By Michael Girling MSc Human Evolution and Behaviour, 2023-24 The process of ageing is a universal phenomenon affecting all living organisms and recent research highlights how stress exposures within our environment possess the potential to accelerate the ageing process of our cells. To investigate this relationship, my research focused on the impacts of cumulative life stress exposures on epigenetic ageing in owl monkeys. This research stemmed from my interest of the ageing process particularly in neurodegenerative diseases and also the importance of non-human primates as models of disease an ..read more

By Damian Andres SabatiniMA Material and Visual Culture, 2022-23 1998 marked a pivotal moment in the world of cinema, with the iconic sci-fi filmmaker from the 1970s, George Lucas, presenting his new masterpiece: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. This film was hailed as a groundbreaking milestone, poised to usher in a new era of digital filmmaking that had long been anticipated (Belton 2002: 103-104). The ambitious project made a series of promises that were deemed “revolutionary”. It vowed to guarantee a deeper durability by releasing moving images from the materiality of celluloid. Mo ..read more

By Jess Jones MA Material and Visual Culture, 2022-23 It may or may not be a surprise that this kitchen is not in someone’s home but in an IKEA showroom. IKEA stores are located across the world. They are furniture shops where one can purchase relatively inexpensive home furnishings, appliances, and décor. I present the idea of “mimetic-homeyness” to suggest that IKEA showrooms function as prescribed emulations of the home. I focus on the placement of certain objects within the showrooms to capture how IKEA evokes feelings of mimetic-homeyness, through bringing Grant McCracken (1989) in line w ..read more

By Liang Quiyan MSc Biosocial Medical Anthropology, 2022-23 The complexity of biological life poses a challenge to the study of its mechanisms: in lab contexts, the interpretation requires at least formal rationality, while the interpreter and its object—the researchers and animals involved—are uncertain and dynamic beings. Scientific discourse thus requires their disciplinary training. When undergraduates get gradually involved in the lab routine, contradictions emerge between the scientific discipline and daily practice. This article depicts these scenes in Prof. Hans’s neuroscience lab at a ..read more

By Sonia Dhanda PhD Anthropology On 14–25 November 2022, government representatives from over 160 countries convened in Panama City for solutions to the biodiversity crisis and negotiations on wildlife trade regulations.  What is CITES? The world wildlife conference, formally known as the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), is a global agreement to regulate the trade of endangered animals and plants. This global agreement has 184 signatories to the Convention, and over 38,000 species are regulated with 32,000 of these species belonging to the plant kingdom. CI ..read more

By Sara Mahdi Anthropology, Environment, and Development MSc, 2022-23 I am certain that I am not alone when I think to myself, “Have we really, truly, permanently changed the planet? And are we scientifically past the point of no return?” This is not an unexplored question; in fact, this simple but grave question has ignited a fresh debate amongst geologists and conservationists tasked with designating the historical period in which we live. According to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the official institution in charge of defining Earth’s time scale, we are currently in ..read more

On 6 June 2022, activists and researchers working in and from the former Soviet sphere met at UCL Anthropology to discuss ways in which Russia’s war on Ukraine is impacting everyday lives, politics, and relationships. Inspired by an article written at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, three members of UCL Anthropology gathered a diverse group of people to a closed roundtable in June 2022. In an atmosphere of heightened sensitivity, while speaking a language which was not their own, researchers and activists from across the former-Soviet world shared intimate experiences and reflection ..read more

By Amandas Ong PhD Anthropology Olha K.1 was not happy. For weeks, she had been waiting to apply for a national identification number that would grant Ukrainians like herself full access to healthcare and the employment market in Poland. Now, her patience was running thin. When she heard that Olha T. – her former neighbour and professional rival back home – had already received her identity card, she finally snapped. Venting her frustrations on Malina, the Polish woman who had agreed to host her family, she said she believed that her right to work was deliberately being obstructed. “I refuse t ..read more

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