The world is currently in the midst of a global pandemic. Nearly two months ago, caretaker Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that schools, colleges, and public offices were to close. In doing so, Trinity closed its door for the foreseeable future. …
SciTech
Violent murders make beautiful mummies
The legacy of Ireland’s bog bodies
Time erodes all things, shifting our surroundings day by day, inch by inch until the outside world is unrecognisable to parents, or grandparents, or ancestors long gone. It is a perversion of the natural order to resist decay, and preserve …
The Gingko tree: a living fossil in Library Square
Examining the history behind the highly evolved Ginkgo biloba
Over 200 million years ago during the late Triassic period an order of tree, the Ginkgoales, was widespread throughout Asia, America and Europe. This was during the early onset of dinosaurs. Our world did not resemble the globe we take …
The Trinity Swift Project
Trinity postgraduates are working to return native bird species to campus
The swift is a migratory bird which spends around four months of every year in climates like Ireland’s. For many years, swifts were a frequent feature of the Trinity skyline. Most closely related to hummingbirds, they also behave similarly to …
Trinity team joins ESA in mapping solar poles
The launch of the Solar Orbiter could lead to new discoveries about our nearest star
Trinity astrophysicists have joined an international group in an effort to obtain the first ever images of the uncharted polar regions of the sun.
Previously, we have been able to collect data, such as temperature, from the sun’s polar regions …
Plants adapting to a changing world
Plants are adopting new strategies to keep up with rising CO2 levels
A team of researchers at Trinity have been investigating changes in plant morphology and strategies in response to climate change. Dr. Wuu Kuang Soh, now a botanist at the National Botanic Gardens, carried out this research with a group of …
Trinity researchers make tuberculosis breakthrough
Our understanding of how the disease works has grown considerably
Trinity researchers have made a breakthrough with the infectious disease tuberculosis. Although tuberculosis (TB) is a treatable disease, the infectious illness is still very much a public health concern, having caused the deaths of 1.5 million people in 2018 alone. …
Trinity nanowire research could shape the tech of tomorrow
An interview with Prof. John Boland and Dr. Emmet Sheerin
A group of Trinity researchers, led by Professor of Chemistry John Boland were recently awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept grant to the value of €150,000 which will allow them to further develop new nanotechnologies which could …
Trinity team discovers new “Jekyll and Hyde” immune cell
The discovery could lead to the development of more effective vaccines
Trinity researchers have discovered a rare, new cell in the immune system with “Jekyll and Hyde” characteristics that could lead to more effective vaccines in the prevention of infections such as MRSA, an infection-causing bacterium that is resistant to some …
Trinity’s botanic gardens are a hidden gem
The gardens through the eyes of those who work in them
Established in 1687, Trinity’s Botanic Gardens have existed in one form or another through most of the College’s history. The gardens were originally located on campus, possibly in the area now known as Botany Bay. Although Dr. Stephen Waldren, the …