Radiation in Medicine: Balancing Benefit and Risk

What if an invisible energy could both reveal disease and help cure it? From diagnostic scans to targeted cancer therapy, radiation drives some of medicine’s most powerful tools. Understanding how this force can both benefit and harm patients is key to using it safely, responsibly, and to its greatest clinical advantage.

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Erudite but Light

The annual HUMS Yuletide gathering has become a familiar fixture in the University of Malta’s calendar, but it remains distinctive in bringing together scholars who otherwise rarely share academic spaces, inviting them to think and reflect together. Last year’s event hosted a range of speakers who exemplified the interdisciplinary and playful ethos of the annual event, now linked to the catchphrase ‘erudite but light’.

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The Hidden Power of Plants and Fungi: Phytonutrients, Our Everyday Lives and Sustainable Food Systems

Imagine biting into a crisp apple, its flesh bursting with sweetness and tang. You might think of the vitamins, perhaps the fibre, or simply the refreshing taste. But hidden within its colourful skin and juicy flesh are hundreds of tiny compounds quietly working behind the scenes to protect your health. These invisible allies are called phytochemicals, and they are transforming how we think about food, nutrition, and sustainability.

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Science in the City Promises Science and Arts Throughout September

Looking for a fun and exciting activity fitting for children and grown-ups alike? Science in the City offers inspiring activities throughout the whole month of September. And, between the 26th and 27th, Science in the City hosts the Street Festival and the Performance Festival.

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The Company that Cried Wolf – Part 4

De-extinction: The Case of the Dire Wolf? – The ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf has been one of the highest-profile scientific achievements of 2025. But the impression cultivated online is misleading – the dire wolf has not returned; it is being imitated. Five professors from the University of Malta have reacted to this complex story. In Part IV, Prof. Louis-F. Cassar considers the moral questions raised by a de-extincted future.

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The Company that Cried Wolf – Part 3

Ecological Perspectives on the ‘De-Extinction’ of the Dire Wolf (Aenocyon dirus) – The ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf has been one of the highest-profile scientific achievements of 2025. But the impression cultivated online is misleading – the dire wolf has not returned; it is being imitated. Five professors from the University of Malta have reacted to this complex story. In Part III, Prof. Sandro Lanfranco explores the potential ecological consequences of de-extinction’s logical conclusion: reintroducing dire wolves to the wild.

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The Company that Cried Wolf – Part 2

The Dire Wolf De-Extinction Project: Science, Significance, and the Ecology of Resurrection – The ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf has been one of the highest-profile scientific achievements of 2025. But the impression cultivated online is misleading – the dire wolf has not returned; it is being imitated. Five professors from the University of Malta have reacted to this complex story. In Part II, Chev. Prof. Renald Blundell recounts the science behind this achievement and what it may mean for science’s future.

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The Company that Cried Wolf – Part I

Questioning Genetics and Posing Ethical Questions – The ‘de-extinction’ of the dire wolf has been one of the highest-profile scientific achievements of 2025. But the impression cultivated online is misleading – the dire wolf has not returned; it is being imitated. Five professors from the University of Malta have reacted to this complex story. In Part I, Prof. Patrick J. Schembri and Rev. Prof. Ray Zammit speak on its science and ethics, following an introduction to the series by Jonathan Firbank.

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