Imagine losing the ability to recognise your loved ones, speak in full sentences or even remember your own life story. For the nearly 55 million people worldwide living with dementia, this is a heartbreaking reality. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, gradually destroys memory, language and independence. Despite decades of research, there is still no cure.

Let’s face it: as Year 12s, most of our daily existential dread is confined to the UCAS personal statement and EPQ if you are doing it of course, or wondering if the cafeteria will run out of paninis before you get let out of lessons 5 minutes too late. But recently, Columbia University scientists decided to elevate global existential dread by publishing a preprint study that asks a much heavier question: Are we finally ready to safely rewrite the genetic code of human embryos?

When we think about cancer research, we often imagine scientists searching for new treatments or ways to detect diseases earlier. However, some researchers are looking at a different question: could something as common as poor sleep be linked to cancer?

Now I know most of us have been victim to blush blindness, using one dot of Rare Beauty blush and appearing sort of tomato like, but what exactly gives our blush its creamy formula and extreme pigment?

Before now, I confess to having not spent a great deal of time thinking about the ‘death of intellectualism’.

However, having previously heard of the concept, its relevance dawned on me when I learned of the Department of Education’s ‘National Year of Reading’ campaign. Over the course of this year, I have seen a staggering number of initiatives encouraging reading both in school and the wider community. This includes attending school discussions about how to increase reading enthusiasm, assemblies promoting literacy, as well as the aforementioned campaign.