Published in Science and Philosophy·PinnedIs reality a controlled hallucination?And if so, can we simulate our conscious reality? In common colloquial usage, the word ‘reality’ refers to the status of objects, time, space, phenomena, all that is known and all that is unknown around us. Yet philosophers, physicists and sociologists of the last centuries and even millennials have argued…Reality7 min readReality7 min read
Jan 7, 2022Predictive Coding: A Unified Theory of Cognition in Health and Disease?Introduction The high incidence and burden of cognitive deficits worldwide has evoked substantial research into their molecular, cellular and behavioural manifestations. Their relationship, however, is often unclear. Yet, recent impetus has emerged from computational neuroscience, proposing complex frameworks linking microscale and macroscale normative brain function and, consequently, proposing a re-characterisation of…Predictive Coding19 min readPredictive Coding19 min read
Jun 15, 2021Our Brains Go To WarParticularly in the last centuries, scientific breakthroughs have challenged society with significant ethical concerns and questions. Scientists and innovators alike have had to consider the long-term consequences of their discoveries and their responsibilities as scientists. Nevertheless, in many cases, the consequences of discoveries and technological advances have shown to be unpredictable…Neuroscience6 min readNeuroscience6 min read
Jun 15, 2021Cabotegravir, A Paradigm Shifting HIV DrugIntroduction Since the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic has claimed more than 33 million lives as a consequence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. With the advent of pre-, and post-exposure prophylaxis and highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAARTs), however, AIDS diagnoses have morphed from a death sentence into a chronic condition. Extensive…Cancer21 min readCancer21 min read
Jun 15, 2021Regulation Of Circulating Prolactin Concentrations and LactogenesisIntroduction Endocrine systems play a crucial role in the homeostatic control of physiological processes in the human body. In a process called neuroendocrine integration, the nervous and endocrine systems interact to allow the regulation of physiological pathways. Neuroendocrine processes show commonalities in the ways they are controlled and in the mechanisms…Prolactin8 min readProlactin8 min read
May 17, 2021The Potential of Optogenetics to Implant, Modify and Erase Memories.Ever since Boyden et al. pioneered light-dependent neuromodulation in 2005, a plethora of studies have elucidated the various facets of optogenetics. …Optogenetics7 min readOptogenetics7 min read
Published in Science and Philosophy·Nov 9, 2020Are animals moral beings? An EssayWhile the irradiation of laboratory animals has translated into paradigmatic advances in stem cell biology, cancer research, and the development of therapeutic agents, animals in these experiments suffer from devastating consequences such as severe bleeding, inflammation, anemia and ulcerations, and many more pathological abnormalities before dying or being euthanized. While…10 min read10 min read
Nov 5, 2020Synthetic biology meets SDGsPeople, the planet and prosperity are at the core of the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The agenda is a comprehensive action plan with the aim to stir socioeconomic and environmental development back onto a sustainable path. In 2015, the UN announced the 17 sustainable development goals (SGDs) which…3 min read3 min read
Oct 1, 2020Stem Cells Open Developmental ‘Blackbox’14 Days. This is the maximum number of days researchers are allowed to sustain an embryo. In 1979, when this policy was first proposed by the Ethics Advisory Board of the US Department of Health, Education and Wealthfare, culturing an embryo ex vivo (removed from the body) was an extremely…Stem Cell4 min readStem Cell4 min read
