Horizons Vol 2 - The Lingfield College Academic Scholars Magazine 2023-24 Year 9

BROADENING PERSPECTIVES THROUGH ACADEMIC EXPLORATION

Introduction

As part of our work in stretching and challenging our most able pupils, all Academic Scholars at Lingfield College in Years 7-10 write a research essay on a topic of their choice In conjunction with the scholars sessions and annual scholars trip, the essay encourages pupils’ intellectual curiosity and provides them with an opportunity to broaden their knowledge and excel in a topic that they are passionate about. The essay is investigative in nature and enables pupils to develop an array of skills including research, time management, evaluation and critical thinking

We also offer an EPQ club to Year 8 on Thursdays and Tuesdays for Year 10 scholars. The EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is a qualification rewarded by the examining body AQA which supports students in writing their scholars essay and results in them receiving a Level 1 or Level 2 EPQ qualification for their work

As well as writing about their chosen topic, pupils who enrol in the EPQ club complete the following:

Project proposal

Research into primary and secondary sources

Producing a written report

Creating a bibliography and appendix

Creating and maintaining a production log

"I am absolutely delighted with the quality of this year ’ s entries Their topics are forward thinking, challenging, and their research is extensively evaluated to draw viable conclusions "

Evaluating the project in a written and a verbal presentation

Well done to each and every one of the Academic Scholars for their outstanding entries I look forward to celebrating with you all at this year ’ s Scholars Symposium on 19th June, where will announce the prize-winner of each year group.

DOES THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE HAVE FOR THE NEW PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS ALONGSIDE THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)?

GENERATION Z MORE LIKELY TO RISK THEIR LIFE FOR A TREND THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS?

ORGAN DONATION BE A REQUIREMENT UPON DEATH?

IT POSSIBLE FOR HUMANS TO TRAVEL TO ANOTHER GALAXY GIVEN OUR CURRENT PHYSICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS?

COUNTRIES GIVE BACK THEIR “STOLEN” ARTIFACTS?

IS THE REVOLUTION OF GENE EDITING A FRIEND OR FOE?

WRITTEN BY ADI P

In the expanse of human history, tides of technological revolutions have significantly impacted us, changing society, and the very fabric of our existence The rapid advances in our understanding of the sciences partnered with technological innovations in the arena of genetic engineering is as transformative to human lives as the inventions of the Guttenberg press, or the steam engine, or the internet.

So first of all, what is Gene Editing (GE)?

Gene editing (GE) seeks to alter genes to correct genetic defects and thus prevent or cure genetic diseases These technologies act like scissors, cutting the DNA at a specific spot Then scientists can remove, add, or replace the defective DNA where it was cut with the new working version of the DNA sequence

There are thousands of rare genetic conditions, many caused by variants or abnormalities in single genes Modern technologies are now allowing us to treat some of these genetic conditions at the point of origin, using:

1

Gene therapy – a treatment that modifies the genome of specific cells to treat or prevent a genetic condition or disease, using a virus (viral vector) to deliver the gene therapy into the target cells

2

Gene editing- a type of gene therapy that involves making targeted and deliberate changes to a specific region of the genome to alter a DNA sequence.

GMOs refer to organisms whos genetic material has been artificially altered by inserting a piece of foreign DNA.

Gene editing involves making precise changes to and organisms genome without integrating foreign DNA elements

Unlike GMOs, gene editing introduces only minor modifications that are indistinguishable from natural mutations

At its core, this nascent technology, has the potential capabilities to be transformative shifts the foundations of established standards and beliefs

However, placed within the folds of progress, lurks shadows of uncertainty and ethical difficulties Whilst GE could foster major scientific advancements in a wide range of areas; it does come with potential technical pitfalls and ethical considerations, resulting in contentious issues over consent, morality, fairness, and unforeseen consequences

Chapter

:1 What Tools are Available?

There are many GE tools available such as, ZFN’s and TALEN’s, but the arrival of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), invented in 2009, allows researchers to study the function of the genes, as it ismore precise, efficient, and flexible, than the older genome editing methods, making it a powerful instrument for identifying and treating genetic diseases It involves two essential elements:

a guide RNA (Ribonuclear acid) to match the target gene, 1 Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) a restricted enzyme, 2.

There are two ways of performing gene manipulation

Cutting away the offending genome 1

Isolating and switching off the offending genome 2

CRISPR gene editing allows scientists to create cell and animal models quicker, which researchers are able to use to accelerate research into diseases for cures such as cancers and other degenerative diseases, e g Alzheimer’s, making it more accessible and affordable

Furthermore, CRISPR is now being used to develop rapid diagnostic methods, such as for Covid-19 the use FnCas-9, which resulted in helping to manage and control the Covid-19 pandemic

Chapter 2: Commercial Uses of Gene Editing

The obvious areas of application of GE in day-to-day society is:

Agriculture and food production 1

Medical and healthcare 2

The global population in developing countries is increasing at speeds much higher than that of food production, threatening developing countries with hunger and undernourishment.

The combination of the decrease in farmable land available due to urbanisation, impacts of climate changes to the sustainability of crop food production, and just the yield barrier limiting conventional breeding techniques from achieving higher productivity, have resulted in endangering global food security

With the world population and food production growing disproportionally in a way that demand for food will never be met using all the current agricultural methods, affordable CRISPR based geneediting technologies have brought hope to address the challenges involved in feeding the world

To reverse this prediction, we must improve crop productivity with high-yield and climate-resilient varieties of crops, with reduced dependency on fertilisers to help solve the next food crisis, such as strains of wheat and rapeseed more resistant to disease These methods mean reduced costs to the producer and lower prices to the consumer

Chapter 3: Commercial Uses of Gene Editing in Food Production

GE is being successfully used to improve nutritional value of food and animal products, for example in Japan, it is possible buy tomatoes rich in a chemical called GABA, which has a calming effect, and GE modified sea bream where more of the flesh is suitable for sushi Seedless blackberries and stoneless cherries are being developed in the US, whilst in the UK,researchers have developed tomatoes that contain vitamin D, and experimenting with gene-edited wheat Farmers are now producing starchier potatoes for crisp-makers, and protein-rich veg to use as a meat substitute Whilst Cambridge researchers are developing gene-edited potatoes that don't bruise in order to reduce food waste

Compared to Genetically Modified (GM) products, the commercialisation of the gene edited products is much less expensive and easier due to simpler regulatory processes as GE products no different to a variety that could have been naturally produced [6] Due to these low costs to market a lot of small-scale labs and companies are encouraged to develop new genetically edited products, such as Calyxt or Sanatech Seed Co Ltd

The use of GE products in agriculture gives nations the ability to become more selfsufficient by being able to adapt and – to grow their own crops, making them less reliant on other countries and the economic impacts, e g : Ukraine war and shortage of wheat, or the blockage of the Suez Canal.

In the U.S., the primary oil crop is soybean. GE is used to make soybean varieties that produce a cooking oil equivalent to sunflower oil, so that they do not have to import sunflower oil

Why not also make a soybean variety that makes a palm oil equivalent? If soybean

required to move these commodities around the world

When it comes to animals, while the technology is almost in place, the regulations are not, and there are public concerns over GE on farm animals due to animal welfare issues and safety of consume GE animals For example, University of Edinburgh used GE to delete a small region of pig DNA for the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) This PRRS-resistant pig project is one of several research efforts across the world to create gene edited animals for livestock production

Another is a project to make domestic pigs more resistant to African swine fever

Researchers are also trying to increase the muscle mass of sheep and cows by deleting a small section of DNA.

Chapter 4: Ethical Concerns

Ethical concerns have been raised over health risks and the environmental impact have meant that neither GM nor GE crops can be commercially produced or sold in the EU, although there are some signs that this may change

people and the environment, with GE foods requiring additional testing and fear the creation of new allergens or toxins

However, it’s been recognised that applications of GE reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides

However, scientists say that there is no evidence that GM crops have harmed human health or damaged ecosystems, and they expect the same to be true for GE crops with GM crops have been consumed by billions of consumers in North and South America and Asia for more than 25 years with no ill-effects

IThe UK became the first country in the world to approve GE as a potential cure for two inherited blood disorders - sicklecell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassaemia – both caused by errors in the genes for haemoglobin, which are essential for carrying oxygen around the body

CASGEVY is the first CRISPR based therapy in the world to gain regulatory authorisation by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and has been authorised to be given to patients aged 12 and above

Chapter 5: Application of GE in Medicine

GE is being applied for the production of a wide range of pharmaceuticals using bacteria and other microorganisms to produce human insulin, human growth hormones, blood clotting proteins and other pharmaceuticals This will ensure continuous availability and low costs to ensure these vital medicines are affordable by all

The precision of GE can potentially lead to one-time lifelong cures for infectious and non-communicable diseases (e g HIV, sickle cell disease) that affect tens of millions of people globally

However, the recent disappointing decision that this treatment would not be available on the NHS due to its high costs, means that patients would need to self-fund the treatment

Luxturna treats rare genetic diseases of the retina, priced at £613,410 per patient and not freely available on the NHS, hence again limiting accessibility to these types of genetic treatments, particularly for individuals of lower income.

So, my concerns are that yes, there are great potentials for the use of GE in medicine but that if its too expensive to be

made available to the general public on the NHS in the UK or similar in other countries, then what is the point? These gene therapies provide a lifelong cure for illnesses, so by receiving access to lifechanging treatments, GE technologies might be able to reduce the burden and costs of treatments and ongoing care from the health system and improve patients’ quality of life So, where these treatments have the potential for the greater good, they are also creating a social divide as to availability and who can afford the treatments

Chapter 6: A Cure for a Dying Planet

The potential of GE is being successfully used to effectively resolve many current world dilemmas to overcome some of the impacts of global warming Aswell as provide countries the resources to support their people and for them to become selfsufficient and grow their own crops and be less reliant on imports, helping to address food deficits caused by global warming, such famines in Africa, cyclones, and flooding in the Bay of Bengal, etc such as:

drought- resistant crops- being highly resilient to intense heat and changing patterns of precipitation E g : strains of rice and wheat to boost crop yields and consume less water, For example, tef – a cereal staple of Ethiopia and Eritrea Tef productivity is hampered by seed loss during planting. GE has successfully created semi-dwarf varieties of tef that increases crop yield developing crops with resistance to pests and pathogens [1] crops with shortened life cycles to be able to fit 2 -3 crop rotation in one season to increase production especially for developing nations to lower the rate of famine

One of the main reasons for global warming is due to the high levels of CO2 in our atmosphere Plants with more effective capture and store carbon from the atmosphere more efficient photosynthesis, such as maize and sugarcane which are up to 50% more photosynthetically efficient than rice and wheat

Studies using CRISPR to enhance the natural ability of plants and soil microbes to capture and use carbon from the atmosphere and store it in agricultural soil Even a small increase in the amount of carbon stored in soil by each row of crops could result in millions of metric tons of carbon being removed from the atmosphere

Phytoplankton to absorb excess carbon dioxide from the oceans

Normally developing resistant crop varieties can take up to 10 years for some species of plants, which is time we do not have considering how rapidly the climate is changing

But with GE, it has been possible to create types of wheat that are resistant to fungal diseases and rice that are resistant to bacterial diseases in 2 years So, we can already see how GE can drastically reduce the time to get them to the real world

While regulatory legislation and controls are vital, a global effort is required to establish a single science-based regulatory framework for all countries to follow and accept, so that this technology can be deployed quickly and globally, rather than going through each country’s red-tape

To fully realise the opportunities GE provides to help address the climate crisis, it will be important to produce adapted plants faster, with less cost, and at scale In my opinion, research should focus on overcoming technical barriers to achieve high throughput of editing, so multiple genetic changes can be made

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE HAVE FOR THE NEW PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS ALONGSIDE THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)?

WRITTEN BY ARYAN J

Verum scire est scire per causas meaning true knowledge is a knowledge of the causes. Composed by Thomas Aquinas it takes up one of the cornerstones of Aristotelian philosophy that the scientific method is orientated Is it possible to draw a linear line through the history of science? The concept of digital health goes beyond telemedicine and the collection of copious amounts of data. It includes, in fact, all the digital innovations that fuel this change in basic assumptions in a disruptive way I am referring to wearables and integrated sensors, predictive analytic systems based on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning that is applicable to every aspect and area of health, digital therapies and much more. In part, this is what has already happened during the pandemic with digital solutions which have supported the patients, caregivers, and health professionals in adherence to therapies or in the diagnoses and treatment of certain chronic conditions, thus beginning to shift the focus from therapy and people cure to the help of an artificial specimen.

From virtual learning, AI (Artificial Intelligence) could do so much, but the role of a human is still important. These are the ways on what the future beholds for the new physicians and patients alongside the use of AI in the NHS. However, the role of a doctor is still an important part of the equation Healthcare practitioners are all currently negotiating the ways of a new normal that is likely here to stay. While AI was already on a journey from the fringes to a core-value offering before the start of 2020, the pandemic has not slowed, its trajectory has been accelerated. Appen’s State of AI 2020 report reflected that 41% of pharmaceutical companies have instead, accelerated their AI strategies during COVID -19

Social distancing has created the need for some degree of contact-free patient experience Companies have launched contactless check-in options powered by AI for patients who need in-person visits On the other hand, a growing number of patients are leaning to fully virtual options and companies are responding with enhancements in telehealth For example, more healthcare organisations are leveraging chat box to answer basic patient needs and questions, AI is playing an especially critical role by helping doctors detect and diagnose the virus through the speedy analysis of MRI along with various other imaging systems This is already a step for a change leading to the future

A joint report with the Europeans Unions EIT Health explores how it can support improvements in care services AI can improve the experience of healthcare practitioners, enabling them to spend more time in direct patient care and reducing burnout situations.

Healthcare is one of the major success stories of our times Demand is driven by a combination of unstoppable forces: population aging, changing patient expectations, a shift in lifestyle choices and the never-ending cycle of innovation being but a few Of these, the implications from an aging population stand out By 2050, one in four people living in Europe and North America will be over the age of 65this means the health system will have to deal with more patients with complex needs

Managing such patients is expensive and requires systems to shift from episodic care-based philosophy to one that is much more proactive and focused on long term care management Healthcare spending is simply not keeping up Without major structural and transformational change, healthcare systems will struggle to remain sustainable

Although the global economy could create 40million new health sector jobs by 2030, there is still a projected shortfall of 9 9million physicians, nurses, and midwives globally over the same period according to the World Health Organisation

Building on automation, artificial intelligence (AI)has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and help address some of the challenges set out above. There are countless number of definitions of AI, but the European Parliament define it as, AI is the capability of a computer program to perform tasks or reasoning processes that we usually associate with intelligence in a human being

Furthermore, now education has spread its way on AI in healthcare we ask the question of who has used AI and have rewards and recognition have been given? The winners of the competitions of round 2 the AI in Healthcare Awards announced by the Secretary of State Health scientist and doctor Matt Handcock on the 16th of June 2021 was announced the winner by creating the 4-bone health solutions zebra medical vision which was a multi-centre project using AI to analyse any CT scans to catch undiagnosed spinal fractures which could be a sign for osteoporosis and patients were directed in the right direction to avoid this with AI

Today, globally places are using AI in healthcare, Oxford university use an AI developed software to support pathology sample images Skincare companies use the analysis of images of skin lesions to distinguish between cancerous and precancerous cells, we can also include another devastating effect which is diabetes and AI is used to predict diabetes complications In conclusion from this, we can see AI has been everywhere and completed a set of challenging tasks

here are now 5 hospitals in the NHS at the highest level of digital maturity which is an amazing achievement however there are 10percent of hospitals with no EPRs (Extended Producer Responsibility)-a foundational requirement, there is a huge need to bring up the baseline capabilities To get anywhere with the associated objectives and transformations they need to get to grips with adoption of digital and its success factors. ‘’The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into impossible’’ by Arthur C Clarke

Now after speaking with a fellow consultant Dr Hannah Korpez from Sanofi Pharmaceuticals has shared her viewpoint In her eyes many companies are trying to get into AI however they can run the risk of error or bias service if AI is being used in an unreputable company which with this idea of technology can go terribly wrong AI should be used in trustable companies to understand the risks and exclusive testing needs to be done prior to being executed However as much as AI may help us, there are many negatives to it such as statistics being wrong, data being stolen, and custodial sentences have been given With this being stated Hannah proclaimed fundings e g 100k should be used in smaller places which should be used for independent research and development so identifying molecules e g cancer and AI can prioritise this one topic. Also, there is a minimal risk of major public issues if it goes wrong

The company Sanofi entertained the idea of AI which is amazing however the challenge is the scale at how this is being embraced From a leadership perspective there needs to be a persistent way to look at life circles along with partnerships working together and companies getting a fair regular way AI will help the patients without talking face to face, and the AI will study the customers experiences to improve AI has stated its factors, is it

ready for the NHS?The NHS has lots of good things when it leads to innovation, its arms are open wide to industry and challenging If AI has its benefits what's stopping them from using it daily?

What are the pros and cons that the practitioners and patients within the health service may face?

Privacy concerns unlock a new level of trust letting an entity handling personal data and can create concerns on privacy A relevant one is job displacement, the use of AI can lead to concerns about not having to be in paid and thus leading to job insecurity If technical issues arise as an issue, major problems can occur as system failures or errors in algorithms would be

Each topic from the table above has a meaning, a purpose for its placement, the advantages are as follows Diagnostic Improvement analyses medical images with pure precision for more accurate information as well as issuing patterns and data Resorce optimisation proclaims efficient allocation and resourced based on AI insight as well as speeding through medical research through data driven discoveries Telehealth support becomes a time and a place to facilitate online monitoring and management of patients physical and mental wellbeing as well as checking up for visual follow-ups Administrate efficiency is automating data and follow-ups in addition it automates data and paperwork as well as scheduling administrative tasks

Finally personalised treatment, tailors' treatment plans based on the patients' needs or patient data and practices responses to customers Sauntering to the challenges of AI, bias algorithms if not thoroughly tested or trained the AI can infer bias data and deliver unfair treatment

fatal, this links back to us always needing a healthcare professional Finally legal issues, complaints can be given as this can be seen as complex and not safe These trends in healthcare technology are shaping a future where healthcare processes become more efficient and accurate, facing the current factors that are influencing global health evolution and indeed healthcare technology Specialists predict a growth of up to 53 2 billion dollars by 2029, from 22.6 billion dollars in 2021. More than double the increase in less than 10 years in the healthcare software information market

How does AI cater for all the generations who are not ready for this change

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them’’ a quote from Albert Einstein

However, is everybody bought into the journey of AI within the NHS, in particular socioeconomic cohorts How does AI cater for all the generations who are not ready for this change? This can drive disparity Speaking to Chief executive officer of healthwear group Roberto Ascione he stated ‘’Covid accelerated the virtual platform and today all age groups can jump onto a zoom meeting’’ Parkinsons disease- a chronic degenerative disorder is diagnosed at an average age of 60 Pharmaceutical companies have embarked on supporting patients with this disease by building a portable smart watch to help individuals monitor their signs and symptoms With the help of Artificial Intelligence, we can infer the growth from the graph below of popularity and increase as the market ascends

Figure 2-Global AI Healthcare Market

AI is used all over the world and for many procedures with a list being stated in figure 2 of each one but focusing into the depth of one, Robot-Assited Surgery In August 2019, a clinical robotic facility located in India had a sole purpose to work on robotic assisted surgery and hence the fact

the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to more patients for a wider range of conditions This means a shorter stay in hospital, with less pain and quicker recovery after surgery

Figure 1-U S AI Healthcare Market

With American data we can clearly see the market skyrocket, the global market size was seen as 22 4 billion USD and is predicted to expand by 36 4% between this date and 2030 The rising global population, changing lifestyles, and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases have contributed to a growth in demand for diagnosing and improved understanding of diseases in their first stages Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms are being widely adopted and integrated into healthcare systems and surely will be used to help diagnose conditions

why it is very demanding Laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery uses new equipment to make much smaller cuts and special instruments controlled by professionals to carry out several different operations. Surgeons use things like 3D vision and other special instruments on the surgical robot for even great accuracy during surgery These techniques offer some key advantages over conventional surgery and have proved to be less invasive with less blood loss and pain for patients They are also more consistent and lower risk for a range of hospital procedures By using surgical robots, surgeons can offer

In the long term, software solutions can help optimise healthcare budgets, for example expanding AI adoption can decrease costs by up to 10% in healthcare institutions Figure 3 shows the use of Ai in healthcare has been adopted globally whether it be the use of mechanical or digital software

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower," said Steve Jobs, and indeed, in today's rapidly evolving world of healthcare, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) embodies this. As we have dived into the applications and implications of AI in this essay, it is abundantly clear that we are amidst a transformative era in medicine While AI is already making significant strides in our medical landscape, there remains a colossal ton of room for improvement and refinement of techniques From enhancing diagnostics to revolutionizing treatment protocols, AI offers a promising path towards automation Yet, alongside this optimism, we begin to think the concern of AI's potential alongside human capabilities, prompting us to question the future trajectory of healthcare As we navigate this juncture of innovation and uncertainty, it is imperative that we remain vigilant, balancing the benefits of AI with ethical considerations and ensuring that humanity remains at the controlling point of view of healthcare advancements

Only then can we fully harness the potential of AI as a tool for enhancing, rather than replacing, the human touch in healthcare. This leaves us to ponder the question. What does The Future of Healthcare have for the new physicians and patients alongside the Use of Artificial Intelligence? Today healthcare will focus on the cure, transition to focus on the outcome of the cure, and transform to focus on prevention by using a value driven model

Bibliography

Embarking on the journey of exploring the future of healthcare felt like stepping into a realm where the boundaries between science fiction and reality blur Each stride I took through the corridors of this evolving landscape unveiled possibilities, offering glimpses into the tapestry of our collective future

Immersing myself in the intricate web of healthcare augmented by artificial intelligence (AI), I found myself grasped by the symphony of innovation and human ingenuity. The conversations with luminaries such as Hannah Korpez and Roberto Ascione granted me access to their insights of healthcare transformation Through their insights, I entered the labyrinthine corridors of AI's potential, witnessing its profound impact on the very fabric of medical practice

One of the most captivating chapters of this odyssey unfolded within the pages of "The Future of Health," a literary compass guiding me through the contours of a sustainable healthcare paradigm Each word resonated with the promise of a future, enriching lives with newfound data

But it was not merely the written word that fuelled my fascination The realm of podcasts beckoned, offering a platform where the voices of AI in healthcare resonated with unparalleled clarity Sauntering into the AI Health Podcasts was akin to embarking on a journey, where each episode unveiled a variety of perspectives, illuminating the path towards a reimagined healthcare and AI

Yet, amidst the theory, it was the intimate narratives of resilience that left a mark Conversing with former COVID-19 patients illuminated the transformative power of AI. Their stories, shows hope and technological advancements, revealed how AI seamlessly integrated with the fabric of care, illuminating pathways to recovery with unparalleled precision

In conclusion, this journey was not merely an exploration; it was an odyssey of selfdiscovery It questioned me to the choice of possibility, urging me to embrace the interplay of humanity and innovation that defines the future of healthcare As I reflect on the encounters and revelations that started this path, I find myself humbled by the vast of the horizon yet to be explored

Figure 3 Global AI in healthcare Market

ARE GENERATION Z MORE LIKELY TO RISK THEIR LIFE FOR A TREND THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS?

WRITTEN BY EMILY A

Generation Z (according to Oxford dictionary) are defined as “the generation born in the late 1990s or the early 21st century, perceived as being familiar with the use of digital technology, the internet, and social media from a very young age ” . Most people have heard of the dangers of social media, but most only think the dangers are a shorter attention span because of the short form videos. However, the dangers of social media go further than that, and although it may seem as though it is mainly dances and memes, there are a lot of different sides to TikTok and if you stumble onto the wrong side, you never know what may happen Lots of parents’ fear that if their child is on social media, they could do something dangerous, even deadly. Many people pass this dangerous behaviour off as kids and teenagers being naïve, or not knowing any better. However, if this is the case older generations would have had the same experience, unless it isn’t about age

There are 2 general reasons for generation z risking their lives, either they have no regard for the dangers because of their psychology, or they genuinely don’t know the danger of their actions, and how it could affect them. How does generation z do trends that are so dangerous with no sense of danger?

37 9% of deaths in Generation Z is unintentional injuries, so what is it that separates Generation Z from previous generation? Why has their psychology changed to allow these risks to be so easily taken?

TikTok’s “algorithm determined that the deadly Blackout Challenge was well tailored and likely to be of interest to a 10year-old Nylah Anderson, and she died as a result” US district Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia ruled that the company was immune from the lawsuit under a part of the Federal Communications Decency Act that shields publishers of others’ work

Chapter 2 – Pole Sitting

In the 1920s there was a trend of the pole sitting challenge, in this challenge people would attempt to sit on a small platform on top of a pole for as long as possible

The trend started with Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly, who claimed to be a survivor of the Titanic, and called himself “The luckiest fool in the world”. His friend dared him to sit on a flagpole in 1924, and Alvin Kelly stayed up there for 13 hours and 13 minutes This stunt then attracted more and more attention This led to Alvin Kelly travelling around America, charging money for people to watch him pole sitting He once sat on a pole for 22 days at Madison Square Gardens during a dance marathon, until the final dancer dropped!

Kelly’s most dangerous adventure was when he sat on top a 225-foot flagpole for 49 days and 1 hour To stop himself from falling asleep he would tie his ankles to the pole He would get coffee and cigarettes (and other things) were hoisted up to him by assistants using ropes and pails

Once the trend went viral, many others tried to do the same, to seek similar fame and fortune as Kelly The pole sitting trend pretty much died in the great depression despite many attempted “revivals”

Chapter 3 - Why Do They Do It?

These life risking challenges must go viral for a reason So, what is that reason? The answer is the algorithm of social media, especially TikTok Because of the amount of time people spend on TikTok, and the

short-form videos, it seems easy to go viral, but it is harder than it seems, perhaps to get 1 “viral” video it is relatively simple, but to have a platform where videos go consistently viral Once someone has experienced what it feels like to go viral, they will go to great lengths to get another video to go viral.

“The intoxication a person feels from the combination of dopamine and adrenaline that’s released when their posts go viral” NYU Langone Health psychologist told The Post “Neurologically that high is like a drug According to Diaz, once people who hope to go viral, experience the initial “hit” of online popularity, they’ll stop at almost nothing to recapture and maintain that electrifying thrill.

A key example of that is Renard Smith He is an uber driver and social media personality, and gained 1500 social media fans, after attempting the milk crate challenge According to The Guardian the milk crate challenge consists of participants attempt to climb up milk crates stacked in a pyramid, then back down without falling over When Renard Smith attempted the challenge, he narrowly avoided snapping his spine. Smith in fact does not regret it and said “I’d do it again, I’d just wear padding next time” he told the post The trend has since been banned across TikTok The trend has caused many injuries – including torn ligaments, bone fractures and spinal cord injuries Smith said it was “Painful but worth it, it’s not often people go as viral as I did”

This shows that people will do whatever it takes to go viral, and in fact, it is the thrill of lives and views that drives people to risk their lives.

Chapter 4 - The “Influencer” Life Influencers lived a blessed life, they do less work and earn more money than the average, middle class adult in the United Kingdom, influencers very often flaunt it online

This could include:

Trips Money

Exclusive events

Time

These make almost every person wish to live their life, especially as they highly alter how their life is perceived. They will only show the highlights, for example on holiday they could show, relaxing or shopping but not any arguments they may have This is why our society is so toxic, we see the highlights of someone ’ s life, but not how they relate to you This will leave an empty feeling, as you don’t have as much, and never will as it be unattainable, as everyone you see every day online This leads people to go further to try to become like them

This means that once someone gets 1 viral video, they see the lifestyle they wish for in reach, and so try more and more to get more and more expecting to get to this goal, but they won’t because of how difficult it is to become an influencer This means influencers are seen as elite, and as such, it becomes even more difficult to become one

Conclusion

Although it seems it is just Generation Z who are risking their lives for these trends, it in fact isn’t

it is just people who currently have social media, as influencers post their lifestyle as being idyllic, people become envious of their lives and so go to any lengths necessary to achieve it Including older generations

People used to also do dangerous things, but we know less about them because there was not social media, or very little As appose to current generations, where everything is documented, permanently Trends also spread slower with previous generations because the only way to find out is through other people telling you Even if it was published in something such as a newspaper, you could only hear 1 point of view, instead of nowadays where you simply ask a question and get countless answers. Although previous generations did their fair share of dangerous acts, they were closely monitored and could not be do be by yourself, with no safety precautions This shows that TikTok is one of the leading causes to the reckless behaviour that leads to so many unfortunate deaths of generation z

The number of trends that could lead generation z seriously injured or dead is concerning, especially if you compare it to all the previous generations

SHOULD ORGAN DONATION BE A REQUIREMENT UPON DEATH?

WRITTEN BY ELEANOR R

Organ donation is when a person or their next of kin decides to donate an organ to save or transform the life of someone else (Under legal and fully consenting conditions). Some organs can be given whilst still alive, such as the liver, kidney, or intestine and these are often given by friends or family. Most, however, are donated after death Out of 1500 Organ Donors who died in 2021/22, only 1/100 died in suitable circumstances for their organs to be used Of these, even fewer were a match for those on the Transplant list. Considering those who did not make it in time or were rejected, it is no wonder that nearly five hundred people died while waiting for a transplant

Out of one hundred people surveyed, from age ranges of 10-65 and divergent backgrounds, 67% agreed that Organ Donation should be required after death. However, 17% were unsure of what Organ donation is, demonstrating a lack of education on this controversial topic. Some of whom were donors or awaiting transplants How can people be expected to undergo a stressful surgery without the full information? If people completely understand the benefit their donation could have, many more lives could be saved.

The population of the United Kingdom is currently sixty-seven million, excluding those on the transplant list Considering those who do not meet the requirements, approximately 66 5 million could be donors To be eligible to donate most organs, you must have either had a circulatory death (heart stopped) or a brainstem death (no brainwaves) These could both be caused by heart attacks or blockages that prevent oxygen from reaching vital organs.

This is why so many deaths cannot be used as donors because if organs do not have oxygen, they are unable to be preserved for long Brain deaths can also be caused by seizures/strokes which damage the brain beyond repair and traumatic head injuries such as gunshot wounds In this essay, I will be discussing the benefits and disadvantages of requiring people to donate organs after death

Approximately ½ million people die in the UK each year If it were law to donate organs, those on the transplant list could be helped sooner, or indeed at all So many people die while waiting for a transplant Some say that forcing organ donation is immoral because it should be a choice, or because they want their loved ones to stay intact for whichever postmortem option they choose

But which is better, saving the life of someone who would otherwise die which prevents the trauma and emotional turmoil of the family Or are they preserving a loved one ’ s body which would deteriorate in 5 years anyway? This may sound heartless, but when making decisions, it is easier to look at the facts because every decision affects people in diverse ways and it is impossible to appease everybody Each donation can save up to nine lives

Some think that certain lifestyle choices, such as smoking prohibit them from joining

from joining the donor list, but for some, even smoker lungs are worse than the ones they have To be on the transplant list, your situation would have to be dire, exhibiting an obvious imminent danger for the recipient If you have not decided upon your demise, a specialist will talk to your family If 1/100 people died in suitable circumstances, the transplant list of seven thousand could be eradicated in less than a year.

192 children are currently waiting for a transplant, forty-two of whom require a heart It is particularly difficult to find suitable organs for children because of their size, and unlike some organs, you cannot shrink a heart to fit which makes matching them even harder Many premature babies end up with multi-organ failure because they are underdeveloped Most of the time they are denied a transplant due to their size, and because it is so hard to find multiple matches in the same donor. It would be counterproductive to just replace one as the body relies so heavily on systems

It would just quickly fail again The odds of finding a match would be exponentially increased if every baby that died in suitable conditions were to donate To quote the NHS Organ donation page: “Every potential donor is precious ”

A major argument some have against this, is that people should be free to make their own decisions But as my survey demonstrated, there is not enough common knowledge on this crucial topic Another is the belief that organs will be sold in the underground economy, resulting in a distrust of doctors and medical professionals

The NHS in no way benefits from organ donation, as is evident by the “alarming levels of debt” (The Guardian 2023) that they find themselves in Should they wish to gain from the 4,600 transplants performed each year, they would easily be able to charge for the anti-rejection medications, physical therapy, and specialist transplant staff that each donation requires

Presently, the NHS operates an ‘opt-out’ system where you are automatically listed as a donor You can either opt out or change which organs you feel comfortable donating This can be updated or withdrawn at any point This method works, in that people have a choice and there is limited confusion when doctors wish to find out whether you are listed as a donor However, many people decide just to opt-out Is this because they do not understand the benefits their donation could have, or because they are selfish? However, this does not account for everybody, some opt out due to religious reasons If everyone were required to donate, some could take advantage of the religious loopholes that would inevitably be put in place, to abide by various laws that stop discrimination based on religion

Some, who survive their transplants and the difficult recovery have survivor's guilt They struggle with the feeling of a dead person ’ s organs inside of them, and the fact they benefited from another’s death This is extremely risky as it can impact their recovery and mental health If someone genuinely believes this, or that their organs will fail it can precisely cause that Put simply, it is a negative placebo effect called nocebo. It’s a similar effect to being given a placebo drug with ‘serious side effects’ so you feel those side-effects even though they're fictitious

I interviewed an ex-transplant list member

Here are their brilliant responses to my questions:

How long were you on the list?

37 months

Will you ever be back on the list?

Yes, without a doubt. My condition is pulmonary fibrosis. This means that my lungs are presently 75% full of scar tissue and the tissue will progress

What was the worst part about being on the list?

Restrictions and rules I was unable to leave a one-hour radius of my home in case I received ‘the call’ I became glued to my phone with three different phone providers in case I missed ‘the call’ I had hundreds of tests and medical appointments. There was a huge amount of uncertainty about whether I would receive a transplant I did receive one transplant call and had been prepped for surgery A team had been sent to the hospital where the donor was As they were removing the donor’s organs, it triggered a cardiac arrest in the donor, which resulted in their lungs being too damaged for transplantation

Do you think that transplant is as risky as some think?

There is a three-day transplant assessment with psychological profiling That explains the risk of surgery One in four do not make it out of surgery alive Of the 50% who do, 50% die within the first year The average prognosis after a bilateral lung transplant is five years However, that is based on historical data It is not a case of if my body would reject the organs, but when. Therefore, a huge amount of immunosuppressants are used to prevent that happening

Do you feel as though you gained anything whilst on the list?

At the time I was put on the list, I was told I would be dead within 3 months The listing gave me hope and an appreciation of how important time is I consider I am so lucky to be here after stage IV heart failure and that I was assessed as being eligible for the medication (£200k/pa) I had The drug was a 24/7 continuous drug into an open hole in my heart to reduce the heart pressures and enabled a downgrading from a heart/bilateral lung transplant to ‘just’ a bilateral lung transplant

What do you know about how the list works, such as prioritisation?

There are myths regarding waiting lists, but it comes down to matching If a donor dies, their organs are offered to the nearest transplant hospital If they have no one who matches those organs, they are offered to the next transplant hospital There is then information gathering regarding the donor, i e if they were a smoker, had cancer, or had taken illegal drugs.

The potential recipient of the lungs can choose whether to accept the lungs in those circumstances An entire team goes to the donor’s hospital When the organs are removed, they have a large amount of testing to see whether they would be suitable for transplantation

There are hours and hours of assessment and testing from the point the organs are offered to the transplant hospital and to the point the operation goes ahead At the outset, sufficient information is gathered to make the call to the potential recipient as they will be aware of the size of the lungs, blood group, and location

Out of the 23 people on the list for bilateral lungs at Royal Papworth at the time, I was informed that it was likely that organs would match only one or two of those people due to sizing. When ‘the’ call is made to the potential recipient, some people decline the organs as they cannot face the risk, or they have an infection for other reasons If an organ matched with more than one person on the list, the surgeon would decide who would get the organ based on their age, compliance, family circumstances, and how long they had been on the list, together with their prognosis

Finally, I researched the laws on this topic in other countries As far as I can find, there are currently no countries where it is mandatory to donate organs Many countries operate on a similar system to the UK where it is an opt-out network This would mean that if the UK were to put this into action, we would be the first If others followed suit, it wouldn’t just be lives in the UK that are saved

In conclusion, in my opinion, it should be a requirement to donate organs upon death because it would save or transform hundreds of lives In a world where there are so many incurable conditions, that can only be temporarily absolved, organ donation is the only hope for some

IS IT

POSSIBLE FOR

HUMANS TO TRAVEL TO ANOTHER GALAXY GIVEN OUR CURRENT PHYSICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS?

WRITTEN BY HARRY W

Humanity is causing catastrophic damage to the Earth, meaning it may not be able to support human life for much longer.

Increasing acidity and rising temperatures in our oceans, overfishing, and habitat damage could destroy our sea ecosystem, on which we so closely rely.

We are using up our fossil fuel reserves at an unsustainable rate Fossil fuels are unfortunately essential to our survival in current population numbers. However, they also play a huge role in global warming, causing unpredictable weather and leaving large swathes of land uninhabitable; fossil fuels are a double-edged sword

Our population is getting too big for our planet to sustain. The population of our planet in 1974 was under 4 billion, it has now more than doubled to 8 billion At our current rate of population increase the population in 2073 will be almost 10.5 billion. This growing population puts unsustainable pressure on food and water supplies, which not only would the world have to produce, but would create security issues due to increased population densities

The other planets in our Solar System are uninhabitable This is due to the fact that there is no water which is essential to human life Mars, our closest planet, has a lifeless core and no magnetic field which would mean we would be subjected to fatal radiation levels

These factors could mean that our best chance of survival and prosperity as a species is to leave our solar system and search for an alternative home.

To enable this, we would have to build a long-range spacecraft, the question would be - do we have the technology?

Technology is the biggest problem in getting to another galaxy Our current engines are too big and heavy and require a lot of fuel This is why we need more efficient ways to power our spacecraft

A small group of scientists at Rolls-Royce have started to develop a small nuclear reactor that will hopefully be in use when NASA starts launching manned moon missions again in the 2030s

This would be ideal to power an intergalactic spacecraft because of the significantly denser fuel A one-metre stick of Uranium is about the equivalent of ten thousand tons of coal, which meanswe would be able to carry more people and supplies becauseof the decreased need for fuel as well as being able to travel further and for longer periods than ever before

However, this could prove to be a huge health risk as if the reactor malfunctions, the radiation damage would be catastrophic in a confinedspace Also, if it were to malfunction while still within Earth's atmosphere, it could cause a catastrophic Nuclear winter.

This happens when there is an extraordinarily large explosion in Earth's atmosphere that flings dust into the atmosphere, effectively blocking out the sun This could cause a range of effects from mutations in babies, cancer, degenerative diseases to death and destruction

If we were to travel to another galaxy its not just the journey. We would need the fuel not only for take off and landing, but also to manoeuvre away from obstacles

This does not require as much fuel as take off and landing because there is no air resistance in space As a result once you get up to speed you can stay at that speed until you stop (one way or another) or use more fuel to slow down

Our currentrocket engines could not transportus to another galaxy becausethey are just too big and require too much fuel

Therefore these Nuclear reactors could be the future technology regarding intergalactic travel

There are many health risks involved when travelling for long periods in space One such threat to human health is radiation The majority of radiation in our galaxy comes from stars and supernovae, so when travelling intergalactically we would encounter a lot more radiation that can affect the human body in many ways So therefore advanced medical facilities would be necessary to cater for these scenarios.

Cardiovascular diseases and cancer pose a great threat to human space travel

Cardiovascular disease is the general term for conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels Cancer and Cardiovascular diseasescan be caused by prolongedexposure to high radiation doses Cardiovascular diseases pose a threat to intergalactic travel because when in a spacecraft you don't have the Earth's

atmosphere which vastly reduces the amount of radiation we experience If we were to travel intergalactically we would have to use a lot of hydrogen-rich radiation shields such as polyethylene in frequently used spacecraft sections

Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) is when somebody experiences very high levels of radiation over a very short amount of time This might occur when servicing the outside of our spacecraft. Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, these normally appear within an hour of experiencing the radiation dose, and ARS can sometimes result in death However, it requires very high radiation levels to get ARS, more than 75 rad must be experienced in a few minutes to hours, this is the equivalent of getting 18,000 chest XRays distributed over your entire body However, ARS is rare and is normally obtained through handling radioactive materials or a nuclear explosion so it would not be that great of a threat to our intergalactic spacecraft

One major health concern that could impede our journey is the decrease in bone density, strength, and muscle mass that occurs in zero gravity due to lack of use The loss of bone density could be as severe as 1% to 2% a month, in contrast, a postmenopausal woman loses 0.5% to 1% of bone density per month. However, we can mitigate the effects of reduced bone density by administering myostatin inhibitors to the crew These inhibitors work by blocking myostatin Myostatin prevents muscle growth and the maintenance of the proper bone density Another solution is to equip our spaceship with an artificial gravity that mimics Earth's gravitational pull, allowing us to move and walk normally and therefore avoiding these potential issues

When humans are subjected to microgravity (i e very little gravitational pull), the fluids inside their bodies undergo a shift that results in a loss of plasma volume This loss can range from 10% to 20% within just 48 hours The consequences of this are significant, as they are linked to orthostatic intolerance (orthostatic intolerance is the inability to stand up because of signs and symptoms relieved by lying down) and a decrease in maximum oxygen capacity after returning to a gravity-based environment

The Andromeda Galaxy (our nearest galaxy) is 2 537 million light years away, so our voyage will take approximately 3 million years, therefore we will need to bring enough people to reproduce effectively for that long However, this comes with some challenges, for example, inbreeding

Inbreeding poses a threat to our voyage because if we don't have enough people, genetic inbreeding will take place and our population will become mentally and/or physically challenged To stop this from happening we would need to put in place the 50/500 rule This is the minimum viable population and means that we would need a minimum of 50 individuals to prevent inbreeding depression and 500 individuals to prevent the elimination of certain genes through the individuals dying before being able to reproduce However, more people may be needed because according to recent studies, ‘this guideline is not applicable across a wide diversity of species’

Supporting 500-plus people requires extreme amounts of food and water The average American eats 904 Kg per year so to support 500 people over 80 years (the average lifetime of a human) we would require 36,160,000 kg of food.

However, to help keep up with this demand we could grow our food, this would be a relatively easy task and would produce a good amount of food for our population We could do this by bringing oxygen and hydrogen in separate tanks We would need this anyway because it also happens to be rocket fuel We need this for our directional thrusters, these are used to manoeuvre and change direction If we react with the oxygen and hydrogen we will get water. We can use this to water our plants

In conclusion, I think that it could be possible to travel to another galaxy but it would require a lot of thought, time and technology We would need to be able to grow our food, have adequate medical services, and have a reliably fuelled engine I think that it would be possible but it presents so many huge challenges It would take many years of preparation and huge

teams of scientists and experts in every field of human existence from around the world It would have to be a global commitment to work together In comparison to human history, travelling to another galaxy would be like our ancestors discovering fire It would be a gamechanger

Travelling to another galaxy would mean that we could have access to vast amounts of potential resources and ensure the sustainability of the human race We would be able to explore the universe, potentially giving us the opportunity to make contact with extraterrestrial beings, a subject to consider another time

SHOULD COUNTRIES GIVE BACK THEIR “STOLEN” ARTIFACTS?

WRITTEN BY JAMIE L

In February 1816 a house of commons committee was hearing a public debate whether artifacts including the Elgin marbles and other precious artifacts should be returned to their country of origin The committee, however, dismissed the case immediately and tried to move on. Despite this over 200 years later the issue is still being talked about and ineffectively being tackled with the recent “Elgin Marbles Scandal” its now being questioned whether the current ethical and political landscape of the current world is ready to return them. This topic has been fiercely defended by the English government and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was due to meet with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday the 28th of November. However, the government cancelled the arrangement, sending deputy PM Oliver Dowden instead as they stated to the Greek government, they were not willing to return them. But how did they all end up in the UK in the first place?

Well again using the Elgin marbles as an example again as it’s a good baseline for how most countries got their hands on these artifacts It all started when British diplomat Lord Elgin removed the sculptures from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century At the time, he was the ambassador of the Ottoman Empire, which at the time ruled over Greece. Beginning in 1801, Lord Elgin is said to have seen the removal and shipping of the Elgin marbles to the UK in 170 crates He is said to have claimed he had been given permission by the Ottoman Empire for the removal of the marbles - but despite the large amount of documentation from that period, nothing has been found to support his actions In the UK, Lord Elgin received support for his actions and so he never got into conflict with the British people. He sold them to the UK government in 1816 before the marbles were given to the British Museum to be displayed for the next 200 years So firstly, for this argument we need a good definition of what theft technically is

Firstly, we should know what theft is actually classified as By the English dictionary theft is defined as “The dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it”. Now this seems to give a clearcut answer to artifacts taken by force however in a lot of circumstances many other artifacts were sold to the British over the years from massive foreign powers who often needed the money This reason is often used as a reason in the modern world to deflect the criticism of foreign powers by the government However, in other instances like when Great Britain took over Benin and took the Benin Bronzes or Napoleons campaign in Egypt, they were taken by force without the permission of the government and in the case of the artifacts held in France they still have not been returned

Now this is the main conflict point for most arguments and debates between returning the artefacts Now the conflict is between individual circumstances in the museums For example, the British museum stated on the return if the Benin Bronzes that “The evidence is very clear that these objects were acquired through force, and external consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria” which was widely supported by the Nigerian government However, the British museum contradicted themselves in November 2022, refusing to return the Rosetta stone to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza after a petition signed by over 200000 requesting for it to be returned This time the British museum fought back harshly at the protestors by stating that the 1801 treaty includes the signature of a representative of Egypt It refers to an Ottoman admiral who fought alongside the British against the French. The Ottoman sultan in Istanbul was nominally the ruler of Egypt at the time The Museum also said Egypt’s government has not submitted a request for its return It added that there are 28 known copies of the same engraved decree and 21 of them remain in Egypt This received harsh criticism from the general public and to this day the Rosetta stone remains in the British museum So as a conclusion theft from the foreign powers mainly located in Europe in my opinion should be classified as strictly stolen artifacts that did not involve any type of permission However what foreign powers hold the most historical objects

Well as of 2022 Central Europe is by far the biggest culprit with a resounding 79% of the worlds “stolen” artifacts placed there As of 2022 the countries with the biggest monetary and mass value that have been “stolen” from include Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Italy, Germany , Egypt, India and most of Western Africa.

Now somehow resoundingly the United Kingdom has attempted to invade all of those countries and has withheld almost all of the precious items they stole to this current day Shockingly it has been reports that six million pounds worth of stolen goods are still being held in the British museum with only 0 03% of “stolen” artifacts being returned, mainly being the Maqdala collection being returned to Ethiopia in 2021 after being asked many times by the official government. However other European powers are not far off and its actually worse in France with it being reported in 2021 that in just the Benin collection alone only 0 0003% had been returned even after the French president Emmanuel Macron sat down with the President of Benin, Patrice Talon to negotiate their return

hreported in 2021 that in just the Benin collection alone only 0 0003% had been returned even after the French president Emmanuel Macron sat down with the President of Benin, Patrice Talon to negotiate their return

The statistics below show the countries of origin for all “stolen” artefacts being held in the British museum alone However, it would seem the UK is the target of this issue at the current point as the other Big European powers with “stolen” artefacts mainly Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands have all set up schemes to try and return the majority of their stolen artifacts to their countries of origin As a comparison the United Kingdom currently has no major plans to return any artefacts that could be classified as stolen to their

Now somehow resoundingly the United Kingdom has attempted to invade all of those countries and has withheld almost all of the precious items they stole to this current day. Shockingly it has been reports that six million pounds worth of stolen goods are still being held in the British museum with only 0 03% of “stolen” artifacts being returned, mainly being the Maqdala collection being returned to Ethiopia in 2021 after being asked many times by the official government However other European powers are not far off and its actually worse in France with it being

countries of origins While the majority of drama about this topic does happen in Europe then next biggest culprit, the United States of America did face some backlash about stolen indigenous American artifacts, but they currently do have a major plan to return them as immediately in 1990 congress passed the Native Graves Protection and Repatriation at meaning indigenous goods could be taken off museums if requested by native Americans Many people think this is what the United Kingdom should do but the UK is worried that the governments of these foreign

powers would exploit the true meaning of “stolen” and end up taken everything

However, another big issue that arose with trying to return these precious items was how they were to be handled worldwide, not just in specific countries but across the globe On the 26th of December 2006 the first official resolution targeting “stolen” artifacts with the primary resolution being the “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” was passed through The General Assembly This was officially the first time a resolution regarding the use of “stolen” artifacts was ever passed This resolution mainly was focused on the topic of the rights of indigenous people but did include the following quote regarding ceremonial artifacts and other religious artifacts “States shall seek to enable the repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains in their possession through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned”

This at the time was a major step in society and showed increased progression in the UN concerning an arising issue Since the resolution in 2006 another few minor resolutions concerning this issue were passed until 2017 when the United Nations passed resolution 2347, this time regarding the use of stolen artefacts over all and mainly aimed to stop traffickers of these items successfully selling buying and transporting them The United Nations were again widely applauded for this act Sadly while a few minor amendments were made no major changes have come from this resolution across most of the world The UN as expected is fairly divided in opinion regarding more controversial artifacts with different countries having very different perspectives While European powers tend to focus only on certified stolen artifacts the poorer nations want everything that could be classified as “stolen” to be returned

But do they own the artifacts anymore? Well, it really depends on how open the country that stole from the country of origin really is or example, in past major foreign powers like Great Britain the government is very disparaging about the idea of stolen artefacts and have a fairly

British Raj) at the time was part of the British empire and so is heavily argued that the UK does not own the diamond as India was forced to give it up to the UK in the creation of the crown jewels The guidelines of these things are very changeable on the international stage and s

closed mind while in foreign powers like Spain they often are returning “stolen” artefacts with them returning Egyptian artefacts to centuries old artifacts made with two old masters works produced in Italy with a 16th century gilded wooden reliquary of a saint and an oil painting on canvas by an anonymous Lombard artist titled Luncheon However, the UN so far has not made an official statement regarding the true origin of “stolen” artefacts However, it also heavily depends on how it’s got there in the first place For example, how would you distinguish an artifact given to the emperor like the Kohi-Noor diamond given by India at the time to the UK to the Benin bronzes that were clearly stolen in an act of war. These two very different things are put under the same bracket by most nations But even on the example of the Koh-i-Noor diamond there is controversy as it was given to Britain by India (Formally known as The

o ultimately the stolen from countries without a very legitimate reason have previously found it extremely difficult to get back what they call theirs As shown below artifacts in the UK can have incredible value and in 2009 an estimated value of all the things inside the museum was said to be over 500 million pounds

So, in conclusion the topic of countries returning stolen artifacts is a complicated one as there is not really a set answer as there seems to be vastly contrasting reasons why the artifacts should or should not be returned While the general consensus in richer past powers that the artifacts should be kept in their pristine glory in their museums, the countries that have been taken off of generally hold a vote that they should be returned to their natural country of origin I personally sit on the fence as I think it heavily depends on the situation said

a vote conducted by a television program in 1996 on whether the Elgin marbles should be returned to Greece the result was 92 5 per cent of the 99,340 people who called in said they supported return of the Marbles to Greece This showed that an overwhelming majority wanted the return of “stolen” artefacts to be returned However, this result may be biased so another result should be used A vote in the house of commons was done in 2000 but in that result a overwhelming result voted against it with parliament voting 66 to 34 23 in appendix 44

In general consensus the general public seems to vote towards moving the artefacts to their countries of origin while the higher up parliaments see to many logistics issues and so decide that they better keep the artifacts in their own countries

So finally if I had to make such a decision I think I would lean towards the way of not returning the artefacts a personally I think it would cause to many logistical issues and countries may exploit the true meaning of the word stolen and steal things that are not really theirs Ultimately then the decision whether countries should return their artifacts is up to them and their population In the modern world no law will 100% fix the large issue at hand but its up to their respective countries to be logical and sensible and to definitively keep the history and tradition alive with every artifact they can

SHOULD EVERY HUMAN BEING HAVE A CARBON QUOTA TO HELP SAVE THE PLANET?

WRITTEN BY RUFUS C

A carbon quota is a system that records the CO2 emissions from a company, factory, PowerStation, or person over a certain period of time Currently, over 35 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are produced globally every single year, that is 95 million tonnes a day and 1100 tonnes of carbon dioxide every single second, this CO2 will remain in the atmosphere for about a century. Since 1850, CO2 concentrations have increased 48% due to human activities For this to have occurred naturally, it would have taken around 20,000 years. This is far from sustainable. The maintainable amount of carbon produced – to avoid a 2-degree global temperature rise – must be two tonnes a year per person which is just under half of what we already produce.

To put that into perspective a round trip on a commercial airliner, from Heathrow to Athens in Greece for one person produces 0.853 tonnes of carbon dioxide. If governments were to introduce carbon quotas, they would need to keep track of transportation, energy usage, food consumption and product consumption which are considered to be the 4 main carbon footprint categories. Certain countries such as Canada have already introduced a carbon pricing system, I will look into the success of this in more detail later on The UK are set to implement a new carbon pricing system by 2027 to support the decarbonisation drive meaning that in a few years we will have to pay to pollute.

There will be many benefits from companies and people obeying their carbon quotas, the biggest being cleaner, more sanitary air and reduced global warming At the current rate of increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, pollution will cause extreme weather, like deadly heat waves, which could affect millions of people Due to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, climate change could also broaden the range of diseasecarrying creatures, most commonlymosquitoes and ticks In addition, people having to pay to pollute will make everyone far more conscious of how much they pollute Time magazine published an article in June 2018 highlighting that the average IQ has dropped in adults born in the late twentieth century

However, the cause of this IQ decline is due to environmental factors, as opposed to genetics, said Ole Rogeburg, a senior researcher at Ragnar Frisch Centre. Adding carbon quotas and pricing systems will reduce the drop in IQ, benefiting everyone on Earth Government introductions of carbon quotas should also force billion-dollar oil companies such as BP and Shell to think before they pollute

Carbon dioxide contributes to global warming by trapping energy within the earth’s atmosphere, causing increased temperatures and a higher frequency of severe weather incidents, such as droughts, storms, and tornadoes Carbon quotas would generate revenues for governments that can be used to fund environmentally positive projects such as research into bioengineering and developing carbon capture technologies Money could also be invested in the energy production infrastructure to focus on cleaner, more renewable energy sources like geothermal and wind farms

Overall, carbon quotas will help the world by limiting global warming, disease, reduced IQ, and severe weather events In addition, people having to pay to pollute will make everyone far more conscious of how much they pollute.

Despite there being many advantages carbon quotas there are also many disadvantages For example, whilst you calculate the amount of carbon dioxid release into the atmosphere, it is diffic expensive and not always accurate C change is a worldwide issue, and requ international response, as such a new department of carbon taxing in every country in the world would be require Many countries will not comply to as be too expensive and/or impractical fo developed economies

A key issue for the government is how impose the tax Should it be the prim producers (farmers), secondary produ (factories), or consumers (end custom that pay the tax? CO2 is produced in ways meaning governments will have large variety of different industries var from cattle farming to fast fashion as t industries produce disproportionate a of CO2 It would also be exceedingly to obtain the information on how mu pollute as different industries pollute i different ways Carbon quotas will also to be linked to the aviation industry a are one of the biggest polluters at one tonnes of CO2 per year

Many countries will also argue that it i fair for countries like the UK and Ame have had their industrial revolution wh polluting with disregard for the enviro and to then demand 100 years later, t other countries in particular China and must obey much stricter energy usage regulations This would be a severe disadvantage for Chinese economic gr they produce 12 7 billion tonnes of C annually (over a third of global CO2 emissions) It is clear that there are m difficulties in introducing carbon quota governments could seek alternatives s gradually decreasing the amount of oi other fossil fuels extracted each year. alternative would be to bio engineer p reproduce faster and live in more

After Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick refused to set up carbon pricing, Canada started to charge residents of these states more money for petrol, diesel, butane, propane, and natural gas as they couldn’t tax them In 1990 Canada were polluting at approximately 400 million tonnes each year this figure continued to rise until it reached 600 million in 2018 from then onwards it has been on a steady decline to 530 million in 2024 This proves that the addition of carbon quotas has reduced the CO2 emissions significantly in Canada

Blockchain is an ever-growing list of records called blocks which are interconnected using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block and a time stamp With block chain anyone can safely view and store information over the shared system but not change it Once information is stored inside a blockchain it is incredibly difficult to change it

This modern technology can be used to manage carbon quotas and facilitate trading of carbon quotas This will make companies pollute less for reputational and financial reasons

“Carbon quotas have many potential downsides varying from difficulty to implement them to disagreement over who pays the tax However, I believe that without carbon quotas companies will continue to pollute at an alarming rate unless governments implement new rules against this I also believe that carbon quotas should be integrated by governments throughout the world as they will make the world a significantly better place by creating cleaner, more sanitary air and preventing reduced IQ

This will undoubtedly make the world a better place or at the very least, prevent it from getting worse. It has been proven that carbon quotas do work and that their effectiveness of them is not just hypothetical as they have reduced annual Canadian carbon emissions by 70 million tonnes and will continue to reduce it by more and more New technology such as carbon capture and the use of blockchain in managing carbon quotas could play an important role in addressing some of the worlds environmental challenges Overall, there is clearly a massive problem of pollution in the world and whilst carbon quotas may not solve it entirely, it is likely they will be part of the solution

IS THE BRAIN AS SMART AS WE GIVE IT CREDIT FOR?

WRITTEN BY SAMUEL C

First of all, we need to get one thing straight What is our brain? Well, it’s the organ that controls our bodily functions. Now let me ask another question. What is our mind? I hear these two things used pretty interchangeably in conversation. But why? It always slightly annoys me because there is actually a pretty big difference between the two. The Oxford Dictionary defines the mind is “the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.” Whereas their definition of the brain is “the organ inside the head that controls movement, thought, memory and feeling ” At its simplest, the mind refers to our ability to think, feel and engage in physical activity, and the brain is the physical organ that supports these functions. This phenomenon ultimately led me to the question, “Is the Brain as Smart as we Give it Credit for?” If the mind is what controls our thoughts and morals, and the brain just carries out the functions of it, and yet is still tricked by things like change blindness, Priming and déjà vu, then is it really all that smart? This is what we will be studying today.

Starting with the question, “How much credit do we give the brain in the first place?” We can say that the brain is fallible because of this, this and this, but that won’t mean anything if we have no set assumption of how smart the brain is right now. So, how smart is it? Because we generally trust our brain to a large degree, for example, when we sit down on a chair or walk into a building, we are trusting the architects and manufacturers that built it. Also, considering everything that the brain does on a day-to-day basis, I think we afford it lots of credit. I am not saying that this credit is justified or unjustified just yet; we just give it plenty of credit for what it does. Now, we can move on to our first topic, déjà vu.

Déjà vu and how it works

Déjà vu is a phenomenon that we experience fairly frequently in our everyday lives. The definition of it (given by the Oxford Dictionary) is “ a feeling of having already experienced the present situation ” It is extremely hard to study déjà vu and what it is because there is no way to track when it happens, aside from someone saying “Oh, déjà vu!” and there is no way to simulate it in a laboratory Despite this, however, scientists have managed to gather enough information to theorise what it is about There are still many, many theories and assumptions, but I shall be focusing on only one group of them today, which basically all state that it is a minor brain malfunction.

For example, one suggests that when your brain retrieves memories, they transfer on a set path from short term to long term But sometimes, your memories “take a shortcut,” and it feels as if you are unearthing a long term memory even though it is just a fresh new one Another theory states that it happens when the part of your brain that tracks the present and the part that tracks memories are both active at the same time. Your brain “glitches” so to speak, sort of like what happens in a minor epileptic seizure, a brief electrical malfunction Of course, this is perfectly healthy, and you should not worry if you are having déjà vu, but it is fairly interesting and surreal to think that when we have déjà vu, our brain is malfunctioning and we are having a mini epileptic seizure

This explanation for déjà vu definitely suggests that our brain is not as smart as we think it is, as it is easily tricked by a memory taking a shortcut, or having two parts active at the same time accidentally Anyway, with that said, we should move on to my next point, and observe an aspect of our brain that excels at being smart, as it fills in gaps of our memory with experience

Confabulation, and how our brains fill in gaps with experience. We often view our memories as call backs to something that has happened in the past, and we think that our brains are able to recall events as if we had just seen them Of course, we can sometimes misremember things, but generally we don’t think that it is wrong or incorrect However, we should interpret our memories as more of a movie that starts with “based on true events” They are documentaries of things that have happened, but for example, every single scrap of clothing, line of dialogue or object within a scene pulled from memory won’t be exactly the same as we remember it to be.

The technical term for this is ’confabulation’, and the definition is as follows: ’Confabulation is a type of memory error in which gaps in a person ’ s memory are unconsciously filled with fabricated, misinterpreted, or distorted information ’ Now, words like “ memory error ” make it seem like a disorder that you are born with, but really it happens to pretty much everyone in daily life. You can interpret confabulation in two ways. The first is saying that our brain is constantly lying to us, and that our memory is all fake, we are being tricked and our brain is not smart, and the second is saying that our brain is smart, as thanks to everyday experiences, our brains can edit in what we are meant to be feeling and remembering For example, take a look at something called the “blind spot phenomenon"

If you want to test this out, you can use this simple method: Draw two spots around the size of a penny two or three centimetres away from each other Close your left eye and focus on the left dot Move the paper back and forth, and eventually, the right spot will disappear. This is your blind spot. Now look around the room It is obvious that in everyday life you don’t have a gaping hole in your vision This is because, with the brain’s mental Photoshop skills, it can fill in gaps in your memory with what should be there and your vision All this shows that the brain really is very smart, as even though it can be fooled by things like déja vu and priming, which we’ll get onto now, it has still evolved and learnt to work in pretty incredible ways

Priming and other instances of brain trickery. However, even though the brain has excelled in the area of confabulation, there are still plenty of instances where the brain is not so smart We will be covering various other areas in this chapter, including priming and self-fulfilling prophecies First, let's talk about priming. Priming is when your subconscious mind nudges and affects your actions and behaviour Basically, when outside phenomena influence the decisions you make in day-to-day life

A good example of this is a 2006 experiment conducted by Chen-Bo Zhong at the University of Toronto and Katie Liljenquist at Northwestern University Firstly, the researchers asked the participants to unearth a distant memory of their past that they felt guilty about Afterwards, they offered all of them the opportunity to wash their hands Then the researchers asked them to help a student for no extra reward Those who didn’t wash their hands offered to help 74% of the time, although those who did only offered 41% For those who washed their hands, they correlated washing their hands with washing their consciousness, and so often didn’t choose to help

Those who still didn’t feel guilty about their bad memories so often chose to help Outside phenomena have affected our ability to think This happens lots of times in our daily lives The location we are in, and our previous actions can influence our decision Another thing that tricks our brains is self–fulfilling prophecies, where we think something should happen, so we take unconscious steps to make it real For example, in 1994, Daniel W Hoover

and Richard Milich of the University of Kentucky did an experiment on sugar They gave ten five – year old children a non-sugar treat They told half of their parents that they gave them a sugary sweet, and the other five the truth The adults who were told that their child had a sugary sweet reported more hyperactivity and behaviour in their child compared to the ones that didn’t Just what they were told, or somebody washing their hands, or the image of a briefcase was enough to trick the brain into thinking differently than it should This shows that the brain has various different defects, and it is not as smart as we give it credit for

Fight, Flight and Freeze and our brains natural action

So far, we have been looking at different phenomena that happen to the brain in certain situations But the brain does much more than fill in gaps every day It does things that I know for a fact you are doing right now. Breathing, digesting, pumping blood and a whole lot more It can even do these things when unconscious, and most of them are so second nature that you don’t have to think about them to do them These things are controlled by a branch of our nervous system – the autonomic nervous system This system is split into two branches, sympathetic and parasympathetic The sympathetic region stimulates body processes, and the parasympathetic inhibits them, depending on our surroundings. These body processes are as follows: Constricting or dilating pupils or airways, salivation, perspiration, our heartbeat, digestion, bile release, tear production, constriction of blood vessels, glucose production and release and many more that I haven’t mentioned As well as this, our brains have built in ways of protecting ourselves For example, when you are faced with a potential threat, you don’t stop to figure out a plan – your brain has already acted using the Fight, Flight or Freeze technique, a technique that forces our body to either

fight, run away, or freeze up when faced with fear This alone shows us how clever our minds are, as it has learnt different actions to take to save you It is a natural evolutionary adaptation all minds know to keep us safe, and the fact that generally, everyone knows it is very interesting, as our brains have somehow programmed it into every brain across the world Once again, this is thanks to our nervous system The sympathetic system controls the stuff that you “do” like fighting or fleeing, but the parasympathetic system controls freezing, much like how it inhibits our bodily functions, and the sympathetic system stimulates them This is immense evidence that our brains are very clever, and we absolutely give it enough credit for its ability

Conclusion.

Now we have looked at various points about whether the brain is as smart as we give it credit for We established how much credit we give it, then looked at Deja Vu and Priming, and then Confabulation and natural responses And now, my conclusion is that we do give it enough credit for its actions Sure, we can point at a few things that it is sub-par at, but, at the end of the day, it is still very smart. That giant list in chapter four was not even all the different processes that our body and brain can perform I wouldn’t be writing this essay without my brain, and you wouldn’t be reading it Like a computer, it may sometimes have some bugs, but ultimately is still a very powerful organ And for these reasons, it is very smart, and we can give our trust and credit to it

TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE FOOD INDUSTRY SLOWLY POISONING US?

WRITTEN BY SIENNA T

Have you ever bought a product with ingredients you have never heard of before? Well today in my essay I’m going to be discussing what those ingredients actually are and what they can do to you So, what is a simple explanation of all of those emulsifiers, gums, additives and all the other random ingredients you might find in the food you buy? Upf. Ultra- processed food (UPF is usually crafted using ingredients that you wouldn’t have in a typical kitchen Additionally, it consists of 5 or more components.

So, in this essay I’m going to analyse what upf is and how it can affect your health. I will start by properly defining upf and explain how to identify it, then I will analyse the motives of replacing healthy food with upf food, then I will explore how ultra processed food can psychologically impact you and finally I will discuss how to avoid upf and why you should.

Now these reasons don’t sound healthy, do they? Well, carboxymethylcellulose is actually harmful to the body It can affect gut bacteria and can trigger inflammatory bowel disease It can also be the cause of obesity or any obesity-related diseases carboxymethylcellulose is found in foods like cakes, muffins, tortillas and even in cheese spreads like Philadelphia It is also used in fruit juices or concentrates as a stabilizer. According to BBC news, Kings College London carried out an experiment on a set of identical twins: Aimee and Nancy Aimee spent 2 weeks on an ultraprocessed diet and Nancy spent her 2 weeks eating the same meals with the same number of calories, nutrients, sugar, etc as Aimee, only they were raw or low processed

Aimee gained nearly 1 kilo whilst Nancy lost weight Aimee’s blood sugar levels worsened, and her blood fat levels went up. According to Professor Tim Spector- a professor of epidemiology who oversaw the experiment- “in the last decade, the evidence has been slowly growing that ultra-processed food is harmful for us in ways we hadn’t thought” My conclusion from the experiment is that upf has not been researched properly before being included in people's everyday diet which means that we didn’t know all of the effects of replacing food with ingredients such as emulsifiers and preservatives

more appealing to consumers This can help increase sales and profitability for the companies, even though it may not always be the healthiest option for us It helps the products popularity and hence earn the company more money It also promotes brand loyalty because once the consumer eats the company ' s product, unhealthy ingredients in the product will trick your brain and make people crave it again For example, when a strawberry yogurt is consumed, your brain thinks that’s you are getting vitamin c from the yogurt because your brain has already associated the strawberry flavour with the vitamins Then because the flavour doesn’t contain any vitamin c your brain doesn’t receive any then the consumer therefore craves it again to get the vitamin c The companies might also use these ingredients because it might make the product easier to transport An example of this would be ice cream because guar gum and cellulose gum is added to the ice cream as a stabiliser which helps to slow down the melting process This means that the ice cream can be transported further distances before melting

So why would the food industry actually decide to replace food with such bad ingredients? Even though I came to the conclusion that upf was not studied enough, with the example of citric acid, how could food companies think that extracting citric acid from black mould can be beneficial towards anyone ’ s health? Food companies often opt to replace healthy ingredients with ultra-processed ones because these ingredients are designed to enhance taste, texture, and shelf life. By using additives and artificial flavours, they can create products that are

Which therefore maintains the quality of the ice cream during transportation However, again guar gum is unhealthy Consuming too much can lead to bloating and digestive problems The final motivation for substituting healthy food with unnatural products is to expand the reach of their product to a larger consumer base For instance, cheese is a product where some of the ingredients have been modified for this reason Traditional cheese is usually made with a product called animal rennet which is made from the stomach lining of calves which makes it unsuitable for vegetarians, so some companies replace this ingredient with vegetable rennet which can be made from a modified mould or yeast This makes it vegetarian and allows it to be consumed by both vegetarians and meat eaters This earns the company more

money because there are more people who can and will buy the product This shows that the biggest motivation for replacing food with upf is money

Next, I will explain how Upf doesn’t just physically affect you, it can also psychologically affect you People who eat more upf are more at risk of mental illness Fab Research explains that “Almost 3 times as many people who reported consuming ultra-processed food 'several times a day' were 'distressed' or 'struggling' with their mental wellbeing, compared to those who said they 'rarely or never ' consumed it “ Science focus’ article states that 55 percent of Uk adults' calories per day come from ultra processed food and that’s interesting because in the Uk 1 in 4 people will suffer from mental health illnesses Studies from Harvard medical and Massachusetts general hospital have found a link between upf and depression. According to pbso news people who eat 9 or more portions of upf per day, there has been nearly 50% increase of risk of depression This is so unethical that food companies are putting these terrible ingredients in food just to earn money

Now let me share some ways to avoid upf foods Now a super simple method is to obviously read the ingredients for any foods which you buy in a shop If you are eating at a restaurant for example and you want to strictly avoid upf foods, you can go for whole foods like meat and vegetables

Now let me share some ways to avoid upf foods Now a super simple method is to obviously read the ingredients for any foods which you buy in a shop If you are eating at a restaurant for example and you want to strictly avoid upf foods, you can go for whole foods like meat and vegetables

Now let me share some ways to avoid upf foods Now a super simple method is to obviously read the ingredients for any foods which you buy in a shop. If you are eating at a restaurant for example and you want to strictly avoid upf foods, you can go

for whole foods like meat and vegetables

Although some people say that occasionally you should eat a treat and it will not ruin your diet, but this does not apply to upf foods most times For example, if you decide to eat a packet of crisps you will get addicted to the taste, texture and even the scent which will make you crave it again This is what companies desire when creating their products and is the whole reason for making the product upf According to BBC good food more than half the average diet comprises upf but according to 2 recent studies up to 10 percent increase in heart disease along with a staggering 62 percent increased risk of death (of all causes) when over four servings of ultra-processed foods were consumed per day Therefore, it is so important for people to be more aware and start avoiding upf food Out of 21 people 8 people thought that gut bacteria supermarket yogurt was the healthiest out of brown bread, gut bacteria yogurt, dried pasta and granola, which is shocking because in most cases the yogurt would be the unhealthiest because of its lack of vitamins This shows that people need to be more aware of upf However, everything I have just explained, is hard In the Uk people are slaves to the food industry which makes it so difficult to avoid eating ultra processed food Almost every single food item on a supermarket shelf contains one or more ingredients which (if following a zero ultra processed diet) have to be avoided This means that people would have to make everything at home apart from the actual ingredients Now this may sound simple, but it is not as it would mean making your own biscuits, jams, cereals, bread and even pasta sauce Around 76% of working age people (1664) have a full-time job in the Uk So, when would they find the time to be home making everything? And for people who live in poverty is almost impossible to

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I chose my essay theme as I have always been fascinated with the future and imagining the powers that could alter our future, then I stumbled across gene editing and that fascinated me the most Researching more into how it works and how it is used had interested me I have family and friends that had inspired my views of gene editing and modifications and being a topic that I had been interested in for a long time, I felt that it would be the perfect theme to write the essay about

HOW HAS BEING A SCHOLAR CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION AND LEARNING?

Being a scholar has made me appreciate the importance of critical thinking and engaging deeply with ideas, transforming learning into a more dynamic and fulfilling process

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I chose my essay because Ai is an extremely critical topic which is growing and giving us a meaning on what our future will be like It leaves us to ponder the questions will humans still be here when Ai has power

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I find it interesting how tech reliant generation z are so I wanted to see how technology has negatively affected our society and how dangerous it is

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

I want to take law, history and psychology for a levels and then become a criminal defence lawyer.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND HOW HAVE THEY INFLUENCED YOU?

I have multiple role models who I am motivated and inspired by, fueling my work ethics and energy that I apply in whatever I do daily In particular, the two role models that I look up to are my cousins Moksh and Roshan, who are just purely inspirational They grew up with very little throughout their lives and how they have made so much by Moksh being 2 years away from graduating university to become a electrical engineer and Roshan just starting work as a civil engineer, had powered me to work harder and better throughout my life, helping me to eventually accomplish the same, if not more than them Also, learning about their lives, had created me to be more grateful and appreciate everything I have

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My goals include participating in projects, and developing my leadership skills by having conversations and socialising with others

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HOW HAS BEING A SCHOLAR CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION AND LEARNING?

I have been more interested in learning because of the scholars sessions Once the session has finished and I have learnt something I didn’t know, I try to learn even more about it

ADI P

ARYAN J

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I chose Organ donation because I know someone due to have a transplant I wanted to do further research on why people don’t trust the NHS, the ethics behind Organ Donation, and how it would help people if it was mandatory

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At A Level, I will do Chemistry, Biology, and possibly French I want to study Medicine at Cambridge University and be a paediatric doctor / surgeon This has been my dream since I was 4, although it will be difficult

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ESSAY THEME?

I chose my essay theme because I love thinking about the future and trying to solve complicated problems

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My favourite scholars session has been the one about the definition of money This is because I am taking economics next year and it was nice to get an insight into the syllabus

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Next year I think that next academic year I will aim to achieve a higher mark in my essay as I feel It will benefit my true understanding of the world around is

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I think being a scholar has changed my view on learning as it really opened my eyes on a new perspective of learning This is mainly because it establishes a connection between learning and the real world

HARRY W

ELEANOR R

JAMIE L

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Being a scholar has changed my learning perspective a lot At the start of the year, when I received the news, I was worried that the sessions would be overwhelming, but the further I got in to the program the more excited I was to go to the sessions and learn, something that had carried over to my regular school life as well

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I chose my essay theme on the food industry because recently my family has been interested in what actually goes into food and the effects which these ingredients have on your mind and body so I decided to do some further research on the topic and I thought that what I discovered was really interesting and perfect for my scholars essay topic

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My favourite scholars session this year was the law-based session with Mr Hagen as I learnt all about law and discovered a new topic I was fascinated by I also learnt about how people are chosen at random to be in the jury to decide whether the defendant was guilty or not which I really enjoyed ”

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In the future I hope to be an engineer or have a math based job as I really enjoy math and solving equations

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Next year, I hope to get high grades in all core subjects, particularly maths and sciences I also hope to be selected for sports teams in hockey and netball.

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SAMUEL C

RUFUS C

"Education in the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Nelson Mandela