The latest issue of the University magazine Think may be picked up for free from newsagents and Agenda bookstores.
In one of its articles, Georgios Yannakakis from the University’s Institute of Digital Games brings a fresh view to how computers can be creative. He imagines a new social network of computers that can make new playable games on their own. Yannakakis’s ideas have led to the creation of games that help children with dyslexia, soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems.
Another article looks at researchers at University who are redesigning hip joints. A team of engineers and biomedicial scientists are testing new alloys that will make hip replacements safer and cheaper. Last year in Malta, 145 people needed their hips replaced.
Prescription drugs are abused worldwide. Apart from illicit substances, legal drugs used off-prescription is a dangerous problem Europe-wide. In the US its use is second only to marijuana. Think reports on an EU-wide project of which the University is part, that is studying ways to address the problem.
The recent solar eclipse had everyone looking up to the skies. Institute of Space Science and Astronomy researcher Ian Fenech Conti writes about the universe and how it was made. His work measures the most elusive matter in the universe.
Another elusive find was that of black coral in Maltese waters by a team of marine researchers including Alan Deidun. They used underwater robots to map a new underwater forest just off the coast of Filfla. Fishing gear was found to have damaged the coral, and in another article J.D. Farrugia talks about overfishing and the need to change our fishing and eating habits to save our seas.
The magazine also includes other stories from students and alumni on fish, lighter planes, hereditary disease, research funds, green chemistry, and robots. A fun section covers a range of reviews, with a comic strip by Ġorġ Mallia and a 100-word idea to change Malta.
Think is also available online at www.um.edu.mt/think and www.issuu.com/thinkuni.
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