Canford Blog

This research will investigate the evolution of eukaryotic cells.

The aims of this research are to:

i)       Investigate how mitochondria and chloroplasts evolved by looking at the endosymbiotic hypothesis

ii)     Investigate how eukaryotic nuclei were formed by viral eukaryogenesis

iii)    Investigate the outside-in and inside-out hypothesis of symbiogenesis.

The main objective of this report is to find out possible ways of how eukaryotic cells were evolved from prokaryotes and how the different organelles within eukaryotic cells are developed and specialized to perform different functions. 

This summer I graduated after an amazing 3 years at the University of Bristol. I remember clearly being so nervous and excited as my parents drove me to Bristol for my first day. There have been ups and downs, but I have had the best time and already miss my university experience. Here are 10 top tips that I wish I had known before starting start university…

The third Thursday in August is awaited with a mixture of eager anticipation and apprehensive dread by all Sixth Form students – A Level Results Day.

It is very important to keep a cool head and make rational decisions on a day of such frenetic activity.  Here are a few points to keep in mind:

Now is a great time for women in science, and we see that clearly in biology. Many female biologists have made incredible breakthroughs that have revolutionized modern science in recent times. They come from across the world and range from the conservation works for chimpanzees by Professor Jane Goodall, to the development of harnessing the potential power of the protein CAS9 and CRISPR technology by Jennifer Doudna, not to mention many others - all of whom are worthy of a Nobel prize. However, for the purpose of this essay I have chosen to ‘nominate’ professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz for her seminal work on embryonic stem cells and embryonic development. I am going to be focusing on three of her major breakthroughs, the impacts they have had in the science community, and what they could mean for future development. 

Upper Sixth Canfordian Barney Peddie, awarded a Music Scholarship at Bournemouth for September 2019, talks about his future plans.

The current global population of displaced persons exceeds 65 million. These displaced people endure poverty, are at high risk of exploitation and face the denial of fundamental human rights. If I were Secretary-General of the UN for a day, I would attempt to tackle one of the main long-term problems faced by refugees: mental health.

In around 400 AD St Augustine perhaps summarised the feelings of all philosophers since the beginning of human history: ‘So what, then, is time? If no one asks me, I know; if I wish to explain it to someone that asks, I know not.’ The use of human language to try to explain time is perhaps one of the most difficult challenges that philosophers face in attempting to understand such a concept. How can we truly understand something we cannot touch, cannot see or hear or taste; something intangible, yet something that seems to be ever presently ticking in the back of our minds? How can we convey something that seems outside the bounds of human language itself, a colossal force that appears to rule our everyday lives, yet our language struggles in its capability to form words that truly encapsulate it? It is something that seems to defy human definition - we can say what we believe it is on the surface, yet when pressed, most do not seem to be able to find the words to express it. So what then, after thousands of years of relentless debate and struggle, is time? Of course, I can’t produce a conclusion, but I can explore the different theories.

As the sun set over Dartmoor, on Friday 10^th May, nervous and excited crowds gathered to view the spectacle. The Ten Tors challenge 2019 would begin when the sun surfaced again in less than 12 hours. Canford had no less than four teams entered this year – a first; two fourth form 35 milers and two lower 6^th , taking on the 45 mile challenge.  They had all trained hard for the event but nothing quite prepares one for the scale of it all, or the weight of the expedition ruck sack!

The definition of a stereotype is; ‘a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing’. Anyone and everyone can have a stereotype.

Different people have different perceptions of whether stereotypes are a good or bad thing. It is quite easy to see how stereotypes can lead to prejudice and discrimination.

We are celebrating publication of a Canfordian’s written word in a national publication.   Max Glowacki has written an article on a novel entitled Eva Luna by Isabel Allende that will be published in the next edition of the Bulletin of Advanced Spanish. This is one of the novels Max studied in preparation for his successful application to read Spanish and German at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge for 2019 entry, and the editorial team has decided to include his article in the new edition due to its excellent academic standard.