coding,” he replied instantly.

“By about 10 times. A trillion times.

It’s the most creative space.

Great coders are today’s rock stars” .

Credit: Twitter @iamwill.jpg

This is what your journey in Computer Science looks like at Downe House School:

Remove – Starting with Scratch, a block-based programming language, to build confidence and knowledge of key programming constructs, such as sequencing, variables, selection, and count-controlled iteration. Compare how humans and computers understand instructions and begin to recognise that computers follow the control flow of input/process/output.

Lower Fourth – Understand the significance of Computer Science.

Learn the story of Ada Lovelace and her achievements; Understand the importance of women in STEM; Consider the future and problems that can be solved by Computer Science. Use Scratch to create a poetry generator, then progress to Python and help Santa decide who is on the Naughty list and who is on the Nice list!

Upper Fourth – Continue to build confidence with Python programming and learn the key programming constructs required for GCSE. Develop confidence in using an Integrated Development Environment (Thonny), learning how to open the Python shell, how to run a program and how to write a simple one-line program to output text. You will progress to writing programs that use the input function, If ... Else and Elif, eventually creating your own chatbot which will respond to user input!

Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth – The new GCSE course, which was launched in September 2020, recognises the well-established methodologies of computing, alongside the technological advances which make computer science such a dynamic subject. You will learn about problem-solving, computational thinking, data, the hardware and software components of computer systems, the characteristics of programming languages, networks and an awareness of emerging trends in computing technologies, including the impact of computing on individuals, society and the environment, as well as ethical, legal and ownership issues.

Whether you consider yourself to be technical or creative, Computer Science will complement your skills and no matter what area of work you are interested in, Computer Science will be at the heart of it, so be equipped!

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FIONA MCNEILL (DH 1993) FBCS SFHEA MYAS Reader in Computing Education, University of Edinburgh

I was always drawn to STEM subjects, especially Maths, but tend to be happier when I’m studying them in a broader context. I did a wide range of GCSEs at Downe but then specialised in STEM subjects and did Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths at A Level. I enjoyed those subjects and got a lot of benefit out of the small class sizes (there were only three of us doing Physics and Further Maths). I ended up going to St Andrews to study Maths and Philosophy, which gave a broader focus to my studies. In the end I got a degree in Pure Maths, but did Philosophy, especially Philosophy of Maths and Science right up to my final year.

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I wanted to continue studying after I graduated, and was qualified to do postgrad studies in Maths, Philosophy or Computing (for which the main prerequisite is Maths). When I got in touch with the University of Edinburgh about the CS Masters, they sent me some information about their Artificial Intelligence degrees. I realised it was the perfect combination of all three and I went on to spend an excellent year doing an MSc in AI. This led to a PhD in AI, and eventually into an academic career.

The standard route for this is to spend a while in research posts after your PhD, which is fun and rewarding – you get to work with a lot of different people and can really focus on the research you’re interested in. The downside is that your job is always part of a particular project and doesn’t last longer than that, so you sometimes have to move around a bit and never quite know what is going to happen next. If all goes well, you go on to get a lectureship, after which things become a bit more stable.

Academia is a really varied, fascinating and rewarding career. I have a very high level of autonomy over my working life (at least after the early years), but it can be stressful and exhausting too. Failure is something academics have to get used to. A central part of being a successful academic is writing proposals for research that attract funding so you can pay researchers, or cover your own salary if you are a researcher and publishing papers about your research – but in most funding calls, only around 5-10% of proposals are successful, good publishing venues have a 10-20% acceptance rate and jobs are always really oversubscribed, so however good you are, you have to get used to rejection. Now I’m more senior,

I don’t have to worry as much, but there is always pressure to keep succeeding.

I’ve found academia a good career to combine with having a family. I worked half-time for several years, which is often thought to be a real hindrance to career development, but I was lucky to work with people who were very supportive and managed to get my first lectureship post when my children were small. I was able to be very flexible and to work at times that suited. One of the things I love about academia is that there is a lot of travel, but this can be more challenging with young children. I breastfed both of mine for two years but went back to work when they were less than six months, so for a few years, I always had to take a baby with me when I travelled. My eldest went to conferences in Germany, Switzerland and Greece, and my youngest to conferences in Stamford (California) and Shanghai. It was a bit of a challenge to present papers with a jet-lagged baby in tow, but everyone was very tolerant and we had a good time. I usually ended up having to ask someone I knew (often very vaguely) at the conference to be on hand to push the baby about if she woke up in the middle of my talk!

For most of my career, my research has focussed on AI and data integration. I’m particularly interested in the problem of heterogeneous data. There are millions of databases online, and everyone builds their own databases using their own structures, language, terminology and representations, which means that even if it is talking about similar things, it might look really different. If you send a query to a database, you need to know exactly what the database looks

DR LOUISE

NATRAJAN Dr Rachel Pilkington, Deputy Head of Science i/c STEM and Medicine

like and what it contains so that you can phrase it properly, otherwise it will fail – but this is very limiting. I build tools that will perform automatic translations and manipulations of the data so that approximate or similar matches can be found.

I particularly focus on disaster management situations, where decision makers have to make complex decisions on the basis of what they know about the state of the disaster. But it’s really hard to get a good overall view of what is happening and what resources are available because there are so many sources of information out there – far too many for humans to process – and we’re really bad at interpreting them automatically. This has led to working with some really interesting people on some really challenging problems in international crisis management.

Over the years, I’ve spent more and more time working on issues around computing that interest me, and particularly access to CS education and women in STEM. These are huge issues – the numbers of young people studying CS is going down, especially in certain demographics, even when it is so central to the economy and offers so much opportunity, and women are disadvantaged in all areas of STEM. For a long time, this was more of a side interest, but last year I decided to move to a job in Computing Education at the University of Edinburgh, which puts these interests at the centre of my career. I still work in AI and data integration, but the focus has shifted and I’m doing a bit more on the social science end. This year has been intense as of course Covid has had a huge impact on education. I’ve been working a lot with our first years to try to make sure they get a positive experience of uni despite all the restrictions, which has been challenging but very rewarding.

I would say a really important part of my career has been the enthusiasm and confidence to jump in and do what I think needs doing – things like setting up committees, planning new courses, taking things in different directions – and I think a lot of the confidence that it takes to do that has come from going to a school like Downe. There’s evidence that suggests that women who have had a single-sex education are more confident and feel less forced to conform to social stereotypes, and this is a huge advantage in a career. I feel really lucky to have my career and all the opportunities it gives me. Going to Downe is definitely a big help in setting you up to make the most of what comes your way.

Dr Louise Natrajan is a Reader of Chemistry at the University of Manchester. Louise is an inorganic chemist and works with the heavy elements, mainly the f-block elements at the bottom of the periodic table; the bit that we do not even get on our GCSE Chemistry periodic tables! I was lucky enough to get to know Louise well whilst doing my PhD as she worked just down the corridor from me.

Louise has many interests and specialises in luminescence amongst other things. You can see an example of this in the picture above. You can read more about her research on her group’s page using the link below. There is also a short YouTube video where you can hear Louise explaining some aspects of her work, (I recognise that measurement lab very well indeed!) Here is her group’s page; https://teamnatrajan.weebly.com/ Dr Louise Natrajan is not only an extremely successful academic, but a great mentor and support to those she works with. As you can see from her website, she is always keen to share her love and expertise of Chemistry with everyone and enthuse people about how awesome science is! Louise has also created some Podcasts for Chemistry World on the Lanthanides (the elements that appear in the first row of the f block). https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/ terbium/3005968.article https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/ ytterbium/3005995.article

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THE FORGOTTEN ORGAN OF YOUR GUT MICROBIOME Phoebe Whiting, LVI

The gut is composed of trillions of microbes, accommodating hundreds of species of bacteria, fungi and viruses that are fundamental for homeostatic maintenance of conditions within the body.

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Although the microbiome is a collective genome that codes for these micro-organisms, the composition of your gut microbiome is intrinsically related to your lifestyle and environmental factors. Personal factors of your daily life can be almost entirely responsible for your gut health, and the extrapolated problems that result from an unbalanced gut microbiota. The majority of us manage to sustain a dynamic equilibrium with our gut microbiota, this unsung hero executing a multitude of integral processes necessary for bodily function. However, it is imperative to recognize the fragility of this equilibrium and how maltreatment of this vital yet commonly un-discussed ‘forgotten’ organ can result in illnesses and imbalances in our health seen so frequently in today’s society.

One of the most fundamental roles of the gut microbiota resides in its relationship with your metabolism. The microbiota has the capacity to break down indigestible carbohydrates to produce an abundance of metabolites, one of the most recognised being short-chain fatty acids which perform a variety of local mechanisms within your gut. The monitoring of intestinal epithelial cell production and proliferation is one role of SCFAs, as well as encouraging mucus production, maintaining intestinal barrier integrity (a vital component of absorption and exchange between the gut and the blood) and reducing risk of both inflammation and colorectal cancer. However, one of the most pivotal utilizations of SCFAs within the body is the most recently explored concept of the gut-brain Avis, the fascinating idea that your gut microbiota may be influencing the function of your brain and could be involved in the stimulation of neurological diseases. One indicator of this is the detection of three of the most abundance SCFAs, acetate, propionate and butyrate, within the cerebral spinal fluid of humans. Furthermore, the abundance of monocraboxylate transporters (plasma membrane transporters that facilitate the movement of SCFAs between tissues) in endothelial cells of the gut could be an indicator of the crossing of SCFAs through the blood-brain barrier, to be transported to the brain. SCFAs have furthermore been seen to exert an influence on intracellular potassium levels, perhaps implying the involvement of SCFAs within the mechanisms of cell signaling. In studies of mice with induced ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – a group of rare neurological diseases), it was seen that the symptoms of mice without a microbiome progressed far more rapidly than the symptoms of those with a microbiome – was there a link between the conditions of their guts and their neurological symptoms? Furthermore in 1817, James Parkinson, one of the first men to be recorded as demonstrating early Parkinson’s disease-related symptoms of numbness and prickling sensations, was administered a laxative to clear up evidence accumulation in the bowel; within 10 days, his bowels were empty and his symptoms gone, perhaps suggestive of the presence of an imbalance or pathogenesis within the gut, resulting in the neurological symptoms he was displaying. The gutbrain axis is a relatively new, yet exciting concept within the exploration of the gut microbiota and the function of the brain.

Aside from the production of SCFAs and the relation to your metabolism, the gut microbiota engages in a plethora of other functions, including the de-conjunction of build acids, preventative mechanisms against pathogenic colonisation and many interactions with the immune system – and a vast multitude of many more! However, perhaps the true significance of these micro-organisms is only grasped when examining the effects of dysbiosis within your gut microbiota, and how so many common chronic illnesses can be related to an imbalance within your gut. People with obesity, for example, are commonly demonstrated to show a lower diversity within their gut microbiota, which is most probably linked to metabolic complications, resulting in impaired regulation of hormones, pro inflammatory mechanisms and altered energy

regulation. This dysbiosis can also be seen in patrons with IBD, colorectal cancer, diabetes, with even one-to-one effects of a singular pathogen contributing to complex diseases. One example of this is the increased presence of a species of effects. The sloping of this equilibrium into dysbiosis or pathogenesis can be triggered by the genetics of your microbiomes, however as mentioned previously one’s environment and lifestyle can have a huge impact on their gut composition. The initiation of your microbiota is stimulated at birth, with the acquisition of maternal flora in the birth canal of naturally delivered babies appearing to be fundamental to an infant’s primary gut composition and stimulation of the immune system. Flora which a newborn would not be exposed to through a C-section delivery. Similarly, nutrition through breast milk feeding provides a newborn with a multitude of important probiotics that promote growth of beneficial bacteria, with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects; probiotics that are not necessarily present or as abundant in formula milk. These external effects continue throughout life, with one’s diet radically affecting and contributing to the microbiota of the gut. The presence of probiotics in a diet are fundamentally beneficial to this composition or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, conferring health benefits upon the host health. Fermentation of prebiotic is involved in cross feeding, meaning they provide substrates of fuel for other bacterial species; they are vital in the chain reaction of maintenance of micro-organism feeding and survival.

Prebiotics have also been shown to have beneficial effects on the hypersensitivity of infants with a history of allergic reactions. Infants who were fed a prebiotic mixture of galactose-oligosaccharides and insulin showed reduced instances of atopic dermatitis and allergic rashes over a continually reviewed period of up to five years, simply from prebiotic supplementation during the first few months of life. These long-lasting effects of prebiotics are thought to be caused by the immunemodulators, providing distinct evidence for the power of supplementation of prebiotics into one’s diet, and the revolutionary, long-term changes they can make within your gut.

These are a vast multitude of benefits your gut microbiota contribute to your overall health, with extensive research being carried out as our knowledge of this environment continues to grow rapidly. The gut is increasingly seen to be involved in processes that extrapolate around one’s entire body, with changes in this composition having the capacity to alter ones health entirely. To mention the entirety of the capacities of this incredibly powerful and influential system would require a book of great length, with a further sequel investigating the power we have to change our own microbiota and how our lifestyle factors are influencing it. One can only advise to do your research on this fascinating system of micro-organisms to truly grasp the enormity of capacities that it holds, and the ways you can treat this forgotten organ with the same level of care you would the rest of your body.

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AERODYNAMICS OF PLANES

Nga Man Cheng, LVI

SUBSONIC AND SUPERSONIC SPEEDS

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The human race has always maintained a persistent devotion towards technological advancement and whether in the pursuit of glory or solely for the altruistic purpose of contributions to science, exceptional engineering feats have forever transformed society. One of the most prodigious concepts ever conceived was the mechanism of flight.

Throughout history there had always been a revered fascination with flying, but aspirations were never actualised until the Wright brothers produced the first powered flight after centuries of unsuccessful attempts. Since then, an established objective of designing aircrafts to reach higher speeds has pushed innovation to meet new expectations of flight.

The evolution of flight extends back to more than two thousand years to the invention of kites and the fatal attempts at tower jumping with wings attached.

It was only natural that people attempted to imitate and replicate the mechanism of birds. However, birds are only able to fly without an engine because of their low body mass as opposed to the mass of a human which simply could not be sustained by flapping wings. A lack of thrust was the reason flight was not successful until the mechanical age. In the Renaissance period, one of the greatest minds in history, Leonardo da Vinci was unable to make any substantial advancements in flight as he studied bat wings instead of engine-powered propellers due to a lack of scientific information available. In the 18th Century, hydrogen balloons allowed for developments that led to the first steerable airships a century later. One of the most significant figures before the Wright brothers was the English engineer, George Cayley who studies the physics of flight, documenting the forces of flight along with studies into lift, propulsion and control. Many successful attempts of aircraft designs were built upon Cayley’s findings including steam powered airplanes, but none was as monumental as the Wright brother’s first powered flight in 1903; the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight. World War I was most likely the single most influential event that expedited the development in aviation which also saw increased interest and investment into commercialised flight. 1952 marked the start of the jet age in which jet aircrafts were expanded and transformed into commercial aircrafts adapted for civil passenger use. For many, the breaking of the sound barrier in 1947 by the experimental aircraft Bell X-1, powered by a rocket engine using liquid oxygen and ethyl alcohol, was the peak of the jet age. Of course this was also commercialised in the 1960s Concorde passenger airliner which was eventually retired for economic reasons. The following decades were spent investing in research and development to increase efficiency of fuel consumption and reduce the environmental impact.

Flight itself is relatively straightforward, with the four forces associated with flight – lift, weight, thrust and

drag. Fundamentally, flight is a constant negotiation of lift against weight, and thrusts against drag. In order to maintain level altitude, lift and weight must be equal, and thrust must be equal to drag – terminal velocity. Planes are designed so wings are curved on top and flatter on the bottom in an aerofoil shape to allow the air flow that produces lift. The entire concept can be exhibited with Bernoulli’s principle, which explains how lift is produced by the difference in speed between an object and the air molecules surrounding it. Bernoulli’s infamous study of fluid dynamics titled Hydrodynamica concluded that a fluid that moves fast creates lower pressure, and a slow-moving fluid creates higher pressure. In terms of flight, the fast-moving air above the wings create less pressure and the slower moving air below the wings create high pressure. Although the air above the wing travels a longer distance from the leading edge (front edge of wing) to the trailing edge (back edge of wing), it reaches the trailing edge at the same time as the slower moving air below the wings. Since high pressure always moves towards lower pressure, the air from below the wing pushes upwards to the highly pressured air above the wing, following Newton’s third law of motion.

Standard aircrafts travelling slower than the speed of sound do not need design modifications to conform to harsh conditions. When an aircraft approaches the speed of sound, shockwaves begin to interfere with the aerodynamic design of a subsonic aircraft. Unlike supersonic planes, the air in front of a subsonic plane begins to flow out of the way before the plane reaches it, resulting in smooth and gradual pressure waves.

Supersonic planes must be designed differently as they are exposed to far greater temperatures and stress than the conventional aircraft. Instead of aluminium, which tends to lose shape in higher temperatures, carbon fibre is used as it maintains its shape and strength which enables designers to minimise airflow disturbances and drag. Titanium is used to reduce the impact upon landing as well as the 3D-printed thermoplastic Ultem 9085, which is lightweight and fire-resistant for a cost-effective way of manufacturing small parts. A major concern when designing supersonic aircrafts is to avoid collisions between the air vortices coming off the nose of the place and the air vortices coming off the tail and wings as they would change how the plane behaves.

Wingspan on supersonic aircrafts must be limited to reduce drag which reduces stability and efficiency when travelling at slower rates. The most significant issue is the adaptation and modifications of the delta shaped wings on supersonic aircrafts as they must be modified to account for speeds during take-off and landing because there is a lack of stability in lower speeds. A solution to this dilemma is to use conventional hydraulic mechanical linkage for the controls along with electrical actuator to improve

stability. The nose angle is increased to maximise air flow under the wings at low speeds, however, this would cause visibility issues which are solved by using an augmented reality-based camera system.

When a supersonic plane reaches the speed of sound, it catches up to its own pressure waves as the air in front receives no warning of the plane approaching.

As it pushes through the unsuspecting air, shock waves are created that abruptly increases the air’s pressure, density and temperature as it flows through.

The airflow above the wings reaches supersonic speeds before the plane does and a shock wave forms over the wings. Turbulence is created in the airflow behind the shock waves and drag is increased along with a loss of stability in the aircraft. When the plane exceeds the speed of sound, a shock wave forms in front of the wing’s leading edge and passes to the trailing edge. This is all essentially a change in pressure when the plane bursts through the pressured, compressed sound waves in front. From the ground, a sonic boom can be heard after the plane passes the observer; these are called pressure disturbance waves. In hypersonic speeds, the heat causes nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the air to break up into atoms through chemical reactions, rendering simple fluid laws regarding pressure, density and temperature invalid. The development of the supercritical aerofoil has greatly improved lift and drag at transonic speeds. For planes to travel even faster, aircrafts are expected to fly partly in air and partly in space. The challenge for this would be control when re-entering the atmosphere at several times the speed of sound and avoid burning up like a meteor.

The most infamous supersonic flight was Concorde in 1969 as one of the only two supersonic aircrafts designed for civil use. Currently, supersonic aircrafts are only used for research and military purposes, however, there have been efforts to bring supersonic fight back to the public. The company, Boom Supersonic has been developing carbon neutral supersonic aircraft in the hope of bringing it to the commercial market within the next six years, claiming to cut flight times in half.

A concept that many thought was impossible was realised through innovation and dedication to transforming a simple idea into reality. The only reason development has been successful is because of past failures and by building upon the foundation of knowledge provided by people who dedicated their live to the advancement of technology.

The idea that people can fly at all is a fact that should be marvelled at, but it has become such a normality that people no longer always appreciate it as an engineering masterpiece that displays the magnitude of potential. More than two thousand years later, the fascination regarding aviation and the wider engineering field is still prominent in present day society.

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REFERENCES Adams, E (2020) How to Design a Supersonic Plane for the (Fairly Rich) Masses Datta, S (2021) Aerodynamics – Supersonic Flight Flightdeckfriend.com (2021) How Fast Do Commercial Planes Fly? Hayward, J (2020) The Evolution of the Airplane – Simple Flying Johnston, M (2018) Airplane Aerodynamics NASA (2012) National Aeronautics and Space Administration Sciencekids.co.nz.

(2020) Introduction to Flight – Bernoulli’s Principle, Aerofoil, Fun Activities, Flying Lesson Plan Smithsonians (2021) Shock Waves | How Things Fly Wild, F (2015) What Is Aerodynamics?

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITIONS IN LOCKDOWN Dr Rachel Pilkington, Deputy Head of Science i/c STEM

During lockdown we all missed getting out and about and seeing people and places; lots of places missed us too! Many galleries and museums responded to lockdown by sharing some of their content with us online.

Whilst looking online is not quite the same as going in person, there are some brilliant things to see and at least it helps us plan for our future visits!

46 My personal favourite Gallery is the Tate Modern in London; I have always loved art and can’t help thinking about all the science and engineering involved in creating a piece of art. Plus, the materials and colourful paints you see are all made by chemists! I am always drawn to Dali, Monet or Lichtenstein, and whilst looking at this Art in person is breath-taking, there are some fabulous videos online from the Tate Gallery about the role of science and scientists in preserving these masterpieces. You can see how a team of scientists develop new techniques and materials to help clean and restore Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein to its former glory.

The iconic Natural History Museum in London also has an online exhibition too. There are fourteen ways to explore the museum virtually if you follow this link https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/virtualmuseum.html

An absolute must-see are the Wildlife Photography of the Year images. They are moving and mesmeric, plus you can click on each one to find out some interesting facts about each image too. If creepy crawlies are your thing then you will love zooming in on the beetle collection, there are hundreds to look through!

I have heard that the Natural History Museum has one of the best mineral galleries around, although I have missed this during my previous visits, and it is on my to do list! For now, you can enjoy viewing some of the best bits of their mineral gallery through this Google Arts and Culture collaboration – Earthly and Ethereal; Minerals, rocks and gems.

Some of them are literally out of this world!

https://artsandculture.google.com/ exhibit/0wICugk_xaJ0Kw

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lichtensteinwhaam-t00897/conserving-whaam

You may not be aware that Charles Darwin did lots of work with minerals and geology; geology was actually one of his main interests as a young man.

This was before photographs or videos, so lots of specimens were collected and described in detail.

He wanted to describe precisely how different minerals looked, and to help him do this, he used the fabulous book, Werner’s Nomenclature of colours; it is essentially a colour dictionary, but also a superb coffee table book for anyone.

HISTORY OF THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE Cheuk-Yi (Cherie) Lau, LIV https://www.waterstones. com/book/wernersnomenclature-of-colours/ patrick-syme/abraham-gwerner/9780565094454 The Science Museum has also created some virtual content, including some superb curator guides to the galleries to help you find out more about the exhibitions.

Chances are that you’ve seen or at least heard of the Fibonacci Sequence. Each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers that precede it. So, the sequence goes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on. It is called nature’s code or the golden ratio, and most likely appears in the iconic shell at the front of your maths textbook.

The sequence was first described by Indian mathematicians as early as 200 BC in the works of Pingala, an ancient author who listed the possible patterns of Sanskrit poetry.

Despite this, an Italian mathematician by the name of Leonardo of Pisa published a book named Liber Abaci and he was later known as Fibonacci (meaning son of the Bonacci clan) to distinguish him from another famous Leonardo of Pisa. When the sequence approaches infinity, the two consecutive numbers will converge at 1.61803… or Phi and known as the Golden Ratio.

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/virtual-tourscience-museum There is also an extensive collection of objects and artifacts to search through. I recommend looking at the picture gallery of Helen Sharman’s Sokol space suit. There is also a short video of Helen talking about the various bits and pieces of the suit and how they are used.

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/ objects/co8538105/sokol-space-suit-space-suit Helen Sharman was featured in our Amazing Women in Science Quiz in honour of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February 2021. She was chosen by me as she is a chemist! Helen Sharman is from Sheffield and, before becoming an astronaut, had previously worked on the flavourant properties of chocolate for Mars. Helen Sharman was the first British astronaut in space.

I hope you enjoy these fabulous online exhibitions and are inspired to plan a visit to these galleries when you can. I would love to hear from you about your favourites and recommendations.

47

SOCIAL MEDIA ALGORITHMS: PERSONALISATION Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong

‘Today’s internet is ruled by algorithms. These mathematical creations determine what you see in your Facebook feed, what movies Netflix recommends to you, and what ads you see in your Gmail.’ (Wired, 2014)

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A social media algorithm is a list of instructions that sort posts in a user’s feed based on relevancy instead of publish time. It is similar to a mathematical function: all posts act as an input, then the algorithm filters and ranks the posts based on numerous factors depending on the individual, and finally the output is displayed as the user’s feed. It would be impossible to sift through the enormous amount of information without the help of an algorithm, which weeds out and discards irrelevant or low-quality content. The act of customizing an individual’s feed can be referred to as ‘personalization’, and its consequences are double-edged.

The obvious advantage of personalization is that customers will be ‘viewed as distinct individuals with unique characteristics and preferences,’ (Buryan, 2018) It does not matter if you are interested in flying chickens, swimming sloths, or 3D-printed hamburgers, the algorithm will find something you would enjoy and display it nicely in your feed.

With the simple click of a button, an entire world tailor-made to fit your preferences opens up in front

of you. You can even connect anonymously to likeminded people all across the globe, expanding your social circle in a way that is unprecedented.

However, these benefits come at a price. In order to customize content, data collected from every single user are essential. These may include our likes, posts, interactions with other accounts, previous transactions, GPS location, IP address and even mouse movements. A study has found that although one like may prove to be insignificant, an accumulation of likes can ‘automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes’ (Kosinski, 2013) – sexual orientation, personality traits, intelligence and happiness, to name but a few. By interacting with these platforms, we are ‘clicking our personalities’ on to social media and we are ‘revealing ourselves in a level of detail that we usually reserve for only our closest friends.’ (Sumpter, 2018) However, unlike our closest friends who tend to forget everything we have told them, the algorithm retains all that knowledge in its humongous database, and companies may then use it to their advantage.

With all that information at hand, social media platforms can now target each individual with specially generated advertisements, which are designed to have the most impact on the user. I really like this explanation by mention: ‘Retargeting … allows customization of ads based on users’ data. To put it more simply, [businesses] can serve tailored ads to [their] website visitors based on what interactions [users] did on [their] site.’ (Debois, 2019) If the company only aims to use personalized ads to lure you into buying a specific product, then you may still consider it to be harmless. However, consider a political campaign on Facebook that intends to influence your view; the campaign understands you better than your closest friend, and by choosing different approaches to their advertisements, they may change your opinions without you even knowing.

A recent example of this occurred in the 2016 US presidential election, when the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica on Trump’s campaign was accused of obtaining data from ‘over 87 million users’ without consent, ‘predominantly to be used for political advertising’. The firm created ‘psychographic profiles of the subjects of the data’, which ‘suggested what type of advertisement would be most effective to persuade a particular person in a particular location for some political event.’ (Wikipedia, 2021) The executives appeared to have said that they could ‘extort politicians’, ‘spread propaganda’ and admitted ‘preying on public’s fear.’ (Wired, no date) In 2019, Facebook was hit with a $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission due to the incident. Whether the firm actually contributed to Trump’s victory cannot be determined, but the fact that technology companies can influence our personal identities based on our everyday information consumption cannot be ignored.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Wired (2014) Wanna Build Your Own Google? Visit the App Store for Algorithms https://www.wired.com/2014/08/algorithmia/ In-text-(Wired, 2014) Sproutsocial (2019) Everything You Need to Know About Social Media Algorithms https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-algorithms/ Buryan (2018) Personalized Marketing on Social Media: The Ultimate Guide https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/personalized-marketing-on-social-media In-text-(Buryan 2018) Agosti, Reviglio (2020) “Thinking Outside the Black-Box: The Case for “Algorithmic Sovereignty” in Social Media” SM+S, 28 April Facebook (2021) Data Policy https://www.facebook.com/policy.php Kosinski, Stillwell, Graepel(2013) “Private traits and attributes are predictable from digital records of human behavior”, PNAS, 12 February, p.1 In-text-(Kosinski, 2013) Sumpter (2018) Outnumbered: From Facebook and Google to Fake News and Filter-bubbles – The Algorithms That Control Our Lives UK: Bloombury In-text(Sumpter, 2018) Debois (2019) 6 Great Examples of Personalization in Social Media Marketing https://mention.com/en/blog/personalization-social-media-marketing/ In-text-(Debois, 2019) Wikipedia (2021) Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_Analytica_data_ scandal In-text-(Wikipedia, 2021) Wired (no date) The Cambridge Analytica Story Explained https://www.wired.com/amp-stories/cambridge-analytica-explainer/ In-text-(Wired, no date) Manipod (2020) How to Combat the Negative Effects of Social Media https://online.king.edu/news/how-to-combat-the-negative-effects-of-socialmedia/

In this article, I have portrayed social media mostly as a sinister monster keeping humanity on a string.

However, it is important to realize that after all these platforms are just tools; you can and should learn how to properly utilize them and sidestep the pitfalls. A good way to start is by being mindful of your social media habits and setting limits on the amount of time you spend on them each day. If you are having a hard time controlling your usage and think you may be addicted, do not feel embarrassed about contacting a treatment provider! Remember, the monster is ultimately caged in an application, which you can choose to get rid of anytime.

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FERMAT’S LAST THEOREM Maria Taraban, LIV

WHO WAS FERMAT? Pierre de Fermat (1607–1665) was a French lawyer and one of the leading mathematicians of the first half of the 17th Century. He is often regarded as the person who discovered the elementary principal of analytical geometry, (which is the way of studying geometry using a coordinate system) as well as developing many other areas of Maths such as probability and calculus. Pierre de Fermat is also classed as the main founder of modern number theory.

THE THEOREM

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It is believed that Fermat’s Last Theorem came about when he first looked at an equation, (similar to Pythagoras’ equation) which was ‘x2+y2=z2’.

Fermat then questioned what would happen to the equation if he changed it, eg ‘x3+y3=z3’ or ‘x4+y4=z4’ or ‘x5+y5=z5’ etc. He wanted to know if there were whole number solutions for these equations. To generalise, he called the equations ‘xn+yn=zn’. His Theorem states that there are no possible whole number solutions for ‘xn+yn=zn’ when ‘n’ is greater than two. To take his statement further, Fermat believed that he had found a proof, or a rule that states that with no exception, there were no whole number solutions.

Interestingly, Fermat only published one mathematical paper and that was thanks to his son, Samuel, who collected his mathematical papers, letters and other books he had made notes in after Fermat died in 1665 and made Fermat’s tremendous discovery known to the world. However, it was only the statement of his discovery of the equation that Samuel had found. It was scribbled down in the margin of a book that Fermat was reading, Diophantus’ Arithmetica, and he wrote in it that had a ‘truly marvellous proof’ but he had never written down the proof because the margin was too small to write it in. It never occurred to him to

QUIZ ANSWERS

find something to write on with more space, and for some reason whenever he had discovered more proof, he had always made excuses for not writing them down.

Because of this, Samuel decided to publish the book Arithmetica with all his father’s notes printed into the copy. This copy helped many people work out his proofs for other theorems, but for this particular statement (that ‘x + y = z’ cannot have a whole number solution if ‘n’ is greater than 2), the proof had remained a mystery for many decades after. That is why it is called his Last Theorem because it was the last theorem that a proof could be found for. The proof for Fermat’s Last Theorem was found 350 years later, in 1993 by a man named Andrew Wiles.

THEORIES ABOUT THE THEOREM Before the proof was discovered, people believed different things with some believing that maybe it was just a trick and there wasn’t a proof at all. Even today, some believe that Fermat thought he had a proof, but it was flawed. Up until 1993, people still wanted to know if Fermat’s statement about the equation (that there are no whole number solutions) was correct.

DISCOVERING THE PROOF Andrew Wiles was ten years old when he first read about the proof of Fermat’s Theorem yet to be solved. He decided he wanted to try and solve it and his desire to stayed with him for many years.

When he was in his mid-thirties and a Princeton Professor at the time, he discovered and decided to work on the ‘Taniyama Shimura Conjecture’ which is another mathematical statement that was proposed in the fifties with no clear proof. But why take on this challenge of solving yet another theorem?

Well, he heard that there was a link between this conjecture and Fermat’s Last Theorem so knowing that solving it would help him, started working towards this ambitious challenge. However, he didn’t tell anyone he was doing it and worked in secrecy for seven years dedicating all his focus to this one problem. After seven years of hard work, he presented his findings at Cambridge and became very successful. However, after getting his proof checked, a mistake was discovered. The mistake seemed to be easily fixable, but it actually took Wiles a whole year to fix it. Eventually Wiles did prove that Fermat was indeed right and in the equation x + y = z, no whole number solutions can be found when ‘n’ is greater than two.

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Science at Downe House 1927

1920s

1930s

1930s

2004

2005

2019

2019

Cold Ash, Thatcham, Berkshire RG18 9JJ T: 01635 200286 E: registrar@downehouse.net www.downehouse.net

Downe House School

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