Posts

Showing posts from February, 2021

The 2019-2020 Australian Bushfire Season: Causes and Effects

Image
By Connie Chandler Global warming is one of the biggest threats to currently face our planet. Each decade since the 1980s has been warmer than all preceding decades on record with a global average temperature 0.61(±0.05) °C higher in the 2010s than the 1961-1998 average (Osborn & Jones, 2020). 2016 holds the record for the hottest year on record with a global average temperature 0.94 °C higher than the 20th century average of 13.9 °C (NOAA, 2017). 2020 only narrowly missed out the record by having an average temperature 0.02 °C cooler than that of 2016 (Thompson, 2020).  An increase in global temperature by less than one degree may not sound like a huge change, but it takes a huge amount of heat energy to heat up all the oceans, atmospheres and land by this much. For perspective, in the 17th century, global average temperatures were between 1 and 2°C colder than the period between 1951-1980 and this caused the ‘Little Ice Age’. During this time ice was extremely prevalent in th...

What is Endometriosis: An Interview

Image
By Sophie Hopkins in Collaboration with the UEA Bloody Good Society Endometriosis UK defines endometriosis as a ‘condition where cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb (uterus) are found elsewhere in the body.’ More simply, this means that these cells build up, then break down and bleed like the cells within the uterus do. The blood from these cells has nowhere to go, unlike the uterine cells that leave the body during a period, and it can be incredibly painful, causing inflammation and sometimes even the formation of scar tissue. It often causes heavy and painful periods. Affecting 1 in 10 women in the United Kingdom, 1.5 million women are currently living with endometriosis. Its side effects include fatigue, infertility, and bladder and bowel problems. Endometriosis can affect all women and girls that experience a menstrual cycle regardless of race or ethnicity. The impact can be felt for life. I spoke to a student, Maisie*, from the University of Cambridge about her exp...

Happy 2nd Birthday InTuition!

Image
 KF- Writer and Chief Editor In a year quite unlike any other, InTuition is turning 2! I would like to thank all of our writers and readers for continuing to support us- without you we could not continue. Since our first birthday a lot has changed. We've had many new writers, even a new Editor, had a couple of facelifts and found our new style. We've introduced our YouTube Channel , launched InTuition Revisited and we've begun our first collaborative article series with a university society.  We've split the blog into two main themes, starting a Wider Interest section to go alongside our classic  Academic content. We've added new categories like Society , Health , Natural World and University to better accommodate the amazing range of articles we publish.  We're excited to see what the future holds, but for now here's a look at some of our favourite articles from our second year: Drag: Theatrical Queer Performance Against Marginalisation in the Eighteen...

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The What and the Why

Image
By Emma Fosker-  UEA Bloody Good Society collaboration Many of us may have heard of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) whether that be on the front of one of many leaflets on the wall at the GP surgery (the front being as much as you have ever read) or from one of those posts on Facebook, with an image of a ribbon, raising awareness for yet another disease you have barely heard of. However, few of us may know what PCOS actually is.  What is it? In short PCOS is a condition affecting how the ovaries work due to abnormal hormone levels. It is a very common condition affecting as many as 1 in 10 women, although not everyone shows symptoms therefore some women do not even know they have it. For the women that do show symptoms possible symptoms include irregular or no periods, acne, weight gain, excessive hair growth on the body, thinning of hair on the head and difficulty getting pregnant. Different women experience different severity of symptoms meaning everyone has an individual e...

Depression: The Science of the Incompetent Postman

Image
KF- Writer and Content Editor Depression is a word that has skyrocketed into familiarity over the last decade. While this widespread issue can take many forms in different people and is slowly, ever so cautiously starting to gather the recognition it deserves, there are still plenty of misconceptions about depression.  I often hear it said (particularly by the older generation) that such things simply did not exist back in the golden age of their memories. These people often say similar things about autism or dyslexia, speaking with an edge of suspicion as though these conditions simply manifested into existence the day the first millennial was born. To this argument, I find myself frequently reminding that we also used to believe that certain children were ‘born sickly’- whatever that catch-all term is supposed to mean?  It wasn’t for centuries later that we became aware of congenital heart conditions, growth malformations in utero or the plethora of other things we are now a...