Vincent Van-Goh-ing digital?

Rosie Bibby on 23 November 2023

The wonders of artificial intelligence (AI) are ever growing and no one can deny that this technology is impressive. However, some may complain about the lack of artistic creation that has gone into producing these images as they are determined by an algorithm. Artists, graphic designers and illustrators are just a few examples of professionals that have been affected by the AI art tools. Some say it removes all emotion from the skill because there is no creative process involved. Others believe it has the potential to drive hate related movements. There are many free AI art generators available online that can create art in a matter of seconds based on just a few words. I tried it out myself asking for a representation of “University of Leeds students” and got something that looks horrifyingly realistic. Let us know if this looks like you or anyone you know at the University of Leeds!

‘University of Leeds student’ typed into img2go.com

To create these pictures, the AI has sourced images and text from across the internet to comprise a database with over a billion pictures and uses an algorithm to create a new image from these. Alongside this mammoth data collection comes copyright issues as it has taken photographs and artworks from rights holders without their consent. Furthermore, the internet is also full of negative and unwanted imagery which could lead to some users harnessing the power of AI to create discriminatory, offensive and illegal material. As this is a relatively new technology, the law has not yet been updated to include ethical considerations around AI activity.

This has the potential to threaten the livelihoods of professional artists who rely on their work for income, therefore, there needs to be an increasing awareness and protection of online artwork to prevent artists being plagiarised and losing profit. The government must look into censoring what can be produced from AI to prevent people from using it to spread hate or illegal images.

Earthshot Winners Announced: the People Taking on Climate Change

Elizabeth Sprason on 23 November 2023

On the 7^th November, five winners of the Earthshot Prize 2023 were announced by Prince William at a star-studded event in Singapore. Out of 1300 nominees, the winners included community projects, high tech startups, and charities. The Earthshot awards have gained great global interest and shines a spotlight on communities working to protect our planet.

Image Credit: The Earthshot Prize (https://earthshotprize.org/our-vision-mission/)

The purpose of the Earthshot Prize is to accelerate sustainable development and innovation, and has 5 defining categories. By 2030, the five Earthshot winners aim to: Protect and Restore Nature by seeing a growth in natural habitats; Clean Our Air and ensure that globally the World Health Organisation standard is met; Revive Our Oceans and future proof them for the next generation; Build a Waste-Free World with a focus on removing single use plastics, and finally, Fix Our Climate which has the aim to build a carbon neutral economy.

Each of the winners are awarded £1million to help develop their projects as well as receiving recognition and notoriety within the sustainability community. Back in 2020, Prince William set up the prize and is described by the Royal Foundation as “the most prestigious global prize for the environment in history”. From 2021 to 2030, a winner will be announced for each of the five categories having been judged by the Earthshot Prize Council (which includes in their midst Prince William himself and Sir David Attenborough).

The 2023 winners were varied. From a conservation community project in the Andes planting almost 10 million native trees since 2018, to an Indian food waste prevention scheme that empowers female farmers by supplying solar powered food processors. One company – Boomitra – uses AI and satellite images to help farmers restore their soil health and improves food security.

The winner the Clean Our Air Earthshot, meanwhile, has developed a unique technology than can reduce greenhouse emissions by 40%. GRST (Green, Renewable and Sustainable Technology) uses water instead of NMP solvents to produce lithium batteries. This has the potential for a variety of uses from manufacturing to powering electric cars. Currently, lithium-ion batteries require destructive mining techniques to obtain the finite materials required. ~~and as~~ As the world moves away from fossil fuels, the demand for lithium will only increase, risking the future of many of earth’s habitats. Furthermore, using water is less toxic than NMP solvents and ~~also~~ makes the battery easier to recycle, thus ultimately reducing waste. With the prize money, the Hong Kong based start-up is set to build the world’s greenest lithium-ion battery factory in China and upscale its battery production.

Other winners and nominees from previous years include The City of Milan Food Waste Hubs for the Build a Waste-Free World, Reeddi Capsules for Fix Our Climate, and The Great Bubble Barrier for Revive Our Oceans. One 2021 finalist is Vinisha Umashankar who at 14 created solar powered carts that improved ironing vendors health in India as an alternative to the charcoal stands used in her community.

Seeing through the glamour, it’s clear to see the legacy the Earthshot prizes create, and the importance of the awareness it creates for the climate crisis. Who will win next?

Image Credit: The Earthshot Prize (https://earthshotprize.org/our-vision-mission/)

Invaders From Your Garden

Rosie Bibby on 23 November 2023

You may have experienced the swarms of ladybirds in green spaces around Leeds or perhaps in your home. It’s getting to the time of year that ladybirds, alongside other overwintering animals, are looking to hunker down for the winter and hibernate. This is why they gather in large numbers, aiming to find a protected, warm spot like your windowsill!

Although, most of these ladybirds are not our native species but the invasive harlequin ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis), which arrived in the UK in 2004. It is thought they were introduced from Europe or the US as a natural form of pest control as they eat aphids, an aggressive herbivore of crop plants. However, the harlequins originally come from eastern Russia, China and Japan. You can identify the invasive Harlequin ladybirds by their orange legs, whereas our native species have a black body.

The harlequins often predate upon our native ladybirds and can also give them sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). This disease is caused by a fungus that lives on their exoskeleton and can be visible with the naked eye. However, there is no concern of this STD being transmissible to humans, so no need to worry!

Other invasive species, however, are very problematic throughout the UK. One such invader is the signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, which was introduced to the UK in the 1970s as a food source. However, as a smaller member of the crustacean family, it turns out you don’t get much meat from crayfish. Therefore, many have been released into the wild where they have established large populations very successfully. They are such effective invaders because they breed rapidly and aren’t picky eaters; you may have spotted them in rivers or reservoirs and are often caught accidentally by fishermen.

Due to the UK’s temperate climate and poor border control, there are lots of well-established invaders including the Grey squirrel, Giant hogweed and the Asian hornet. It is also theorised that with climate change, the UK will become home to more invasive species as their thermal ranges shift northwards with the warming climate.

Insights into Little Known Medical Secrets

Lily Page on 23 November 2023

Ever wondered about the behind the scenes of medicine throughout the 19^th and 20^th century? Want to know more about the work Florence Nightingale did? Or how prisons were used to perform population wide experiments to determine if the inmates had a genetic disposition to criminal acts?

The Thackray Museum of Medicine is excited to announce the return of their popular annual “Insights Lectures” this autumn. The talks aim to further the mission for the public to engage with academic debate over the development and history of medicine. These talks go beyond what we can see in the museum collections and provide in-depth knowledge on how we look after ourselves and push us to assess our own needs by understanding the roots, peaks, and troughs of healthcare evolution. Leading researchers from a variety of fields will work in tandem to provide topical insights varying from medical history and the environment to ethics, politics and Victorian architecture.

I spoke to Laura Sellers; the curator of the lectures, about the importance of the talks, and the clarity they provide in a contemporary world of swirling digital infodemics and medical misinformation, particularly since COIVD-19. Laura emphasises that as healthcare consumers, we must understand where things come from; the sources, the human cost and history of innovation, developing research and enlightening skeletal remains allowing reinterpretation of misunderstood communities. These elements allow us to re-frame the way we look at ourselves and others. For example, if we followed the advice of Donald Trump to inject disinfectant into our bodies (classed as an “expert” by his presidential title) during the COVID-19 pandemic, we can assume the death rates of the virus would have been significantly larger in the US. Consider the unfathomable concept that doctors used to promote cigarettes! By immersing ourselves in historical narratives, the lectures give the everyday public liberty and opportunity to understand how, why, and when information changes, allowing freedom to make informed decisions on our own health and wellbeing.

The first of the monthly lectures commence on the 4th of November, where Laura Sellers and Dr Stella Butler (Librarian Emeritus at UOL and Honorary Research Fellow at UCL) will discuss Florence Nightingale’s revolutionary transformation of hospitals and a key psychological question as to whether criminality is a human characteristic that we can change or if it is innate to people. Laura was able to give us a preview of what is to come; during the 19th century, the concept of a “prison” was still unestablished. Early ideas focussed on time in prison representing a reformatory period whereby convicts would emerge cognitively changed. You may be surprised to hear that this did not work! Eventually, they concluded that healthcare was the only way to truly change prison life. From this idea, they could keep re-building and improving prisons, whether that be ventilation, or access to work, constant tweaks were made.

“It was actually a prison doctor who discovered you can get Vitamin C from a potato!”

He could do this because prisons essentially consisted of a controlled experimental body. Residents lived the same way, ate the same food, wore the same clothes, and performed the same labour; “everything about their lives was managed, which means you can effectively experiment on that population.” The results of observing and adjusting elements of prison life meant they could try and work out if criminality is, indeed, a changeable human characteristic or if it is innate to people. These observations fundamentally “changed how punishment happened in the UK”.

Everyone learns in different ways and lectures are not for everyone. Laura is trying to use as many wide-ranging events and topics as possible, relevant to the Harehills and St. James’s Hospital community as well as the wider population of Leeds, particularly university students. Laura’s main objective is to reach and inform as many people as she can. The museum are increasing their use of digital platforms and local community engagement; “What we try and do is give people access in different ways”. Again, when reliable, impartial, and accurate medical information is readily accessible, we are free to make more informed choices for our health.

The museum is located in Harehills, just a 30-minute walk from Leeds Train Station, with easy access to regular buses. The museum offers much more than just the Insights Lectures, including its Culture Club, targeted at a slightly younger audience (16-21). Tickets for the lectures are priced at £10 (or £60 for the full series) and can be found on The Thackray Museum of Medicine website under “What’s On“.

Researchers Identify Largest Ever Solar Storm using Ancient 14,300-year-old Tree Rings

Zoe Parker on 23 November 2023

The climate crisis has caused the Earth to be ravaged in more storms and extreme weather events in recent years. We see large scale storms on other planets – Jupiter’s famous ‘Great Red Spot’ is actually an ongoing storm that was first seen in 1879 – and even on our sun. Solar storms can impact us on Earth due to how close we are to our host star. Although the sun hasn’t had a massive solar outburst within recorded human history, scientists know there have been some in the past. Known as Miyake Events, there have been a total of nine such solar storms, but none previously have been on the same scale as the one discovered on the 9^th October this year in tree rings found in the Drouzet river, France.

Earlier last month a team of international scientists from institutions all over the world, including the University of Leeds, have announced that they have discovered evidence of the largest ever solar storm that is thought to have occurred over 14,300 years ago. They were able to do this by slicing apart the subfossil (remains of tree trunks that are not yet fully fossilised) into separate tree rings so they were ready for analysis. “We then carefully pieced together the separate trees to create a longer timeline using a method called dendrochronology [the study of annual tree growth]. This allowed us to discover invaluable information on past environmental changes and measure radiocarbon over an uncharted period of solar activity” explains Associate Professor Cécile Miramont, a member of the research team.

Tree rings of a buried subfossil tree in the Drouzet river. Photo Credit: Cécile Miramont

What they were looking for was a large spike in radiocarbon levels. “Radiocarbon is constantly being produced in the upper atmosphere through a chain of reactions initiated by cosmic rays” said Professor Edouard Bard, the lead author of the study. “Extreme solar events including solar flares and coronal mass ejections can also create short-term bursts of energetic particles which are preserved as huge spikes in radiocarbon production occurring over the course of just a single year” he adds. The scientists compared the tree ring samples to Greenland ice core beryllium measurements and determined that both were caused by this giant solar storm.

As fascinating as this is, there is a warning to heed here. It’s imperative that research like this is done so that preparation can be done in the event that a solar storm does occur. Because of the way our energy and telecommunication systems work, if a solar storm hit tomorrow, they would be almost completely destroyed and cost billions of pounds to repair. Professor Tim Heaton, lecturer and researcher at the University of Leeds, warns that it could “permanently damage the transformers in our electricity grids, resulting in huge and widespread blackouts lasting months” as well as damaging satellites that “we all rely on for navigation and telecommunication, leaving them unusable. They would also create severe radiation risks to astronauts”.

Subfossil trees in the banks of the Drouzet river. Photo Credit: Cécile Miramont

Very little is known about these solar storms, especially as they have never been observed with scientific instruments directly. “A precise understanding of our past is essential if we want to accurately predict our future and mitigate potential risks. We still have much to learn. Each new discovery not only helps answer existing key questions but can also generate new ones” states Professor Heaton.

The team have published a paper detailing their findings and can be found here.

Insights into Little Known Medical Secrets – Upcoming Thackray Museum of Medicine Insights Lectures

Lily Page on 31 October 2023

Ever wondered about the behind the scenes of medicine throughout the 19th and 20th century? Want to know more about the work Florence Nightingale did? Or how prisons were used to perform population wide experiments to determine if the inmates had a genetic disposition to criminal acts?

Our local Thackray Museum of Medicine is about to bring back their annual “Insights Lectures” commencing on November 4th. Their expert speakers aim to spark medical debate within the audience and reveal wonderous truths found nowhere else. To encourage us to re-assess our healthcare needs, the talks will explore the intricate details of medical evolution to expand our understanding about why things are the way they are.

I spoke to Laura Sellers, the curator of the lectures. She highlights the importance of their content in a world full of abundant information. She encourages that we should push ourselves to understand where things come from. Let’s consider sources; should we blindly follow the advice of “experts”, just because they hold a position of power? Where did this information stem from? Is it opinion or fact?

The first of the lectures, led by Laura, examine Florence Nightingale’s revolutionary approach in changing hospitals for the better and whether criminality is an innate human characteristic or if it can be changed? In early prison history, you may be surprised to hear that prison populations were used as experimental samples to test this!

The museum is just a short bus ride from the city into Harehills; if you wish to know more, look no further than our November print issue for a further article, and make sure you take this opportunity to engage with accurate and insightful information, if you truly want to understand what is going on around us. Whats even better is that students go free to all Insights Lectures – to redeem this, just contact groups@thackraymuseum.org to book your place now.

Review: New Scientist Live Exhibition 2023

Elizabeth Sprason on 26 October 2023

In the eyes of the public, the latest scientific discoveries can often be difficult to understand and feel exclusive only to those with the passion to study them. In order for science to enter the public consciousness, scientists must first clearly communicate their findings and this which, over recent years, has been proven to be scientists’ shortfall. The media loves to scoop up the big and exciting discoveries but most of the real hard work gets overlooked. Yet, every once in a while, researchers get the opportunity to meet with the public face to face and share their ideas.

One such opportunity is New Scientist Live.

New Scientist Live is a festival of knowledge and I was lucky to attend. Spanning across two days, talks and stalls engaged from all ages and backgrounds. Each year a range of topics is covered from the secrets of the universe to the inner workings of the mind. The event was hosted by New Scientist – a science magazine that has nearly 140,000 subscribers – and joined by famous scientists such as Jim Al-Khalili (professor at the University of Surrey and The World According to Physics, Cunk on Earth contributor), Alice Roberts (professor at the University of Birmingham and Time Team star), and Chris van Tulleken (NHS doctor and CBBC presenter). Stallholders included King’s College London School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences and their students showcasing their array of surgical robots; energy company The Fusion Cluster sharing their search for clean energy, and Ancient Craft teaching people how to make Bronze Age weapons.

The stall that particularly stood out to me was the Rothamsted Research stall. Laid out across the table were various perfume bottles filled with different natural fragrances. As I sniffed each one, the researcher explained how each were derived from well-loved herbs such as lavender and lemongrass and, where we would enjoy these plants for their scent, these unassuming chemicals hold surprising superpowers. Other than just smelling nice, the plant’s secretion of these chemicals can promote growth in neighbouring species or repel harmful insects. For example, citronella oil (derived from the citronella plant and originating from Asia) can repel mosquitos through inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE). AChE hydrolyses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine – crucial for triggering muscle movement – and so its inhibition causes a buildup of acetylcholine within synapses leading to paralysis and death in the insect. Exploiting this natural insecticide for large scale farming could reduce the toxicity to native wildlife currently seen with older agricultural sprays. This was something that I had never heard of, and I was glad I had taken the time to get to know all the scientists that were present.

For anyone interested in science I recommend taking up similar opportunities. Perhaps a science festival is required at Leeds? Our university is a hub of innovation, and it would be exciting for everyone (not just the scientists) to get an opportunity to engage with it.

The race to perfect the liquid biopsy

Hannah Dale and Lily Page on 26 October 2023

Precision medicine alongside liquid biopsy brings us closer than ever to revolutionising the management of lung cancer.

Lung cancer has the highest global mortality rates of all cancers, due to the fact that many cases are only detected at advanced stages of disease. Whilst lung cancer grows more prevalent than ever, we are seeing increasing development in precision medicine techniques and non-invasive methods of obtaining samples such as liquid biopsy. 85% of lung cancers are classified as non-small cell lung cancer. Ultimately treatments are similar across 3 sub-types, however research suggests varying responses to drug treatment due to differing genetic characteristics.

Liquid biopsies would revolutionise cancer care

Currently, we use imaging techniques such as CT scans, MRIs and X-rays, followed by surgical biopsies to detect and diagnose tumours. Liquid biopsies refer to blood tests that analyse circulating tumour debris, shed into the blood, as an alternative to tumour biopsies which are more invasive. Scientists can use highly sensitive genetic techniques in tandem with liquid biopsy, such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). This is a powerful, high-throughput genetic sequencing technology; such methods allow us to detect of cancers and dictate tailored treatments, saving lives and preventing reoccurrence.

Using liquid biopsy alongside genomic profiling techniques such as NGS, means we can easily access and profile genetic material and identify specific gene mutations. This will allow us to choose a tailored treatment which is more effective for the specific cancer and hence drastically improve the success of the treatment. With real time genetic information (facilitated by liquid biopsy) regarding the molecular characteristics of the disease, we can apply targeted, novel treatments which act on mutated (cancer) cells unlike older treatments which may destroy healthy cells in their path. Not only would this mean more positive treatment outcomes, but also provide the patient with a better quality of life due to the ease of sampling blood and serial repeats for real-time monitoring. Therefore, liquid biopsies would revolutionise cancer care on multiple fronts.

Liquid biopsy is right on the cusp of starting a revolution

It is estimated that up to 55% of people with non-small cell lung cancer may experience recurrence of disease. This can be due to small groups of residual cancer cells which are too small to be seen on scans. However, as the sensitivity of the genetic tests improve, we may be able to detect the remaining cells in the blood and treat people ahead of symptom presentation before the cells can proliferate again.

Revolutionising the management of lung cancer would involve drastically improving long term survival through detection, treatment, monitoring, and preventing recurrence through detecting relapse and resistance genotyping. It is certainly conceivable that liquid biopsy, combined with techniques such as NGS may facilitate this revolution. However, for widespread clinical use, the optimisation of test sensitivity and extraction techniques must be achieved to justify the replacement of established methods. More research is needed to determine these facts and it’s constantly accelerating. Only then, with the correct validation and facilities can we use the liquid biopsy to its full capacity. Glimmers of the future have already been seen in the FDA approval of the companion diagnostic Guardant360 CDx for osimertinib: testing patient eligibility based specific biomarkers. Oncologists have already deemed this as completely transformational for this group of patients in delivering highly precise and effective treatments. An interview with a precision oncologist revealed that, “liquid biopsy is right on the cusp of starting a revolution”, and the case is not “if” we will see results, but “when”.

Should you believe in ghosts?

Aashna Khilosia on 26 October 2023

Indulging in costume shopping and carving pumpkins, laughing at paranormal investigators on our TV screen jumping at a breeze or ridiculous ghost stories told over sleepovers is all in the spirit of Halloween. However, while some like to scare themselves silly for a laugh over the festive period, nearly half (43%) of UK adults believe in, and are fearful of, the paranormal. The top reasons the British believe there may be an uninvited guest at in their home include mysterious unexplainable sounds, cold spots, and even shadowy figures.

Many scientists have dipped their feet into the murky waters of the paranormal – so can science provide the evidence for the existence of ghosts?

While nobody has managed to capture a ghost in a controlled environment as evidence of its existence, in 1901 Dr McDougal tried instead to prove the existence of the soul. He investigated the idea that the ‘soul’ was physical enough to cause a drop in mass in humans at the moment of death – he pinpointed a 21 -gram loss which he concluded, influenced by his pre-existing beliefs, to be the mass of a soul .

43% of UK adults believe in, and are fearful of, the paranormal.

However, his findings were not welcomed with open arms by the science community, with many theories soon later proposed that diminished the credibility of his study. One key objector was Psychologist Richard Wiseman who pointed out that the human body at the point of death heats rapidly and so the loss in mass could be due to the loss of fluid via sweating. So, with a lack of credible evidence in the science field, the soul of a former 19th century resident most probably isn’t the source of the flickering lights and sudden gusts of wind!

But how do you explain the vivid ghost sightings people have experienced?

The most common explanation is sleep paralysis. Cambridge neuroscientist Baland Jalal explains sleep paralysis as being “like dreaming with your eyes open”. The phenomenon occurs when a person regains consciousness whilst in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. Outside of the REM phase, there is an increase in parasympathetic tone – inducing the body to relax. However, during phasic REM sleep, there is an upsurge of sympathetic tone, preventing muscles from contracting in response to dreams. If you wake up during this phase, the muscles might still be unable to move, leaving you effectively paralysed.

Waking whilst still in the REM phase creates a dissociation between perception and motor function, which can result in and have often been accompanied by hallucinations. So, when someone reports of a paranormal “haunting” that left them so terrified they were unable to move, a scientist’s diagnosis would most likely circle back to sleep paralysis.

Currently, no conclusive evidence has been brought forward to support the existence of supernatural creatures. However, discoveries are made every day and some scientists have dedicated whole careers to finding the evidence. In science, non-existence is rarely provable, so maybe that occurrence you can’t explain might just have been caused by the supernatural…

Beaver-Works

Rosie Bibby on 26 October 2023

Beavers have been extinct in the UK since the 1500s due to human exploitation for their meat and fur, as well as a substance called castoreum. The castoreum, secreted by glands near the anus, can be used in food, perfumes, and medicine, and is in high demand, especially in Sweden where it is used to flavour schnapps, a traditional distilled liquor.

The eradication of beavers has negatively impacted the British ecosystem due to their position as a keystone species – one of particular importance to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. As ecosystem engineers, beavers create wetland habitats for animals such as water voles, frogs and insects by using branches of trees they’ve felled to build a dam. Encouraging a home for small animals thus attracts larger predators, enhancing broader diversity in the area. Therefore, recent efforts have been made to reintroduce them throughout the UK supported by the RSPB, Forestry England and Scottish National Heritage.

The first European beavers were reintroduced in Scotland’s Knapdale forest in 2008. The benefits to biodiversity were clear, with an increase in dragonfly, minnow, and beetle species recorded in the 2015 ‘Beavers in Scotland’ report. This encouraged further reintroductions in Devon later in the same year, controlled by the River Otter Beaver Trial. Again, positive responses were recorded and in 2020, the government agreed that the beavers should stay.

Since then, there has been work on reintroducing beavers in Cropton Forest within the North York Moors. The main reason for beaver presence this time, however, was for flood prevention. The beaver’s dam building can alter the flow of rivers by creating pools and wetlands, significantly slowing the river’s flow and protecting humans living downstream from flooding.

Since 2019, the two beavers introduced in Yorkshire have had six kits and are now a family of eight, they certainly have been beavering away! After a trial of five years, the flood alleviating powers of the beavers will be studied and, if deemed successful, steps will be taken to reintroduce beavers in other high flood risk areas.