Karen Steward PhD

Science Writer

Writes for:

Students Get Hands-on with Mass Spectrometry

We spoke to Dr Jonathan Jones from Waters Corporation, to learn more about the new initiative that they and Swansea University are leading to give students hands-on experience of mass spectrometry.

Lytic vs Lysogenic – Understanding Bacteriophage Life Cycles

Bacteriophage (phage) are obligate intracellular viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Here we take an overview of their structure, life-cycle and the role they have played in advancing science and medicine.

HPLC vs UHPLC

Here we highlight some of the key similarities and differences between high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), and consider some of their many applications.

Exploring 5 Successful Microbial Symbioses

Our environment is filled with a multitude of microbes, some harmful others not. However, some organisms have taken coexisting a step further and developed relationships, or symbioses, with microbial partners. Here we consider some of the successful symbiotic relationships found in nature.

Tackling Antibiotic-resistance: Nitric Oxide-based Treatments for Respiratory Diseases

The failure of conventional antibiotics to treat numerous antibiotic-resistant infections necessitates the development of new agents – as a natural anti-microbial nitric oxide holds particular promise.

Team Work Helps Overcome Environmental Challenges

We spoke to Andrew Howley from Adventure Scientists,a pioneering not-for-profit organization that seeks to unite skilled adventurers with scientists keen to receive valuable data from remote areas, to learn more about the initiative and the impact their projects are having in the scientific community and beyond.

European Court Rules that Gene Editing is GM

The European Court of Justice has today ruled in a landmark case that living organisms, including plants, altered using newer genome editing techniques, class as genetically engineered.

What’s in a Wine Name?

There’s nothing like a nice cool glass of rosé on a balmy summers evening. Whether you’re an adventurous type who likes to try a new wine every time or you have your go-to favourites, you put your trust in producers and retailers to deliver the products that they claim to be – but are they?

Working Together Helps Phage Overcome CRISPR

Surprising results show that phage join forces to overcome bacteria’s CRISPR -based immune defenses. Improved understanding of the interactions between phage and their bacterial hosts could help advance phage-based therapies and stimulate viral research.

Strawberry’s Properties are More than Skin Deep

Everyone loves a perfectly ripe strawberry, right? They count towards your five a day and contain important nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants. But what if science could help breeders make them even better?