Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights general secretary GAWAIN LITTLE discusses the impact of the US-Israeli war on the Iranian people and economy
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Hormones and control
The flexibility of the hormonal system in humans means that our biology is increasingly in our own hands, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
LIFE-CHANGING: A selection of contraceptive pill packs
[Kate Whitley/Creative Commons]
Capitalism has extracted itself from crisis before, argues PRABHAT PATNAIK – but through methods no longer available. So it is turning to authoritarianism, militarism and neocolonialism
The five young men killed in the A66 crash were responsible for a devastating tragedy — but the crash should force us to ask difficult questions about wider society, argues RENATA MEDEIROS MIRRA
Britain funds the policing of black culture 16 times better than the culture itself. The Diamond Jubilee is the moment to end that, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Despite Andy Burnham’s declaration defending the continued partition of the island, all major international and internal trends are converging to make Irish reunification inevitable
Humans are part of the ‘animal kingdom’ – and of nature in general – but also distinct from it and labour (work) is part of what makes us unique, declared Engels. His insights 150 years ago into how our species came to be and how we differ from the rest of nature, are as important today as they were then, says the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY
A MULTICELLULAR organism is a spectacular thing. Like all other multicellular beings, we have cells that co-ordinate with each other during growth to diversify into different types. The co-ordination of this process in itself is an extraordinary endeavour: the average adult human is made up of about 30 trillion human cells of around 200 types.
There are several systems by which cells respond to and produce information. Sensory organs can produce triggers, the nervous system acts as an electrically based electrical wiring for superfast connectivity, and individual cells themselves can react to physical forces or to chemicals. These signalling chemicals, most of which circulate in our blood, are known as hormones.
Any circulating chemical that triggers change can be classified as a hormone, meaning they are a diverse group of chemicals. Some trigger organ growth, and those organs then go on to produce other hormones.
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Humans are part of the ‘animal kingdom’ – and of nature in general – but also distinct from it and labour (work) is part of what makes us unique, declared Engels. His insights 150 years ago into how our species came to be and how we differ from the rest of nature, are as important today as they were then, says the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY
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Innovation in biotechnology is changing how we conceive of meat, say ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT of SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Rising temperatures and human activity are making life far harder for these vital pollinators. ALEX DITTRICH explains
New research into mutations in sperm helps us better understand why they occur, while debunking a few myths in the process, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT