SENIOR EDITORIAL TEAM

Page 2 Issue 5

Welcome to the all-new, totally revamped version of ‘The Rook’! This edition is special for a num-ber of reasons, not only is this the first ever to be sold and dis-tributed outside of the Sixth Form, this is bigger, more ambi-tious and (hopefully) better than any previous edition. Special thanks have to go out, not only to our sponsors, without which this would not be possible, but also to the entire team. Over the last month or two I have asked more of the team than I should, and every time they have gone above and beyond. This is the busiest and most stressful time of their lives, so any extra undertaking is a huge commitment, let alone the stress and constant demands of work-ing with me. Further, a belated congratula-tions to everyone involved in last years issue. We applied for the Shine School Media Awards for the first ever time, and despite our low expectations were nomi-nated for two different catego-ries, winning Highly Commended in one. As a result we can now already call ourselves an award winning Magazine just two years into our existence! I hope each person reading en-joys this magazine, and that this makes your post-Trump world seem that tiny bit less bleak, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Michael Slavin - Editor in Chief

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Editor In Chief

Features Editor

Culture Corner Editor

World Affairs Editor

Michael Slavin

Harry Fahim

Matt Robertson

Alex Hillman

Artworks Editor Giorgio Benvenuti

Science Editor Margot Hiza

Sports Editor Joe McShee

Festive Editor Rheanna Cottam

Head of Business Dawood Bush

WRITERS Fagan Aliyev Prince Botchwey Olin Robinson Keith Marange Jack Stace

James Dunn Dylan Jethwa Mitchell Jenkins Jack Fitch Megan Kirby

ARTISTS Mac Murffit Josh Conyers Gabby Ebbs Toby Doyle Tom Buller Nora Attal

BUSINESS TEAM Joe Greenleaf Jack Sledger James Dailey Ravi Nair

SPECIAL THANKS

Miss McManus Christ Stevens

this discovery could potentially cure cancer. The study on the bacteria is in-tensified through tests carried out by the National Cancer Insti-tute researchers, as they tested a form of chemotherapy on mice. This test consisted of two differ-ent types of mice: one with no bacteria or germs, and the other being a healthy mouse with in-testinal bacteria. Through this study, both treat-ments were found to be a lot less effective in the mice with no gut bacteria. Could this set a motive for the future of cancer re-search?

Of course, more research needs to be conducted in order to vali-date the initial findings by the National Cancer Institute. If con-tinued work with mice demon-strates a positive outcome, then trials for humans should not be far off.

Margot Hiza

Cancer affects everyone. It is known to be one of the leading causes of death in this world – affecting people of all ages, gen-ders and races. Statistically 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diag-nosed with cancer in their life-time, according to Cancer Re-search UK. This figure is alarming, considering that half the people you know and love may develop cancer. Thankfully however, these odds should definitely im-prove with the discoveries of modern day cancer research.

Trillions of microbes inhabiting the human gut have been known to play an important role in the body’s functions and reactions. However, researchers have dis-covered that these bacteria are responsible for much more than just digestion. Recent research by Dr. Chamail-lard and his colleagues at the uni-versity of Lille France shows how bacteria in the gut of living or-ganisms affects cancer. This is a

two-fold discovery, as intestinal bacteria can, in some cases, pro-mote tumour growth and cell multiplication, whilst others can fight it. Researchers have identi-fied two distinct species of bacte-ria that activate the body’s im-mune system. This means that the immune system will be stim-ulated, thus boosting the body’s ability to fend off diseases and aid in treatment. The gut is a huge part of our im-mune system, which is surprising seeing as one would usually link the gut primarily to the digestion of food and nutrients. The gut bacteria help fight off pathogens; so in reality, the healthier the gut bacteria, the more effective the immune system is. There are mil-lions of species of gut bacteria, all of which complete different functions. When bacteria exist in the healthy human body, they boost the effectiveness of the immune system; specifically, the two bacteria that researchers have discovered (Enterococcus hirae and Barnesiella intestini-hominis) can help slow the pro-gression of cancer. Simply put,

THE GUT AND HOW IT ’ LL CURE CANCER

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