Saturday 14th June 2025
Blog Page 347

Risk of blood clots from COVID-19 seven times higher than from vaccines

Charlie Hancock
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Risk of blood clots from COVID-19 seven times higher than from vaccines

A report from the University of Oxford has found that the risk of developing rare blood clots from a COVID-19 infection is seven times higher than the risk from vaccines. COVID-19 also increases the risk of rare blood clots by 100 times compared to normal.

The international rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been dogged by concerns about whether the vaccine is linked with rare blood clots in the brain called cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). In the UK, 44 CVT cases had been reported in patients who received the AstraZeneca vaccine as of March 31st. 14 of those patients died, although it is not certain whether the clots caused their deaths. 20.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been administered in the UK by this point.

In early April, the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that healthy 18-29 year olds who were not at high risk from the virus should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine. The decision was made because three cases of blood clots were found in patients in this age group, who are generally at a lower risk from COVID-19 than older people. 

Researchers at Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry and the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre compared the number of CVT cases diagnosed in patients two weeks after they were diagnosed with COVID-19 or had received a vaccine, and compared it with the background level in the general population.

Over 500,000 COVID-19 patients were included in the study, along with over 480,000 people who had received either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. CVT occurred most frequently in COVID-19 patients, at a rate of 39 per million. 30% of these cases occurred in patients younger than 30. The rate is 100 times higher than the background level of CVT in the general population.

The reported rate of CVT in patients who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine stands at about 5 per million. This rate of CVT after contracting COVID-19 is about 8 times greater than the risk from the AstraZeneca vaccine. For patients who had received the Moderna or PFizer, the rate is about 4 per million. The rate from contracting COVID-19 is about 10 times greater.

It is unclear whether COVID-19 increases the risk of developing CVT via the same or different mechanisms as vaccines.The researchers advised that the data should be interpreted with caution, since the rates could change as more data is gathered. There is also uncertainty in the data surrounding whether CVT is under-reported in medical records.

The Head of the Transneural Biology Group at Oxford University, Professor Paul Harrison, said: “We’ve reached two important conclusions. Firstly, COVID-19 markedly increases the risk of CVT, adding to the list of blood clotting problems this infection causes. Secondly, the COVID-19 risk is higher than we see with the current vaccines, even for those under 30; something that should be taken into account when considering the balances between risks and benefits for vaccination”.

Patients who experience unusual bruising around the injection site, new or persistent headaches, confusion, seizures, blurred vision, shortness of breach, chest pain, and leg swelling after receiving a vaccine are advised to seek medical attention.

Image: Vacunació Professionals / CC0 1.0

Student Profile: Luke Bateman

Issy Kenney-Herbert
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Student Profile: Luke Bateman

Joining this zoom call, Luke is sat in his childhood bedroom with a bookcase overflowing in the background. Luke immediately starts chatting and smiling, with a clear ability to put anyone at ease, even in online setting. This site is familiar to me as we both took a History module together last Trinity. Little did I know that lockdown had been such a creative time for him beyond those two-hour long classes we had each week – while I was binge watching Gilmore Girls for the umpteenth time, Luke was producing copious amounts of poetry and short stories…

Luke Bateman is a second year History student studying at Merton College, who also happens to be a prolific writer. He has been published in several journals for poetry including CP Quarterly, Jupiter Review and the Broad Street Humanities Review, and was also the winner of the Short Fiction Prize by Oxford Review of Books in December 2020 for a piece that he produced in the first lockdown.

Having read many of them, I start the interview asking about the multiple Tolkien references I found littered throughout his work. He lights up in delight when saying ‘I think anybody who is interested in fantasy has a massive debt to Tolkien. One of the major reasons I chose to apply to Merton College was because I found out that Tolkien had been there. I think the man’s incredible, obviously there are problematic elements to his work, but the sheer imagination of it. The poetry of the way he writes has always really appealed to me.’

When I ask what he is working on currently, he discusses a fantasy novel that is ‘very much Tolkien inspired with wizards and witches and a strong theme of environmentalism’ and continues to state that Tolkien has very much influenced his work. His passion for all things Tolkien is clear from the start. Yet, that passion does not subside throughout the interview. From discussing the topics of lockdown and the intensity of Oxford terms, to his aspirations for the future, he never once fades in his enthusiasm and optimism.

He mentions that poetry is a relatively new medium for him, which I didn’t expect – his poetry is the main body of his work that I read. He smiles and says ‘poetry is really something that I’ve got into as a result of being in Oxford. Before coming to University, I wrote maybe three poems in my entire life’, he laughs to himself as he recounts one of those times being for a poetry competition at his sixth form, which they eventually cancelled to his disappointment. However, as seems to be a theme with Luke, he managed to turn this situation into a golden opportunity later on: ‘I just put it away and didn’t think about it for a couple of years. When I got to Merton, I discovered the Merton poetry society and thought that since I had this poem that had been sitting there, it would just be silly to not take this opportunity. I submitted it and they were really kind about it, I went along to a meeting and met lots of really lovely people and thought – huh, poetry is kinda cool? And just got into it like that. If I hadn’t have come to Merton, I don’t think I would have pursued this route.’

We also discuss the viability of poetry with an intense Oxford term, with Luke saying ‘it is a lot easier to write a little ten line poem then sit down with the intention of writing the latest scene in a novel – poetry provides a creative outlet between essays’.

Whilst during Oxford terms, Luke mainly finds time for poetry, during the vacs he takes every opportunity to continue his lengthier projects: ‘this vac I have written two chapters of the novel I am working on, and it has been so lovely to disappear and be like “I’m going to pretend to be a witch!”‘

I ask if he finds his subject inspiring for the writing process – usually you would expect writers to study English and read novels. His reply is that of someone who has endless passion for everything he sets his mind to, and the ability to find creativity everywhere he looks: ‘we live in this world where so much has happened, the breadth of human creativity is so large, as a historian you read things and think that can’t possibly have happened, but it has. I come away thinking, well yes these are some great ideas for an essay but imagine putting them into a fantasy context…’

I explained to Luke that when starting student profiles, part of the idea was to spotlight the amazing work of students but also to help make some more things accessible. Luke is an incredible writer, has been writing throughout his life, but as he himself states, his degree at Oxford has changed the direction of his writing immeasurably. From inspiration from his degree to the environment of Merton College and the exploration of the medium of poetry to being published in the Oxford Review of Books. When asked what others could do to pursue a creative outlet whilst trying to get to grips with the Oxford workload, he suggests looking up and finding societies, such as the Merton Poetry Society: ‘you don’t need to constantly commit to doing absolutely everything, just take a chance. You might be led to the most creative thing you have ever done, or you might never think about it again. But just take that chance – what have you got to lose?’

Luke’s work is well worth a read and you can find it through his LinkTree.

Beyond the 9-to-5: In Conversation with Chelsea Fagan

Irene Zhang
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Beyond the 9-to-5: In Conversation with Chelsea Fagan

Chelsea Fagan’s videos are credited for making me finally understand stocks — no small feat, since both economics teachers and my dear parents had been unsuccessful at cracking my skull. With just the right number of pastel pillows and aesthetically pleasing plant combinations, her YouTube presence combines an impossibly chic visual appeal with deep cuts into the intimidating world of budgets, credit cards, and investing.

All very inspirational: naturally, I rolled out of bed 20 minutes before the interview and failed to get out of pyjama trousers before logging on, feeling like the absolute opposite of the accomplished woman I am about to call. Outside of being YouTube’s honest, feminist financial voice, Chelsea Fagan is the founder of The Financial Diet (TFD), a Manhattan-based, all-women media company dedicated to talking about money: what it does, how it intersects with our lives and social structures, and how to best cultivate a relationship with it.

One technical mishap later, we rolled into a conversation about TFD’s 2021 vision. Fagan’s followers on Twitter are familiar with her frequent updates on TFD’s workplace policies, and I was curious to learn more about flexible work-from-home and 35-hour work weeks from the perspective of a CEO. Fagan’s voice lit up, and I could sense palpable pride in her tone. ‘Before COVID we had a very flexible work-from-home policy where employees were only required to be in the office three days a week. We had a relationship to work-life balance that I think was already […] skewed more towards life than many employers, especially in media.’ Pre-COVID, TFD employees enjoyed ‘Summer Fridays’ in addition to flexible remote-work arrangements, and Fagan noted that neither productivity nor company revenue dipped.

However, she is hesitant to exaggerate the impacts of her workplace culture experiments. ‘The model that we have, which is essentially having leadership that feels very strongly about these issues and makes these choices, is unfortunately not very scalable, because quite frankly a lot of employers don’t feel that way.’

Fagan has made no secret of her politics: she supported Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic primaries, and our conversation frequently circled back to systemic ills in American capitalism. On the subject of exploitation, she does not mince her words. ‘Especially when you get to large corporations and, of course, publicly traded corporations, their loyalty ultimately is to their shareholders and their bloated executive packages, it’s not toward their workers. And in many cases their workers’ interests can be diametrically opposed with what is profitable.

‘[…] I do believe that when implemented properly, a lot of these practices are very good for the health of the business. My business […] operates this way and it’s been fantastic for the overall health and sustainability of the project, but I know that it doesn’t scale. I think the answer in a much broader sense is, of course, worker empowerment [and] unionisation. It’s really grassroots, and unfortunately I can’t do that for every worker in America, but I hope that by, in a very small way, setting an example, at least in our own industry of media, we can start to shift the narrative a little bit.’

Why run a business helping individuals get good at money, if the problem lies with an entire system rigged against much of her young audience? Fagan says that this dilemma is ‘the tension at the core of everything we do.’ Referring to TFD’s expansion into Spanish-language content for Latino communities and her experiences working with underprivileged individuals, she adds a game metaphor for explaining American society’s unspoken financial pain. ‘As the game in which you’re operating becomes more and more rigged and more and more difficult, it’s very, very hard to put too much of the emphasis on individual choices and individual responsibilities. You don’t want to get into […] victim-blaming someone if they happen to be in a tough financial situation, because the majority of what determines our financial outcomes in the US is the family to which we’re born and the circumstances to which we were born.

‘Most of wealth is inherited and poverty is very difficult to escape once you’re in it. Especially as the communities […] get more and more marginalised, it’s quite frankly very difficult to to find the right balance between personal responsibility and social awareness.’ Nevertheless, her work has convinced her that individual leveraging power through financial literacy is meaningful. ‘If I had to sum up the ethos of how we frame this information and how we communicate to our audience in a soundbite, it would be to say: the game that we’re playing is rigged. All of us are playing a rigged game here in the United States when it comes to building our financial stability, there’s no way around that. However, while we’re playing this game, it is in your best interest to play the best game you can possibly play.’

The decision to make accessible financial media her life mission was an intensely personal one for Fagan. In video essays, online articles, and public talks, she frequently harks back to her own money-troubled young adulthood. Rarely can anyone talk about sinking credit scores and being arrested for debt with such refreshing clarity, and it’s clear that Fagan has moved past financial shame. ‘I’m someone who went from experiencing pretty substantial poverty early in my life to becoming more financially stable, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that having money and financial security is like playing with a cheat code in life. It’s very difficult to get over that hump when you’re on the other side of poverty or not having enough. But ultimately, it is not going to help you and it’s not going to help your family if you abandon the game and just say, “well, I’ll never win.” I understand that; I think that’s a very human reaction and it’s very, very hard to find motivation to make the right choices when you’re working with so little. But you’re still better off making those better choices.

‘And in the meantime, especially [for] those of us who do have financial privilege, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can advocate for people to improve themselves in terms of their financial literacy and the choices they’re making, and simultaneously advocate for better policy and for better social responsibility with regards to quality of life.’

Where and how do we find the capacity to ‘do both’ — seek both individual and systemic change — at the same time? I ask Fagan about ‘selling-out’ for graduate jobs and ethical conflicts in careers choices. She isn’t familiar with the phrase: Fagan dropped out of college in 2010 to start her career and never obtained a degree. Nevertheless, is it possible to balance the pursuit of financial wellbeing with values?

To Fagan, the answer depends on who you are. ‘I do believe that as people achieve higher and higher levels of financial stability and freedom themselves, it becomes something of an ethical obligation to […] do whatever you can to make sure you’re not just getting on the hamster wheel of hoarding money for yourself.

‘Quite frankly, especially at elite universities, many of the most privileged children who come from wealth and really would have a lot of options will often go to extremely high paying jobs that are probably pretty detrimental to society. That’s not good, but it’s understandable if people’s central values and self worth […] is centred around how much they have and how much they can afford.

‘And then on the flip side, especially in more progressive circles, you have the opposite pressure […] which is to do something that is true to your values but perhaps will keep you trapped in a cycle of poverty, because a lot of these jobs that are very important are also terribly paid. If you have a massive debt burden, which you likely would if you’re coming from an elite school and you didn’t come from a wealthy background, you could be signing yourself up for a pretty hand-to-mouth life for some time and not be able to do any of the things that you would want to do, like maybe own a home […].

‘So I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer to the choice of how you position living up to your values versus achieving financial stability for yourself, but I will only say to people who are […] struggling financially, who come from a disadvantaged background, [and] who don’t have a lot of resources: you do not owe purity to anyone. You are allowed to prioritise your stability. You are allowed to prioritise your financial security. And you don’t have to explain that to anyone.

‘It’s often the people who have the financial security who are going to really drill down on someone for opting to do the same thing. But I will say again: once you do have financial stability, resources, and choices, I do believe that if you care about living in a more financially just society, that it is an ethical obligation to some capacity to make sure that you’re paying that forward.’

We return to the emphasis on life beyond work, and Fagan believes that such a shift can also be value-based. ‘It is important to remember too that your nine-to-five job is not the only place that you can have an impact on the world around you. You can have a job that is stable and allows you to live a functional life, and with your additional time you can do things that are contributive [to] building the community around you and helping improve the situation in which you’re operating; it doesn’t have to always be through your job.’

In terms of the future of work for Gen-Z, Fagan, a self-proclaimed millennial, is cautiously optimistic. ‘When it comes to the concept of work, we have seen over the past century that human productivity has increased by leaps and bounds. A lot of that is a result of our ability to synthesise our human capabilities with all of this technology. We’re producing more than ever, but we’re still stuck in a very old-fashioned concept of what it means to work; it’s really about an arbitrary number of hours that was decided a century ago.

‘I think the broader question is: how do we get to a place where we are not centering our lives around work? It can be an important facet of our personality, of our identity, of our validation and all of those things — I think it probably always will be for certain people — but it shouldn’t be the absolute centre and majority share of your life. And I don’t think it needs to be, because productivity as we’ve seen has skyrocketed, people are producing more than ever, and that’s completely decoupled with their average wages.

‘[In] professional managerial class jobs, if you’re even remotely competent at the job, you don’t need to be sitting at your desk for nine-plus hours a day. You just don’t.’ Her line of argument shaping up around some echoes of David Graeber, Fagan laughs a little as she pictures a potential future that allows ‘automation and technology to […] liberate workers, and to liberate people and to free up more of our time and resources. […] It will only be a net positive for society, because right now we are forcing people to waste not just a lot of their time, but a lot of their identity and a lot of their potential on planting their ass in a chair for fifty or sixty hours a week at many of these jobs, if not more.’

For one last question, I ask that classic aspiring-creative query on the values and limitations of unpaid work. Fagan sees social media advocacy and websites like Glassdoor as having had important impacts on workplace transparency, but also recognizes the internet’s inherent complexity. ‘The internet has had [an] inherent effect of devaluing a lot of work, because so many people can produce it, and a piece of work can be lifted and manipulated and repurposed and reproduced in seconds for all kinds of purposes. It’s not always clear who is the victim of that versus who is the beneficiary of that.’

She raises the example of one of TFD’s recent clients: a young woman whose Twitter video went viral. Her work was ‘repurposed left, right and centre’ by major media corporations, but she received no monetary compensation. Fagan sees more nuance in the story: ‘the original viral video she made no money from, but […] as a result of that virality and as a result of that ability to reach an audience, she has been able since to build a very lucrative career off of that attention. Certainly, it doesn’t work like that for everyone; there are shades of it.

‘We as a company at TFD do not do any unpaid internships […]; people don’t work for us for free. However, I got my career start in media distinctly by working for free, and had […] a similar experience to that young woman who went viral, in the sense that the visibility that that work, and that the internet was able to give me, I was able to [then] parlay to my own benefit and eventually start my own company through it.’

While recognizing the visibility economy’s many possibilities, Fagan makes thoughtful counterarguments. ‘We have to understand that it’s a double edged sword, the exposure and the transparency and the communication of the internet versus the inherently devaluing of it.

‘My biggest piece of advice to anyone starting out in their career is to be an opportunist. Look at everything as an opportunity, [and] weigh it as a cost-benefit analysis in terms of its future possible benefits for you. If you do something unpaid or underpaid, be very clear about why you’re doing it and what leverage it might give you in the future.’

Fagan ends on a resonant and honest note, on-brand as always. ‘Remember that these employers and companies that are leveraging you for free or for very little, they don’t care about you. So use them in the same way: use them for a byline, use them for a connection, use them for a step up.

‘I’m glad I did the things that I did when I was at the beginning of my career because I did leverage them as opportunities. I think having that real opportunist mentality is the only way to square the circle of the simultaneous level of visibility and devaluation that you will find in a digital job marketplace.’

In no way is the tension between individual action and collective problem-solving resolved; indeed, it seems that Fagan does not anticipate such a resolution. We haphazardly survive the ethical chaos of money in an inherently unjust world, hopefully doing all we can to pick the system apart. Such an idealistic, transformative task calls us to analyse employment as an honest tradeoff while imagining identities beyond work. I leave the call with questions still, but more interesting ones for the coming years and decades: how do we balance the need to cope, financially and otherwise, in the present with planning for a radically unpredictable future? What about the looming horizon of climate change? At the very least, I’ll be tuning in to TFD for more advice.

In and Out of Love: A Biblio-Biography

Katie Kirkpatrick
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In and Out of Love: A Biblio-Biography

It feels weird to be writing about books again. I used to consider myself a huge bookworm, often getting through multiple books in a week, but, as is the cliché, I found that my attention span waned dramatically once I reached my mid-teens. It remains true, though, that the books I read growing up have had a massive impact on who I am now, and that there have still been some in recent years that have felt important to me. 

The Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo

Like everyone else under the sun, I was a massive Harry Potter fan growing up. I owned a Hermione wand, along with a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and all the film tie-in books. I vividly remember going to the cinema to see the Half-Blood Prince adaptation aged nine (and hiding behind my mum’s cardigan at the sight of the nightmarish inferi), and taking the Pottermore sorting quiz for the first time (I maintain that it is flawed and I am a Ravenclaw, not a Hufflepuff). So why isn’t Harry Potter on this list then? It’s not just because I’m trying to be ‘not like other girls’. The Charlie Bone series shares many traits with Harry Potter: it similarly follows a boy who discovers that he is magic and the friends he makes at his magic school. What sets it apart most, though, is the fact that the school is for people gifted not only in magic, but in music, art, and drama, making it feel more grounded in real life. The Charlie Bone series was one of the first books that felt important to me because it creates a whole other world, like Harry Potter, but being less popular, its world felt like my own. 

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I first read The Hunger Games aged eleven, on a family holiday to France, and I was immediately obsessed. The gritty dystopian universe sucked me in from the start, and I got deep into the details of the world that Collins created. Embarrassingly, I won a school ‘Book Mastermind’ competition with the trilogy as my specialist subject, and to this day could tell you the names of minor characters and their districts of origin. The Hunger Games is also important to me as it started a prolonged interest in dystopian fiction and media. I went on to read every book of the genre I could get my hands on, from Divergent, Matched, and Uglies to The Handmaid’s Tale. I also did a project qualification on the popularity of dystopian fiction among young people, and it’s since been the subject of several articles I’ve written this year. The Hunger Games spawned for me a lifelong fascination with the world of dystopia – one that’s felt increasingly relevant recently. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

“Okay? Okay.”

Following my obsession with The Hunger Games, I fell deep into the YA rabbithole. At this point, I was very lucky to get involved with the Guardian Children’s Books website, reviewing books like All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven before they were published. I was also, regrettably, introduced to the concept of ‘fandom’. The Fault in Our Stars feels like the most significant book of the 2012-14 YA boom, but it’s also one that had an impact on my life in the real 

world. My now very tattered copy of the novel was passed round every single friend I had in Year 8, and was something we all talked about – a lot. My best friend at the time scribbled ‘Augustus Waters’ on the back page of my Maths book, and my cousin and I made (really, truly, deeply terrible) music videos on the infamous VideoStar based on the plots of our favourite books. On a family holiday to Amsterdam I insisted on finding the sites mentioned in the book and seen in the film adaptation – at this point in time, YA lit, and this book in particular, was everything to me and my friends. 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

To this day, if I am put on the spot and asked about my favourite book, I will say Never Let Me Go. The novel combined my love of YA and dystopia with literary writing, allowing me to see that this all-consuming interest could become something more widely widely respected. I did a school project on the film adaptation in Year 9, and wrote about it for a film website this month: it’s a story I keep coming back to. At this point, however, I was also starting to run out of steam with my reading habits. I began feeling too old for YA, and was instead eager to find ‘adult’ books that still dealt with the kinds of themes and characters I enjoyed, and Ishiguro’s novel presented me with exactly that. I also saw myself in its heroine Kathy – her name was so close to my own and despite her dystopian situation she had similar stresses and insecurities growing up. Never Let Me Go showed me that ‘literary’ fiction has the potential to be just as gripping as YA, and presented a morally complex story that has stayed with me for several years.

Selling Manhattan by Carol Ann Duffy

Just as I was drifting away from fiction, I found myself falling in love with poetry. I stumbled into it, really, after entering a local poetry competition. Making it my entire personality, as you do when you’re fifteen, meant that I went and bought a selection of poetry books: it was Selling Manhattan that stuck. Duffy is one of the most well-known poets in the country, especially by my generation due to the fact that seemingly everyone studied the iconic ‘Valentine’ (the onion poem) at GCSE and can still quote much of it by heart, but for good reason. This poetry collection was the first to demonstrate to me that poetry can be fun, honest, and accessible, having had enough of studying the Romantics. A special mention here must also go to the Young Poets Network website, where I was reading many poems by other young people and finding just as much inspiration.

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

At sixth form, I read for fun less than ever before – with the exception of the new John Green book and everything Sally Rooney, I spent all my reading time diving into French lit in preparation for my personal statement and interviews. When A-levels were cancelled, however, I found myself with a lot of time to kill, and naturally turned back to reading. This time, I didn’t care about trying to find something ‘literary’, or something I could reference in a personal statement – I just wanted something fun to take my mind off the state of… well, everything. Red, White and Royal Blue did the job perfectly. The book is a ‘New Adult’ rom-com, and a really excellent one. It reads like fanfiction in the best way possible, indulging in tropes, an eccentric ensemble cast, and tooth-rotting romance. I’ve highlighted God knows how many lines, for both the exquisite writing and unexpected moments of relatability, and re-read the book at least three times in less than a year. It’s just so good, and reminds you that reading can be, above all else, fun. 

Hera Lindsay Bird by Hera Lindsay Bird 

The poem ‘Monica’ by Hera Lindsay Bird has been stuck in my head for years. It deals with pop culture in a way that’s fun and honest and heartbreaking all at once, constantly subverting your expectations and delivering a sucker-punch ending. Bird’s self-titled poetry collection was my reward to myself for making it through Hilary term from home, and it was great. It’s easy to get disillusioned with poetry when you read a fair amount of it, but Bird’s voice is so raw and clever and unique that it stands out from the crowd. I’ll mention it whenever I’m asked for poetry recommendations, and revisit whenever I want something non-fiction and non-French for a minute. For 2021, it’s the perfect balance of wacky escapism, and hard-hitting dealings with real world feelings.

There are so many more books that have had an impact on me: I couldn’t fit in my deep love for Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, my pretentious fascination with Macbeth, or my awe of I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. So many of us fall in and out of love with reading, but everything we read stays with us in one way or another. I look forward to being able to add to this list. 

Image credits: Sofie Jones, Irene Zhang, and Johannes van Kan (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license, Wikimedia Foundation).

Cherwell Recommends: University Reads

Cherwell Books
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Cherwell Recommends: University Reads

Trinity 2021 will see at least a significant portion of the student body return to ‘normal Oxford’, a loose collection of memories, activities, and locations so distant yet so viscerally near. Of course, Oxford means radically different things to each and every student; the higher education experience in general is portrayed in literature as a tumultuous, fleeting moment, preserved in space by historical campuses but not in time. Be it pre-war Oxford, 1990s Harvard, or another locale, university settings have created some of the most treasured texts for readers across generations.

Some of the books editors have selected their favourite reads set in universities. We hope that as you peruse these stories, images of a bright new Oxford life post-pandemic will also spring to mind. Whose words will immortalize university life in the 2020s?

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Maebh, Books Editor
Amidst the news that there will be a new film adaptation of this classic novel written by Waugh in the 1940s, I decided to pick up and finally read a copy of it during the two weeks of isolation I went through in Michaelmas term. Whilst I was confined to my small bedroom, Waugh’s evocation depiction of 1920s Oxford made me nostalgic for the Oxford I had experienced before the pandemic; the joys of roaming around colleges, meeting new people, and the highs and lows of university life. In a weird way, I guess, it gave me a sense of belonging, the characters being described as strolling down the very same street that I lived (and was then isolated) on. Waugh’s memorable characters, his powerful evocation of a country both during and after the two World Wars, and his beautiful prose style makes this novel a joy to read, and an essential for anyone who has, or will, live in Oxford.

The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Sofie, Books Editor
The Idiot, a semi-autobiographical novel by New Yorker writer Elif Batuman, follows a young Turkish American woman named Selin as she navigates her first year at Harvard. When Selin starts exchanging emails with an older mathematics student named Ivan (the novel is set in the 1990s), she finds herself grappling with existential questions of life, language, and love first-hand.

The Idiot is distinctively a type of university novel, but it also captures the way in which Selin experiences the world beyond ivy-clad gates: at home, in Ivan’s home country of Hungary, and in European cities. While Batuman’s prose and dialogue are, at points, overly intellectualized, the novel does capture the very real anxieties and hopes that this period in one’s life brings.

Jill by Philip Larkin
Irene, Deputy Editor
Even among dedicated Larkin fans, Jill is often an overlooked work. Written when Larkin was 21 and studying for an English degree at St. John’s, the novel is set in ‘austere’ WWII Oxford. Gone are the days of Sebastian Flyte and motorcar trips to Wiltshire; instead, protagonist John Kemp finds himself in a labyrinthe of incomprehensible social norms and strang interactions. Kemp is a scholarship student from Lancashire, suddenly confronted with a world of privilege, private-school connections, and pretense. Jill’s subjects and themes are chillingly relevant today; almost none of the challenges that drove John Kemp to the edge of sanity have been resolved, and we too find ourselves back in an ‘austere’ Oxford where societal trauma is ongoing and palpable. At the very least, revisiting Larkin finds us companions in history.

Image credit: Man vyi (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, Wikimedia Commons).

Why we should all get a tattoo (or stop hating on those that do)

Renee Reid
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Why we should all get a tattoo (or stop hating on those that do)

In a city where every other person walking down the street is clad in either a Barbour jacket or an overcoat, and seems to regularly frequent dinner parties and wine-tastings, Oxford does not always appear to be the right place for tattoos.

The University of Oxford boasts the title of oldest English-speaking university and has hosted some of the world’s most respected personalities — we’ve all proudly recited their names before: C.S. Lewis, Stephen Hawking, Emma Watson, and Hugh Grant for all the fangirls out there. Yet surprisingly, for an establishment steeped in tradition, this 5000-year-old practice of tattooing (the Wellcome Collection suggests it might even be longer) is one long-standing tradition that has not been so readily accepted.

Hailing from the Bronze-Age, Ötzi the Iceman is said to be the oldest example of humans with tattoos. Now, tattoos can be found all over the world, throughout countless different cultures; depending on the country, they may signify anything from tribal identity to religious belief, but most importantly, they always reflect something personal.

So with their eclectic history, why haven’t tattoos made the cut? Our current student body is in the midst of great change – we are challenging expectations and destabilising traditions, flaunting our freshest and funkiest image of academia yet, and still, tattoos remain the subject of stigma and awkwardness. (My guess is that long ago we adopted the opinion of our beloved Greeks and Romans who associated the art with barbarism and this attitude has stuck since then). We’ve all been subjected to the agony of an awful tattoo reveal: the classic strained smile, lips pursed together, the words ‘nice!’ and ‘interesting…’ floating around the room. Yes, it can be painfully awkward.

The tattoo industry has been heavily misrepresented by three common myths that fervent critics, or perhaps just people who are deathly afraid of commitment, have made it their duty to disseminate. And while I will readily admit that I once fell into the former group (or potentially the latter…), I can confirm that, since admiring the tattoos of my amazingly intelligent and sensible friends, I no longer subscribe to that school of thought, and have instead decided to commit myself to claiming a space for tattoos in this prestigious institution.

Myth number one: “Tattoos are dangerous.” A common argument employed by anyone who isn’t too well acquainted with the practice or is perhaps only familiar with its black-market cousin (DIY hand-pokers, I’m talking to you). It’s also probably the most inaccurate of the three. If you do your research carefully and choose a legitimate artist with genuine reviews, there will absolutely be legislations in place to ensure the safety of staff and clients. What’s more – an increasing number studios are committed to using vegan and non-toxic inks making their practices even safer for the body. And above all, it is most important that you voice your concerns if something seems a little dodgy – don’t be scared to leave and go somewhere else if you don’t feel comfortable!  

But seriously, my main question is: what is so different about tattoos and body piercings? After all, they are both permanent, both intrusive – just in different manners. The same risks even apply: scarring, infections, allergic reactions, etc. Yet for some reason, when these complications are related to piercings, they are risks worth taking. Tattoos on the other hand? Often deemed not worth it. If I think about it carefully, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard more horror stories about my friends’ piercings than I have tattoos, even when they are done in reputable studios.  

Myth number two, a grandmother’s special and possibly my favourite: “Tattoos are meaningless, unprofessional and—dare I say—impulsive.” Admittedly, those infamous tales of people drunkenly surrendering their bodies to street tattoo artists in Mallorca would seem to be perfect examples of this (thanks Tattoo Fixers). However, let’s focus on the people who decide to get tattooed with fully informed consent. In these circumstances, it’s safe to say that tattoos are a form of art. And as we all know, art (as well as taste!) is relative, and body art is no exception to this rule – so who’s to decide which piece of art possesses meaning and what doesn’t? Surely we’re allowed to express ourselves in whichever way seems most appropriate without it negatively impacting the way we are perceived? Plus, the very experience of getting tattooed is undoubtedly memorable and is bound to hold meaning whether that be positive or negative!

Myth number three: “They look horrible when you get old.” An oldie but goldie. This one might well be true, but it is irrelevant. The point of a tattoo is not purely aesthetic longevity but rather that it is a form of self-expression – more specifically, a permanent one. Of course, it is inevitable that a tattoo will fade or become disfigured, but there will always be a memory attached to that precious site of inkage. Our bodies are canvases to be adorned with the things that best express who we are, and tattoos are an entirely valid way of fulfilling the body’s artistic potential – consider it an honour to have your body be the coffer of a piece of art that will last forever.

There is definitely pressure to conform to traditional stereotypes and mould yourself into a replica of the classic Oxford student – television representations would definitely suggest so (Riot Club anyone?) – but alas, let us remember the potent words of our French 19th century predecessors: art for art’s sake.

No, I am not encouraging you to spontaneously go and get your college motto tattooed on your body somewhere (I cannot confirm nor deny whether I have considered this before) but I am saying respect the art, it’s nowhere near as bad as you think!

Image credit: Alexander Kuzovlev via Wikimedia Commons.

Portrayals of Royalty: Film vs Reality

J Daniels
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Portrayals of Royalty: Film vs Reality

It has always amused people to produce performances centring on the lives of their rulers – our most famous entertainer, William Shakespeare, wrote ten plays dramatizing the life and exploits of British monarchs, though not in quite the same way as Peter Morgan (writer of many films about Kings and Queens, including The Other Boleyn Girl, King Ralph, The Queen, Henry VIII, The Crown and Bohemian Rhapsody). Some productions inspired by royal deeds and persons, like A Royal Night Out go straight for comedy and largely ignore any questions of accuracy or veracity – but more present themselves as revealing the secret inner lives and characters of famous figures. Do these portrayals serve to humanise or exotify their royal subjects?

The answer is both, always both.

Dramatize is the key word in most film and television portrayals of royal persons. Certain Lifetime films notwithstanding, the real problem is that most of these dramas approach royalty with a sense of reverence and delicacy which at times dates and always raises the subjects of the production above their audience. The 1998 film Elizabeth and its 2007 sequel, both starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I, are a famous example of productions playing fast-and-loose with historical fact but still somehow hoping to give an ‘authentic’ depiction of the Royal, or tell the ‘untold story’ – but as is inevitable with portrayals of famous figures about whom we have little or unsubstantiated information, the character will only ever be some combination of the writer, actor and director’s impression of the real person. Suggesting that any historical drama can reveal the ‘true nature’ or a ‘hidden side’ to its real-life inspirations is a fallacy, and an arrogant one at that. This line is somewhat blurred when it comes to more recent figures, as there is usually a far greater wealth of resources available from which to piece together the person behind the persona – but this is less true in the case of the Royal family, who remain notoriously tight-lipped regarding private matters.

Attempts are rarely even made at a true biopic of Royalty. Most productions seem to get swept up in the grandeur of their own sets and costuming – and often overly grandiose acting, akin to that of the overly reverent Shakespearean actor who is fan first and actor second – and thus fail at any attempt to truly humanise their characters, and instead make them seem even less real and relatable. Films adapted from Nicholas Sparks novels are rarely truly relatable to audiences, and when you throw in palace backdrops and headpieces dripping in jewels, the divide is widened. It is the creations which embrace the absurdity of their subject matter that, in my opinion, are the most successful. In Diana (2013), Naomi Watts symbolically kicks off her heels when alone to walk across the carpet barefoot, but the unnecessary focus of the shot turns this into a moment reminding the audience how separate they are from the character on the screen – removing your shoes when home is not something so remarkable for most people. Contrastingly, The King’s Speech and The Favourite (both of which earned numerous awards including the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively) embrace a weird playfulness and become more human through their humorous touches. The use of the fisheye lens in The Favourite further accentuates that truth that audience and creators all know: that the reality in this film is not one even remotely imaginable for most people. However, in accepting this, the film actually becomes much more accessible than most depictions of Royals – as does its refusal to shy away from the crude, with Emma Stone’s character arriving at the Royal residence spattered with mud after suffering a carriage ride sat opposite a man smiling at her while touching himself.

It would be impossible to discuss portrayals of royals in film and television without mentioning Netflix’s The Crown. In season 1 the late Prince Philip was shown savvily pushing for Elizabeth’s coronation to be televised to try and increase the monarchy’s popularity and make the public feel a more emotional connection to it. Yet the royals today either can’t or won’t acknowledge that The Crown has actually continued this work, cementing the image of the ineffectual, harmless Queen who lacks any real power, thus making her harder to criticise, and also distracting the public from current scandals (the Prince Andrew interview) by returning its sympathies to older upsets, such as the tragedy of Princess Diana. Marketed in the customary manner as something that would lift the veil and reveal the real people under the jewels and silver spoon accents – one of the promotional videos for the first season showed a pair of doors opening to reveal the characters caught in a ‘candid’ moment before they resume their public faces for a picture to be taken – The Crown has received both praise and reprimands regarding its faithfulness, or not, to reality. In its familiar, misbegotten quest for ‘authenticity’, The Crown has not quite lifted the veil but rather showed us how intricate it appears from the other side. Just like everyone else, these plummy-voiced people can also suffer from heartbreak and jealousy and being the side-lined sibling; unlike everyone else, most of their problems are rooted in their restrictive roles as royals. It is audacious, to say the least, that a group of people whose biggest problems are portrayed as a result of their being trapped at the very top of Britain’s rigid class structure are still expected to garner sympathy among an audience largely made of those trapped in the lower echelons.

Yet the sympathy is there – and for Princess Diana, especially after The Crown’s fourth season, is there in buckets. There is no possibility of a complete normalisation of the Royals simply because of the absurd and immoral reality of the monarchy, but productions like The Crown have still achieved that dual effect of both humanising and further exotifying the royals – and this is the best result any production tackling royalty with the aim of showing their vulnerable side can hope for.

Image credit: U.S. Embassy London via Flickr

The return of fans to football matches: a big win for supporters and teams alike?

Caitlin Murray
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The return of fans to football matches: a big win for supporters and teams alike?

Love it or hate it, artificial crowd noise has become a staple of televised British football since ‘Project Restart’ kicked-off back in Summer 2020. It has polarised football fans, broadcasters, players and managers alike. For Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson, it “got on his nerves” so much he ordered it to be turned off at Ashton Gate for their recent fixture against Nottingham Forest in the Championship. Whereas, if you’re anything like me, you may have become so accustomed to the ‘fake’ crowd noise that you don’t even notice it anymore. Either way, the days of listening to artificial crowd noise appear to be numbered, with the return of fans to football grounds pencilled in for this summer. The first of the pilot events is scheduled for the FA Cup semi-final between Leicester and Southampton on Sunday 18th April 2021 where 4,000 local residents will be allowed to attend the game. If this pilot event, alongside others including the Carabao Cup Final and FA Cup Final at Wembley are successful, “up to 10,000 people or 25% of total seated capacity, whichever is lower” will be allowed in stadiums for sporting events from the 17th May.

Without fans in the stadiums, some may argue their team has lost their home advantage. Statistics would support that claim, with the probability of the home team in a Premier League fixture losing rising by 4% since fans have been unable to attend games. The particular losers from playing behind-closed-doors include Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield United and Brighton. Specifically, the Premier League holders, Liverpool, have uncharacteristically only managed to score three goals at Anfield in 2021, and have dropped 20% more points without fans in the stadium compared to pre-pandemic. On the other hand, teams like West Ham have thrived without fans transforming from a team fighting to stay in the division at all, to challenging for a Champions league place. A pertinent question, which only time will tell, is whether the return of fans will restore the ‘home advantage’ back to pre-pandemic normality, or the loss of ‘home advantage’ will be a part of the ‘new-normal’ for footballers and fans alike.

Should the pilot events be successful, it is likely that the clash between Newcastle and Fulham, on the final day of the season with both teams fighting to remain in the division, will be played in front of 10,000 Fulham supporters. I am almost certain Fulham will welcome this home advantage, whilst Newcastle will highlight the unfairness of a fixture of this magnitude being played without representation of their supporters. Whilst we are all eager to return to watching our beloved teams in person, fixtures such as these raise the question of whether it is fair to have fans return at such a crucial point in the season when so much is at stake.

Another factor to consider is how the players themselves will respond. It has been more than a calendar year since games began being played behind-closed-doors, and much like fans have become used to hearing artificial crowd noise, I imagine some players have also become accustomed to playing to empty stadiums. Many Premier League players have referenced the importance of fans and how much they have been missed during this period; therefore, I am sure players cannot wait for the return of the ‘12th-man’ to stadiums very soon.

For teams under particular pressure, however, will fans returning in time for the end of the Premier League season be a positive force or will it just increase the burden on managers already under heavy scrutiny? Put differently, have some Premier League managers and players had it ‘too easy’ without fans being able to visibly show their reactions to games and performances? As much as fans are the ‘12th-man’ and can offer support and encouragement at crucial points in games, they also make their feelings very clear when they feel their teams aren’t performing. With many Newcastle fans venting their frustration towards both their owner Mike Ashley and manager Steve Bruce on social media, it will be interesting to see how the return of supporters to St James’ Park unfolds in the near future. Likewise, would Liverpool supporters have been sympathetic of their teams drop in form this season, particularly at home, had they been present at Anfield?

With only three managerial casualties this season, it is not unreasonable to suggest that a lack of fans has kept a few managers in employment where club owners would have probably responded to fan pressure had their frustrations been highlighted at stadiums each weekend. Equally, you could argue that the lack of visible pressure from fans every week has allowed managers to focus on the job at hand rather than being distracted by speculation about their job status.

All in all, the pandemic and subsequent empty stadiums have highlighted the importance of fans. There remain a number of question marks surrounding how players, managers and fans alike will respond to the return of spectators at football matches, but I suppose the vast majority of fans cannot wait for the day they can finally walk through the turnstiles again and cheer on their team, albeit with a face mask on. Only time will tell whether such a return will benefit the ‘Big six’ the most, or whether the return of supporters will offer huge boosts to the smaller teams in the Premier League. One thing is for sure, given that the first of three pilot events is to be played imminently at Wembley Stadium, I am sure millions of football fans in the UK, eager to return to watch their beloved teams in action will be watching the games extra-closely, if not with a slight hint of jealously towards the lucky few able to return early.

Image credit: Steffen Prößdorf via BuliNews (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Oxford medics raise nearly £4000 for charity after running the height of Olympus Mons in 48 hours

Maurício Alencar
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Oxford medics raise nearly £4000 for charity after running the height of Olympus Mons in 48 hours

A team of Oxford medicine students from Tingewick have climbed a total of 22,862m, which is over the height of Olympus Mons, the largest planetary mountain in the solar system and twice and a half times the size of Mount Everest, by running up Headington Hill over the weekend. The group also ran a total of 758.89km, which is equivalent to the distance from Oxford to Frankfurt. As of the 19th of April, the group have raised a total of £3762 for Oxford Hospitals Charity and Calon Hearts. The group are still looking for extra donations.

Tingewick is a charity run by Oxford medicine students which hosts a range of fundraising events across the calendar year, leading up to an annual pantomime at Christmas for hospital patients, a tradition which has lasted 83 years. Tingewick has 29 members, and many of them have been volunteering and working in Oxford’s hospitals over the pandemic. The group “also always do a big physical challenge”, which has included cycles to Paris and the Oxford Half, as Meirian Evans, producer of Tingewick Firm, told Cherwell. Their donation target was initially £1000, and they hoped to run the height of Mount Everest, but the team members managed to stunningly surpass those targets by enormous amounts. As a result of last Christmas’s pantomime not happening and given current difficult circumstances in healthcare, Tingewick firm has sought to go the extra mile in fundraising.

The charities Tingewick and fundraising for this year are Oxford Hospitals Charity and Calon Hearts. Oxford Hospitals Charity supports NHS staff in Oxford working on the pandemic frontline through funding extra psychological support. The charity also funds specialist equipment for patients. Calon Hearts is a charity chosen in memory of Issie Mogg, a “much-loved and greatly missed friend and medical student of Oxford University” who unfortunately passed away suddenly of an undiagnosed heart condition in 2018. Calon Hearts is a charity which works to tackle heart disease in Wales by placing defibrillators in communities and delivering the training of CPR and defibrillation as well.

Runners in the event were rotated and given breaks across the 48 hours in order to give them time to “refuel on both food and sleep” and ran in pairs to keep motivation levels at a high. Most runner groups also ran in 3 or 4 hour time slots, with friends lining up along Headington in support of the run. Lucy Denly, one of the event’s organisers, told Cherwell prior to the event, that she was particularly nervous of “people missing alarms and failing to wake up for their 3am shifts”. The bar has been raised for next year’s physical challenge.

The group is always looking for donations from the student community and wider. You can visit their website for donations.

Image courtesy of Tingewick Firm.

Nanotechnology – Opportunity or Risk?

Alice Banfield
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Nanotechnology – Opportunity or Risk?

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving field of science involving creation at the nanoscale: the objects made measure between one and one hundred nanometres. For context, one nanometre is just one billionth of a metre, which is around one hundred thousand times smaller than the width of an average human hair. Nanotechnology was first envisioned by Professor Richard Feynman in his 1959 lecture, ‘There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom’, but the term was coined in 1974 by Professor Norio Taniguchi, who used it to discuss the ability to design materials at the nanoscale.

There are some naturally occurring nanomaterials (e.g. in sand and volcanic ash) as well as nanostructures that can be found in many living organisms. For instance, there are some bacteria which can synthesise magnetic iron nano-minerals that help them to navigate using the Earth’s geomagnetic field. Scientists also have the ability to create nanostructures themselves by rearranging atoms within an object or binding atoms which have not been previously bound. Sometimes, unusual physical, chemical and biological properties will appear in materials at the nanoscale which are not ordinarily seen.

The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering suggest that there are two main reasons why materials at the nanoscale often display different properties; the first of these is due to the larger surface area, which leads to the substance being more chemically reactive. Nanomaterials may also display quantum effects and the electronic, magnetic and optical behaviour of the material may then differ – this allows new, useful materials to be constructed. For example, materials may be manufactured so that they have a very high strength to weight ratios, high solubility or high conductivity, to suit their desired applications.

There are numerous nanomaterials with a plethora of varied properties, and so they are able to be used in practically all fields; nanosilver has antibacterial properties and is used in equipment like chopping boards, while carbon nanotubes can be added to the frames of tennis racquets to stiffen them and increase power when striking the ball. Zinc oxide particles provide great UVA protection and are used in sun creams, while titanium dioxide nanoparticles conduct electricity and are used to make anti-static clothing items. Although many of the aforementioned products may be considered mundane, these examples clearly illustrate the versatility of nanostructures, and the practical application of such in our everyday lives.

There are many other arguably more significant areas in which nanotechnology can have an impact; nanoparticles are often used in the medical field, as they have an important role in drug delivery. Nanoparticles can act either as the drug itself, or as the carrier. There are many challenges surrounding the use of large sized materials in medicine, such as poor solubility and poor absorption, but nanoparticles are able to move much more freely in the human body compared to these bigger materials and so are often much more useful.

Nanostructures can be used as delivery agents by encapsulating drugs which can then be delivered precisely to infected cells or tissues. Particles can be engineered so that they are attracted to diseased cells only, which reduces damage to healthy cells and has been shown to be much more effective than non-targeted delivery. The size of these nanoparticles also means that they have the potential to cross cell membranes like the blood-brain barrier. Other uses of nanotechnology in medicine include the use of nano-robots to make repairs to damaged cells, and the use of gold nanoparticles to sterilise surgical equipment.

Clearly, nanotechnology is very important and practical, both in everyday life and within medicine, but there is still so much opportunity for growth. Improvements in our understanding of nanotechnology may lead to many more sophisticated developments in multiple fields like medicine, cosmetics, clothing and home appliances in the future.

Despite the amazing things the application of nanotechnology has achieved, there are still lots of concerns and uncertainties surrounding the use of nanoparticles. There are many potential risks and researchers are concerned that some nanoparticles could be toxic. Many nanomaterials are possibly dangerous, but there is a great degree of uncertainty as some of these materials, which are not very harmful by themselves, could be toxic if inhaled in the form of nanoparticles. Many scientists worry that we may have an asbestos type issue on our hands. Asbestos was widely used in the late 19th and 20th centuries for its useful insulating and fireproofing properties, but is now known to be lethal. There are some physical similarities between asbestos fibres and carbon nanotubes, which has led to scepticism.

Recent tests carried out by the Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit in Leicester also showed the nanotubes having a carcinogenic effect on mice. While this is only evidence of the malfunction of one particular nanoparticle, many others could have similar issues which have simply not been discovered yet.

Although the size of nanoparticles is advantageous in certain aspects, their size is also seen as a drawback due to their ability to cross cell membranes. Nanoparticles can travel through the body to reach the blood and key organs like the brain, liver and heart, and although this is useful in drug delivery to normally inaccessible areas, the particles have been shown to cause issues such as lung inflammation and heart problems. In a study published in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology, Chinese researchers discovered that a class of nanoparticles being widely developed in medicine (PA-MAMs) can cause lung damage by triggering a type of programmed cell death. Evidently there are certain dangers involved with nanotechnology – the question is whether these can be overcome.

Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionise the way in which we live, as long as we can determine which nanomaterials are safe to use through the use of regulatory mechanisms and safety assessments. The National Cancer Institute in the US has said that it is likely that most nanomaterials will prove to be completely harmless, but in order to reach a point where we can safely and confidently expand the use of nanomaterials into the production of more consumer goods, we must carry out further research. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge and data pertaining to the detection of nanoparticles, their behaviour and their characteristics. In particular, the long-term effects of exposure to these nanoparticles must be investigated in much more depth.

The complexities behind nanotechnology are making development more difficult; however, its future does seem to be promising.

Image credit: Health Sciences and Nutrition, CSIRO via Wikimedia Commons

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