Society
··4 min read

The Other Side of Stigma

It is estimated that every 1 out of 4 people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime. Mental health refers to what we feel, as well as how we think and act. It is how we go about our daily lives, go to work, attend lectures, engage in meaningful relationships, and interact socially. Read More
ScienceSociety
··4 min read

The first rule of Crowdfight: Collaborate

The first ever Crowdfight Symposium will be taking place on 15th June. The symposium will look at the incentives inherent in the academic system, such as authorship in publications, and how these motivate academics. Crowdfight seeks to address how these incentives might be improved to further promote collaboration. Read More
ArtsSociety
··7 min read

Creativity in a concrete jungle

Surrounded by ever-changing environments, it is crucial to take the time to pause and reflect. That’s exactly what Maltese-French artist Laura Besançon does in her exhibition Playful Futures — and she’s inviting you to play along. The exhibition attempts to refresh our perspectives on the changing contexts that are beyond our control. Read More
Society
··8 min read

An ancient history of bread (part one): the child of civilization

You’ve probably never given your lunch a second thought. How did bread become the worldwide sensation it is today? If one dares to go back in time, it is apparent how the consumption of certain foods came to symbolize the advancement of our species and the growth of civilization. In particular, staple foods like bread faithfully accompanied mankind like a puppy would its master. Read More
Society
··5 min read

Working to Live and Living to Work Health and Safety at Work

Work takes up half our lives, maybe more. Unfortunately, many people don’t have the luxury of enjoying their work. In Malta, just over a quarter of the population experience a high level of job satisfaction, while in Denmark this number is much higher. And with a growing emphasis on innovation and creativity in the workplace, it is even more crucial that workers find pleasure in their work. Read More
Society
··7 min read

Let’s Talk Abortion: MMSA Abortion Debate

Two weeks ago, I watched a debate organised by Malta Medical Students' Association (MMSA). Under the theme of the legalisation of abortion, Doctors for Choice (DC) and Doctors for Life (DL) presented their cases. As you may have guessed from their names, DC are pro-abortion and DL are not. Read More
Arts
··2 min read

Darkness at Noon

Darkness at noon is an occurrence which violently alters established patterns of nature — a frightening moment. In literature and poetry, this motif has been abstracted and appears repeatedly throughout time. Read More
Arts
··2 min read

Capturing the Unseen: Merging Science and Cinema

Science and cinema are, in essence, two disparate fields. One relies on recording evidence and gathering data for research. The other captures visual and auditory art primarily for entertainment purposes. Yet something extraordinary is taking place inside the Electronics Systems Lab (Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta). THINK was invited to observe the on-going development of a high-speed performance video camera. Read More
Society
··9 min read

Bees, pesticides, and better food

‘Until now, we have been destroying our planet. We have been abusing it as if we have a spare one.’ These were the words of António Guterres, the UN secretary general, speaking to global leaders at the One Planet summit in Paris. This year, he emphasised, must be the year that humanity is reconciled with nature. Read More
SocietyThe Magazine
··5 min read

Making home ownership easier for everyone

Dardingli is the brainchild of Beatriz Rodriguez Sanz and Xabi Rivera, two people from very different professional and personal backgrounds. They struggled to find a home, a common problem in Malta, so they decided to solve the island’s real estate woes. Inna Korchilava from THINK magazine finds out more. Read More
SocietyThe Magazine
··8 min read

Dictating the Market

What is it about a story that can make us so invested? Antónia Ribeiro muses over marketing, emotions, and Nazis under the light of Dr Mario Cassar’s research in storytelling. Read More
Society
··4 min read

Misinformation and how you can avoid being the April Fool.

Last week, on April 1st, we published an article on THINK claiming that the earth is flat. We fabricated some fancy-sounding research, used some technical jargon, and name-dropped a few made-up academics. We understand that not many (if anyone) actually believed this, but in the age of fake news, it has taken just as much evidence to convince people otherwise. Read More
ScienceThe Magazine
··8 min read

A Promising Early Career Researcher

Though she did not take the easiest path, a desire for new knowledge and the application of mathematics in complex problems has led Dr Martha Borg to critical acclaim in the field of theoretical chemistry. Here she tells Becky Catrin Jones how she fought through many challenges to achieve her goals. Read More
Society
··6 min read

University on the Edge

The Latin phrase alma mater, translated to ‘nourishing mother’, is frequently used to refer to a university. From that, we... Read More
TechThe Magazine
··4 min read

Gathering kuraġġ to stand up against bullies

Malta’s first anti-bullying NGO, bBrave, has recently launched its mobile application to raise awareness on the different faces of bullying. The all-volunteer-run organisation, thanks to the supporting help of members and sponsors, is spearheading education into bullying, helping those individuals in need. By Christian Keszthelyi. Read More
SocietyThe Magazine
··5 min read

Content for free

Librarians and pirates the world over have started a controversial movement to make access to academic research free. Veronica Stivala heads underground to find out more. Read More
ScienceThe Magazine
··6 min read

Science imitating life

Researchers are taking inspiration from the dynamic nature of life to create synthetic systems that behave in new ways. Dr Maria Cardona spent her PhD developing a structure that imitates parts of a biological cell. Words by Emma Clarke Read More
Proof that the Earth is flat
ScienceSociety
··3 min read

New research deflates current understanding of the shape of our world

Cutting edge researchers from the University of Malta, Dr Harry Johnson, Prof. Anita Bath, and Dr Oliver Klosov have confirmed that there is evidence to suggest that the world is, in fact, flat. This discovery has come to the forefront from a longitudinal study spanning 25 years from over 50 leading universities around the world — beginning at the University of Malta. Read More
ArtsThe Magazine
··7 min read

Feminine in Trinity

Western tradition tends to view gender as something binary, either male or female. Fran Borg’s research takes a closer look at how Sanskrit philosophy understands the inseparability of gender through language and mythology. Read More
SocietyThe Magazine
··8 min read

Tnewwilli one of those please?

In an existence where change is constant, language is no exception. Caroline Curmi meets Dr Sarah Grech to discuss Malta’s English language patterns and what data our language and word choices reveal about us. Read More
The Magazine
··8 min read

Being Human?

Nika Levikov virtually sits down with Dr Sandro Lanfranco to understand what it means to be human, how our understanding of humanity has changed over time, and whether any of it matters. Read More
Crystallography equipment
ScienceTechThe Magazine
··8 min read

The crystals that really heal

Crystal engineers have the power to create bespoke materials capable of advancing many scientific and technological fields. Prof. Liana Vella-Zarb and her team at PharmaTaxis use X-Ray crystallography and their knowledge of atomic blueprints to create new ways to carry medicine around the body, leading to safer, more effective treatments. Read More
Society
··2 min read

Towards Living Together

Religion is meant to bring people together, but it can become a barrier. In schools, this border transforms into bullying because of different faiths, skin colour, and even diets. All of this needs to stop. As the world has become more and more globalized, it has become increasingly important to understand each other’s cultures and religions. Read More
Society
··4 min read

To Do or Not to Do a PhD? – Book Review

Are you debating whether or not to start a PhD? Have you just started and are already overwhelmed? You might be asking yourself, why am I putting myself through this? Don’t panic! We’ve gotten in touch with Dr Sarah Cuschieri, author of To Do or Not to Do a PhD to ask that very question. Read More
Society
··11 min read

Trading Archaeology & Civilization for Shopping

In 1992 the European Convention of the Protection of Archaeological Heritage was signed in Valletta. Ten years later the Maltese Parliament enacted the Cultural Heritage Act. This law was meant to prevent the destruction of Maltese archaeological sites. Sadly, this did not happen. Tal-Qares in Mosta is the latest case of an archaeological site that may soon be lost. Grassroots organisers are now fighting to save it. Read More
Maltese Landscape
ScienceThe Magazine
··8 min read

How DNA can improve Biodiversity Knowledge and Conservation

Every ecosystem is composed of a community of organisms alongside their physical environment. In order to better understand these ecosystems, conservation biologists from the Department of Biology, University of Malta (UM) have begun compiling a wildlife DNA barcode library that can help understand our local wildlife and give us the tools to protect it. Read More
Karl Marx on the economy of pizza.
Society
··7 min read

THINK about it: Marxism, the Economy, and Pizza

The economy isn’t a giant spaghetti monster. We observe the economy around us through the price of petrol, the minimum wage, the stock market, and the global political theater. David Mizzi analyses one philosopher’s musings on economy and labour. Read More
A taxiing airplane
TechThe Magazine
··3 min read

Reducing aircraft emissions on the ground

Whether it’s your car or a Boeing 747, an engine uses a significant amount of fuel to start moving from a standstill. The KERSair Project, led by Dr Robert Camilleri (UM), is developing a technology to reduce aircraft plane emissions while taxiing. Read More
Illustrative image of a woman working at a desk
SocietyThe Magazine
··9 min read

ZOOMing out

The COVID-19 virus has had a profound impact in the way in which our lives are led. The widespread global adoption of remote workplaces and classrooms has introduced us to a new way of life. The question is whether the adoption of this new norm will continue in years following the pandemic. To answer that, David Mizzi takes a look at the nature of work and what the raison d’etre of pursuing tertiary education is. Read More
Society
··10 min read

Caring for Carers

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex, progressive, neurodegenerative condition affecting around 10 million people worldwide. But for every person directly... Read More
Society
··2 min read

Heading to the Future – on Foot or by Bike

The wide open road is full of unexpected surprises, especially for motorcyclists. The slightest miscalculation can result in swerving out of control or a horrible accident. But what if there was a way to improve motorcycle safety by creating a stronger connection between rider and bike? Engineers at the University of Malta may have just found a way to build your perfect bike. Read More
A Machine's Hallucinations
TechThe Magazine
··2 min read

A Machine’s Hallucinations

Have you ever looked at a turtle and thought it was a rifle? I’m willing to bet that most of you have not. This may sound like an absurd case, but it is exactly what happened when researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) were trying to find vulnerabilities in machine learning systems developed by Google. They altered a few pixels of the picture of a 3d-printed plastic turtle, and a seemingly unchanged and harmless plastic turtle was classified by Google’s algorithm as a rifle. The picture still showed a plastic turtle, so where did the algorithm go wrong? Read More
Engineers at the University of Malta may have just found a way to build your perfect bike.
TechThe Magazine
··3 min read

Lab to Life: Controlling the Unpredictable on the Road

The wide open road is full of unexpected surprises, especially for motorcyclists. The slightest miscalculation can result in swerving out of control or a horrible accident. But what if there was a way to improve motorcycle safety by creating a stronger connection between rider and bike? Engineers at the University of Malta may have just found a way to build your perfect bike. Read More
Logo and link of the board game Construction BOOM!
SocietyThe Magazine
··4 min read

Construction BOOM!

The goal of satire is not to mock, but to generate debate. By placing us in the role of the contractor, downloadable board game Construction BOOM! forces us to take a long hard look at the construction industry and wonder if it really is ‘booming’. Read More
Night view over Paceville
SocietyThe Magazine
··2 min read

Paceville: Communities & Conflict

A community is more than just a group of people who live in the same area. A community requires commonalities, communication, and context. When one of these factors doesn’t hold true, then there is no community, and if there is no community, then what is there? Read More
ScienceThe Magazine
··6 min read

How to make beauty sustainable

Sustainability is a key concern for modern consumers, the cosmetic industry is no exception. Cosmetic brands are looking for more eco-friendly solutions for their beauty products. Antonia Fortunato interviews local start-up ALKA, which aims to grow algae to create a sustainable source of cosmetic components. Read More
ScienceTechThe Magazine
··2 min read

Paging Dr. AI to Radiology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the world. We have self-driving cars, algorithms determining future market patterns, and computers diagnosing disease. We believe that AI is supporting huge developments in healthcare. Read More
SocietyThe Magazine
··2 min read

The Comfort Trap

A good way of understanding a concept is by looking at the way people use it in everyday conversations. Language embodies the accumulated wisdom of countless speakers who have expressed their understanding to others over long periods of time. By analysing the way we use the term ‘comfort zone’ we can better understand what we actually mean when we use it. Read More
reel-to-reel machine in motion
TechThe Magazine
··4 min read

Ilħna mill-imgħoddi

Biex taqra l-artiklu bl-Ingliż, agħfas hawn. Kaxxi fuq kaxxi, miksijin bl-għabra, jistennew is-sekondiera tagħmel ir-ronda tagħha. Is-sekondi jsiru minuti. Isiru... Read More
reel-to-reel machine in motion
TechThe Magazine
··5 min read

What did the Past Sound Like?

The way Maltese sounds has evolved over the decades. While written examples of Maltese have survived, records of how it was spoken are much more scarce. However, thanks to the efforts of Prof. Alexandra Vella (UM), Prof. Ray Fabri (UM) and Dr Michael Spagnol, we now have the opportunity to hear firsthand what Maltese sounded like 60 years ago! Read More
Meditation, Mental Health, Sunset, Sunrise, Tranquil
Society
··10 min read

Dare to THINK and Other Mental Health Tips

The uncertainty of a global pandemic has taken its toll on our mental health. Examining Dr Paulann Grech’s latest book, Dealing with Coronus, takes us beyond mental well-being during COVID-19 and into a discussion about mindfulness and what it means for our mental health. Read More
AI and Facial Recogntion
Tech
··6 min read

What’s your Face Worth?

While most European citizens remain wary of AI and Facial Recognition, Maltese citizens do not seem to grasp the repercussions... Read More
Earth with a mask
Science
··7 min read

Pandemic breather

Barely two weeks of the coronavirus lockdown measures had passed before people started posting images of cleaner waters and purified... Read More
Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino and his students
Society
··9 min read

Unmute yourselves!

COVID-19 pandemic containment measures pushed lecturing and studying to home environments. Some academics appreciated it more than others – they... Read More
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