Science Fiction — Mythology of the Future
Haven’t We Had Enough of Gender Stereotypes?
An essay by linguist Deborah Cameron about gender misconceptions really hit home hard. It made me ask, why do we let gender role restrictions influence our identity. Continue reading
Immortalising Heritage
Limestone is precious to Malta. The softness of the stone makes beautiful sculptures but also erodes quickly. Jessica Edwards caught up with Dr Daniel Vella and Prof. Emmanuel Sinagra to find out how limestone and Malta’s heritage can be protected.Continue reading
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Over 60 Best Book of the Year lists, 75 weeks on the New York Best Sellers list, and several prestigious awards, The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a must read for all. I don’t usually review 4-year old books, but this non-fiction book has it all: race and class issues, betrayal, loss, education and healthcare access, exploitation, and lucidly told science.Continue reading
Haggis
Haggis is the only game that I rate a round solid 10. I know, it’s probably not good review practice to give your opinion so clearly and obviously at the very beginning, but Haggis is a special game. It’s the only game that I voluntarily own two copies of, just in case something happens to my other one, or the cards just disintegrate after one too many plays. Haggis is that game. Continue reading
Succeeding by Failing
Luana Micallef tells us about her career starting from a young computer scientist at Microsoft and CERN to helping treating cancer.Continue reading
Vib Ribbon
If you’re into music-centric games, you’re in for a treat. Vib-Ribbon, the seminal rhythm game released in 1999 for the original Playstation, is back on contemporary consoles. It’s not a new version, but rather a faithful emulation: an important recognition for a title that was never commercially released in North America, but still made its way into the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, New York) collection. Continue reading
Brain Works
Ariana Gatt talks about pharma, fruit fly research, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.Continue reading
Can humans live on other planets?
Well this is a vast question, yes they can. However, it is not all that simple. Start off with the fact that we don’t have the technology to access Earth-like planets we could live on. Over forty planets that could be habitable have already been found.
Reaching the exoplanet might only be half the problem. Will the planet already be suitable for life? Or, will we need to terraform it, manipulate its environment, so we can mould it into our Mother Earth? Will we be wiped out by some unknown disease we have no resistance to—as happened to the aliens in War of the Worlds. Will we be able to adapt to the environment? What about building a colony outside our planet which will be completely independent of Earth? Eventually yes, on a planet with the right conditions, but let’s get there first.
Send your questions to think@um.edu.mt and we’ll find out if it’s the truth or just a fib!
Oceans Re-energised
The world’s oceans support the lives, economies, and health of societies. When the ocean is in decline, a society will also be in decline. Take the Aral Sea Crisis—destroyed by Soviet-era irrigation projects—where a prosperous society used the sea in an unsustainable manner, degrading this resource and their livelihoods. This cycle of decline needs to be turned into a cycle of recovery.Continue reading