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‘Drunk words, sober thoughts' Jamie Foxx’ lyrics: “Blame it on the booze, got you feeling loose, blame it on ‘tron, got you in the zone, blame it on the a-a-a-a-a alcohol” describes a feeling that many of us have experienced after a big night out. The alcohol was definitely to blame, right? Especially for any ‘uncharacteristic’ or embarrassing behaviour, or for things that we said that we probably (definitely) should not have. We often associate our alcohol consumption with a definite or distinct ‘change in personality’ as it has a tendency to bring out another side of us. Is any of this sounding familiar so far? Well as it turns out, this may not necessarily be the case and you may not be [...]

Why SA can’t afford not to be water savvy Water, unsurprisingly and undeniably is our most important natural resource. 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by water. This statistic on its own sounds like a pretty decent water percentage, however we need to take into account that of that 70%, approximately 97% of that water is salt water, and therefore not easily consumable. Of the remaining 3% that classifies as fresh water only an estimated one percent can actually be consumed or used by life on earth due to the fact that the rest is in solid form – in essence the ice found at the North and South poles. Africa as we all know is a continent that is recognised for its [...]

Dr Tozama Qwebani-Ogunleye was nominated on the 12th of August by the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) Dr Tozama Qwebani-Ogunleye was nominated on the 12th of August by the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) to represent South African early to mid-researchers and scholars (3-7 years after PhD) at the Global Young Leadership Workshop and the World Science Forum (WSF) in Budapest, Hungary. The 2019 Global Young Leadership Workshop is a capacity building workshop that seeks to identify the challenges from an early-career scientist perspective, and then explore possible ways to address these challenges from the diverse disciplinary and cultural viewpoints that will be represented in the room, with the ultimate aim of enabling participants to identify the opportunities that these challenges present in order to take a leading [...]

Gender neutrality to become mainstream Gender neutral or gender neutrality is a term that is now common place in the media, however what does it actually mean? Well, before we get on to gender neutrality and its inherent ideological place in society, it is important to make the distinction between sex and gender. Sex refers to a person’s biological anatomy and reproductive organ (genitals). Gender on the other hand refers to the socially ascribed role or personal identification that a person can choose to fulfil. Therefore sex and gender can be entirely unrelated concepts as a person can be born with male sex organs but identify as female from a sociological gender perspective. So now that we’ve clarified the difference between gender and [...]

Microdosing for mental health? Microdosing is the practice of taking reduced or small doses of psychedelic drugs primarily for mental health and well-being purposes, as well as for increased productivity and occasionally for more recreational purposes. In recent years, the focus has moved from utilising psychedelics on a purely recreational basis, to the potential benefits that psychedelics may have in aiding mental illness. “Taking microdoses of a psychedelic drug means taking only a fraction of a dose that is required to have a full-blown psychedelic experience, or "trip." (Medical News Today). The most recent studies that have emerged in the last year have indicated that certain compounds found in psychedelics such as the psilocybin which is the active psychedelic agent in magic mushrooms, [...]

Contaminated Chernobyl now a tourist hot spot Chernobyl, arguably one of the most contaminated places on the planet, is set to become a budding hot spot for tourists. In an announcement made earlier this year by Ukraine’s current president -President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of the importance of changing the way in which Chernobyl is viewed, and granting it “new life” by doing so. "We must give this territory of Ukraine a new life, until now, Chernobyl was a negative part of Ukraine's brand. It's time to change it (2019)." Chernobyl has experienced a noticeable spike in tourism since the debut of the popular HBO series of the same name that was released earlier this year. While some parts of Chernobyl have been open [...]