Elisah Geertman For reasons not understood, we are typically unaware that we are dreaming. But have you ever suddenly realised that you were in a dream, or even managed to gain control over your dream narrative? If the answer is ‘yes’, you have experienced a phenomenon referred to as lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a state of awareness that one is dreaming without leaving the sleep state. It is associated with increased activity in brain areas related to higher cognitive function, such as … [Read more...]
A new Sibling for CRISPR-Cas9: Cas13
Femke van Hout The last decade marks the exciting revolution of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. While the revolution still continues with further development and refinement of the Cas9 systems, the first patients are already receiving Cas9-based treatments. The Cas9 enzyme is a so-called “RNA-guided DNA nuclease”. This means that Cas9 is directed by RNA, the guide RNA, to find and cut the complementary target DNA. As this cutting mechanism is very precise and programmable, Cas9 can in theory be … [Read more...]
Treatment of COVID-19: where are we at the moment?
Quentin Marsman 2020 is the year of COVID-19. The disease caused by the new coronavirus has been a major health concern in the first months of this year and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March [1]. The disease has led to lockdowns in multiple countries as a means to limit the spread of the virus. To touch upon the severity of the disease: on the 26th of May there were over 5.406.282 confirmed cases and 343.562 confirmed deaths [2]. In this brief message, … [Read more...]
Male contraception: a new alternative for couples?
Jelmer Raaijmakers We think it is self-evident that women make sure that they do not get pregnant, but is that a rational way of thinking? We might have been conditioned to think in that manner. It could be because women get pregnant, women give birth, and women use contraceptives. However, is it not weird and illogical to think of it that way? Might men be able to play a role in this? Women carry the burden of carrying the (unborn) child; there is nothing we can do to change that. … [Read more...]
Why mass media is captivated by coronavirus
Larissa Govers, BSc Not a day goes by that you are not confronted with coronavirus, albeit on the news, as a joke or because you got an email about it from your employer. The world is currently completely captivated by this disease, which shows symptoms such as cough, dyspnea fever and bilateral lung infiltrates [1]. But here I wonder, why does a flu-like disease have the ability to affect the global economic growth, while other diseases with significantly higher burdens get by unnoticed? For … [Read more...]
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