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THE EYE

MARCH/ APRIL 2017

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Our Team

Chief Editors:

Alya Masoud Abdelhafid and Hannah Maclean

Format and Layout Editor:

Alya Masoud Abdelhafid

Fashion Editors: Felicitas Behnke

Sports Editors:

Lorenzo Marzocco Jett Nunn Tommaso Pelanconi

Science Editors:

Miriam Bondi Simone Swarzenski

News Editors:

Olga Rashnikova Elish Liburd Gemma Paramithiotti

Music Editor:

Nicole Kozina Hannah Fredly

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The Notorious Conor McGregor By Lorenzo Marzocco, Year 13

Saturday, 12th of November was when the feather weight champion of the world, Conor McGregor, fought against the light weight champion of the world, Eddie Alvarez, to win his belt and become both feather and lightweight champion of the world.

Even though the Irishman was not expected to win, he made history by defeating Alvarez with a KO in just two rounds of the UFC 205 at Madison Square Gardens in New York! Winning this has made him the first man two class champion in UFC history.

After their war of words in the press conference before the match, tensions between them rose up until the last moment of the fight, and even continued behind the scenes of the media. McGregor clearly stated that he was going to knock him down, but the crowd believed that Alvarez had an advantage, as he had more experience in the lightweight competitions.

Rumours have been heard that Conor McGregor and the fifteen time world boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather, are planning a fight. Could this be the biggest paid fight of the century? The Irishman has big plans for the future but no one is too sure who will fight him next.

During the press conference, after the Alvarez fight, McGregor declared that he would take a little break, as his wife is pregnant and he said that he wanted to spend more time with the family.

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I decided to start this article with someone else’s words because I couldn’t find a better way to explain what I do, what I have to work with. I didn’t want to manipulate something simple into a long phrase that doesn’t really have any substance.

I have a strong belief that words have a unique power to them. However, I know that nothing could ever conquer the weight of the trembling silence that comes before those words, that silence holds every possibility and promise the world has to offer. I have issues wi th the way music is approached today, it is often a p ro d u c t t h a t i s c o o k e d w i t h desperation to please, seasoned with repetition and then directly angled to fill the mouths of the masses, all hungry for more grease and dirt. I see this as one of the most obscene acts that any industry has ever committed, not only do people stop differentiating the artificial from the natural, they stop caring completely. Music and art become background noises, a meaningless knick-knack. I know, that art in any form must begin with an idea, because, that’s what art is, first and foremost it is an idea being passed from one person to another through the silence.

“A musician has silence” - Keith Richards Nicole Kozina, Year 11

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From attending a prestigious school in Switzerland to becoming the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Kim Jong-un is probably the most eccentric, enigmatic and bizarre ruler of our time. Living and dictating his secretive communist state, the walled-off “Hermit Kingdom”, we are only provided with vague details on what truly goes on in North Korea, a land frozen in the past. North Koreans are remarkably patriotic - and heavily indoctrinated - against the United States and the West, commonly referred to in the local news as “those imperialists”. We cannot distinguish whether their patriotism is a result of their crippling fear of being labelled as traitors or truly their unconditional adoration towards their Supreme Ruler. During Kim Jong-un’s speeches, his citizens thunderously clap, and when his father, Kim Jong-il passed away, they wailed and cried hysterically, paying their respects in the millions. Even-though most individuals assume that no foreigners are allowed to enter the DPRK, controlled tours have been designed to ensure tourists get to experience the joy of their glorious capital, Pyongyang, and even provide a relaxing visit to the countryside in summer! During these tours, tourists are guided by DPRK experts who offer exclusive excursions to the Koryo History Museum, the Mansudae Grand Monument, Kim II Sung Square and Songdowon International Children’s Union Camp; amongst other trips to popular tourist attractions and all-inclusive lunches - in a country where millions starve. The contradictions are striking.

Throughout the stay, tourists remain in the four-star, Yanggakdo International Hotel, best known for it’s magnificent view of Pyongyang. Although, to the shock of some Western tourists, they discovered they were the sole occupants of entire floors in the hotel! While others found their hotel rooms to be bugged for recordings. If any of you are interested on learning more about these tours, public figures such as Louis Cole and Jacob Laukaitis successfully captured every aspect of their interesting voyage to North Korea and have published it on Youtube. Vice News also has a vivid documentary of the Hermit Kingdom.

Already a nuclear power, North Korea has recently, but unsuccessfully tried to launch eight medium-long range missiles; prompting US military officials to worry about their bases on the islands of Guam, which could be destroyed in the event of an atomic attack. On the 15th of October, the North launched another missile, which is said to be a Musudan, that failed as well. However, according to John Schilling, US aerospace expert, these continuous trials could potentially foreshadow a successful launch sometime next year. Since the 2006 North Korean atomic bomb test and the subsequent UN placed sanctions on Pyongyang, Kim Jong-un increased efforts on to develop his nuclear and missile programs. In conclusion, North Korea proves to be a volatile country that will never abide by any predictions made by even the most competent analysts. Kim Jong-un, who recently executed his own uncle and dozens of other ‘traitors’, is erratic, and most definitely too reckless for our international community. Although, it would be one of the most incredible feelings to actually walk on the unapproachable pavements of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, it seems that North Korea could declare war on any enemy country within a second of launching one of their missiles - in a similar fashion to Japan when they launched an attack on Pearl Harbour, America.

Hermit Kingdom Unveiled Alya Masoud Abdelhafid, Year 11

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The Untold Story of Social Media Addicts Elish Liburd, Year 11 With all of the rapid advancements to modern day technology and the currently huge craze over texting and social media, it is quite easy for one to get too carried away with this virtual life. It seems like meeting up with friends to have some quality time means sitting indoors on their phones, not really bothering to participate in the real world. It’s almost like people migrate from reality constantly to this easier virtual 2D place, where they don’t have the opportunity to touch or smell other people and where problems can be solved from clicking a report and block button; where people care more about how they come across on the internet rather than in the world they inhabit. It’s honestly no surprise that people turn to this. The virtual world does of course have it’s advantages - people find new people and new things they like such as video games. However, they must come to terms with the fact that they must experience these things in real life as well. Away from a bunch of pixels that convey platform lies with judgmental eyes. Personally i think that it’s an addiction and the only way that one can overcome this would be rehab- or more like turning the off button for a while so that they can appreciate the real world and be away from the click buzz and ding noises.

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SCOPERTE LE MOLECOLE CONTRO L’INVECCHIAMENTO Miriam Bondi, Year 11

L a n o t i z i a d i q u a l c h e g i o r n o f a dell’individuazione da parte di un team di ricercatori dell'IFOM, Istituto FIRC di Oncologia Molecolare di Milano, di una classe di molecole specifiche per bloccare i segnali che portano all'invecchiamento cellulare causato dal deterioramento dei t e l o m e r i , s e q u e n z e d i D N A p o s t e all'estremità dei cromosomi, ha fatto il giro del mondo.

Le estremità dei bracci dei cromosomi (le punte arancioni nella figura 1) sono chiamate “telomeri” (dal greco telos = fine, e meros = parte) cioè, letteralmente, le parti finali dei cromosomi. I telomeri hanno la funzione di proteggere il DNA e di stabilizzarlo. Per capire meglio si possono paragonare alle punte plastificate delle stringhe delle scarpe che le proteggono dallo sfilacciamento. Le cellule umane contengono, al momento del concepimento, telomeri con una lunghezza media di 15.000 paia di basi (bps). Poiché ad ogni replicazione cellulare i telomeri si accorciano di un po’, nel corso del periodo embrionale, a causa dell’intensissima attività di replicazione cellulare, si perde una parte consistente di telomeri, equivalente in pratica alla lunghezza complessiva che si perderà nel corso del resto dell’intera vita.

Alla nascita la lunghezza media dei telomeri è di 10.000 bps, a 20 anni di età la lunghezza media è di circa 8.000 bps. Ogni anno di vita si perdono da 35 a 150 coppie di basi fino ad arrivare a una lunghezza minore di 4.500 bps; a questo livello i cromosomi diventano instabili e aumentano esponenzialmente le probabilità di avere problemi gravi di salute e di morire.

Infatti è stato dimostrato che l’origine di un processo tumorale (cancerogenesi) consiste proprio nella fusione delle estremità dei cromosomi dovuta ai loro telomeri troppo corti. Le cellule hanno a disposizione nel corso della vita un numero limitato di divisioni. Questo numero è di circa 50 volte ed è regolato dalla lunghezza dei telomeri. Qu ind i a l la nasc i ta no i abb iamo a disposizione un numero definito di divisioni cellulari e sta al nostro stile di vita determinarne la durata. Se nella vita facciamo cose che danneggiano le nostre cellule, come fumare, non dormire a sufficienza, avere abitudini alimentari sbagliate con carenze di vitamine, bere troppo alcool, usare droghe, essere obesi e sedentari, condurre una vita stressante, bere poca acqua e quindi essere disidratati, esporsi a sostanze tossiche, allora noi obblighiamo le nostre cellule a dividersi più ve locemente per r ipara re i tessut i danneggiati e di conseguenza invecchiamo più velocemente. Infatti tutti i fattori descritti sopra sono correlati con una incidenza aumentata di malattie ed anche di morti premature.

È importante ricordare però che le cellule possiedono meccanismi interni in grado di riparare i telomeri e anche di riallungarli. Questi meccanismi possono essere attivati da diversi fattori. Vitamine, antiossidanti, dieta, acidi grassi omega-3 ed attività fisica possono avere effetto sulla lunghezza dei telomeri e sul loro riallungamento.

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Sviluppo di molecole antisenso contro l’invecchiamento cellulare e loro possibile utilizzazione futura

Lo studio, intitolato “ DNA damage response inhibition at dysfunctional telomeres by modulation of telomeric DNA damage response RNAs”, pubblicato su Nature Communications i primi di marzo, getta le basi per intervenire sull'invecchiamento cellulare in alcune 'patologie telomeriche', che comprendono cirrosi epatica, fibrosi polmonare, diabete, cataratta, osteoporosi e artrite o in malattie rare come la progeria, caratterizzata da invecchiamento precoce.

L'accorciamento e il danno ai telomeri costituiscono una minaccia alla stabilità del nostro Dna e la cellula reagisce attivando un a l l a r m e m o l e c o l a re c h e b l o c c a l a proliferazione della cellula danneggiata inducendo la sua senescenza, una sorta di invecchiamento cel lulare. La cel lula senescente perde per sempre la sua capacità di repl icarsi e di svolgere efficientemente le sue funzioni, e questo impedisce ai tessuti di rigenerarsi. Una r icerca condot ta ne l 2012 a l l ' I fom individuava per la prima volta in una classe di Rna non codificanti del tutto inedita, i Ddrna (Dna damage response Rna), il ruolo di guardiani del Dna: sarebbero loro a intervenire ogni volta che si rileva un danno al Dna per far scattare l'allarme a tutela dell'integrità del genoma. I telomeri, quando sono corti o danneggiati, possono indurre essi stessi la formazione di Ddrna e quindi l'attivazione dell'allarme e la conseguente senescenza della cellula.

Quindi la cel lu la invecchia e va in senescenza a causa dell'allarme molecolare attivato sui telomeri dai Ddrna che inibiscono la replicazione della cellula danneggiata. Questo può accadere nel processo d'invecchiamento fisiologico o in sindromi in cui i telomeri sono disfunzionali. L’idea era quindi di capire come bloccare il DDRNA per prevenire la senescenza e l’invecchiamento e con lo studio pubblicato a marzo su 'Nature Communications' si dà una risposta su come riuscire a spegnere questi allarmi molecolari. Il team Ifom ha sviluppato una nuova batteria di molecole antisenso complementari agli Rna che si formano all'estremità dei cromosomi. Si tratta di oligonucleotidi (brevi sequenze di acidi nucleici prodotte attraverso sintetizzatori automatici) ormai noti come una classe di farmaci innovativa, in grado di agire specificamente sui telomeri inibendo la funzione dei Ddrna telomerici, impedendo perciò l'attivazione di quegli allarmi molecolari che condurrebbero inevitabilmente la cellula alla senescenza. La prossima sfida che affronterà il team Ifom sarà di capire come le nuove molecole antisenso possano essere utili per prevenire l'invecchiamento cellulare in patologie associate al danno ai telomeri, come la cirrosi epatica, la fibrosi polmonare, l'aterosclerosi, il diabete, la cataratta, l'osteoporosi e l'artrite o in malattie rare come la proger ia carat ter izzata da invecchiamento precoce.

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Die Pariser Felicitas Behnke, Year 11 In der vergangenen Woche fand in der französischen Hauptstadt Paris die berühmte Fashion Week statt, anlässlich derer zahlreiche namenhafte Designer ihre Kollektionen der Herbst- und Wintersaison 2017/2018 der Ö ff e n t l i c h k e i t u n d d e n k r i t i s c h e n Modeberichterstattern vorgestellt haben. Jedes Jahr nehmen an diesem Event um und auf dem L a u f s t e g u n z ä h l i g e P r o m i n e n t e u n d weltberühmte Models teil. Paris, die Hauptstadt der internationalen Mode, bietet hierbei die ideale Bühne für das grandiose Finale des sogenannten Fashion Monats. Im Vergleich zu den anderen drei relevanten Städten des Fashion Monats, New York, Mailand und L o n d o n , s i n d i n P a r i s d i e m e i s t e n Modenschauen und die spektakulärsten Präsentationen zu sehen. Die Fashion Week in der Stadt an der Seine ist indes nicht nur für extravagante Darbietungen rund um kommende Modetrends bekannt. Auch die glamourösen After-Show-Parties ziehen ein illustreres Publikum an. Prominente und Modeblogger nutzten dieses Event regelmäßig dazu um sich in den breiten Medien zu zeigen. Wie jedes Jahr haben sich für die kommende Saison einige Trends besondere bemerkbar gemacht. Prägnant waren beispielsweise Kleidungsstücke in metallische Farben und Einarbeitungen in glitzernden Materialien. Isabel Marant griff diese Mischung bei Oberteilen aus silbernen Franzen auf und Dries Van Noten zeigte metallisch glänzende Jacketts an seinen Models.Ungewöhnl ich für Herbst- und Winter-Kollektionen waren viele Stücke in rosa Farbtönen zu sehen. Fuchsia bis zu sanfte Nuancen von hellrosa ließen die Models wie Prinzessinnen über den Laufsteg auf und ab gehen. Lederelemente waren bei den diesjährigen Schauen wieder ein Mal sehr populär. Bei Saint Laurent hat Anthony Vaccarello seine Models in braune Lederkleidern und in voluminösen schwarzen Ledersakkos mit lockersitzenden Lederstiefeln gekleidet. Auch bei Stella McCartney und Balenciaga war Leder prominent zu sehen.

Bei dem Thema Beauty wurden die Trends der sechziger Jahre wieder zum Leben erweckt worden. Models bei Chanel trugen ihr Haar hochtoupiert und einen dominanten schwarzen Eyeliner.

Im Gegensatz hierzu blieb das Modehaus Dior seiner traditionellen Linie treu. Bei seiner Schau erhielten die Models ein eher minimalistisch gehaltenes Makeup mit gewelltem und natürlich aussehendem Haar. Hierzu trugen sie oft einen Beret, jenem typisch französischen Hut, der den Looks ein romantisches Element verlieh.

Eines der diesjährigen Höhepunkte war sicherlich die Chanel Schau. Karl Lagerfeld hat seine Kollektion mit kalten Farben und scharfen Kanten sehr futuristisch gestaltet. In die sonst so klassischen Tweed Jacke wurden metallischen Elemente eingearbeitet. D ie Schau wurde im Grand Pa la is abgehalten, in dessen Mitte eine riesige Rakete aufgebaut war. Diese lenkte das P u b l i k u m s c h o n b e i n a h e v o n d e n fantastischen Kleidungsstücken ab.

Das Modehaus Louis Vuitton, das zu dem großen Luxuskonzern LVMH gehört, sorgte ebenso für Sensationen. Dessen Modeschau fand am Ende der Woche im Louvre statt und zählte eindeutig zu den diesjährigen Höhepunkten. Nicolas Ghesquière, der talentierte Designer dieser berühmten Adresse, kleidete seine Models auch in der Metallic-Optik, die dieses Jahr so oft in Paris zu sehen war. Es ist im kommenden Winter auch viel Fell von Louis Vuitton zu erwarten. Die Models Jess PW, Jessie Bloemendaal und Camille Hurel waren bei den meisten Präsentationen auf den Laufstegen zu sehen. Sie sind bei über 40 Shauen gelaufen und werden in der kommenden Saison sicherlich umso mehr Erfolg haben.

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8 Марта Olga Rashnikova, Year 11 Международный женский день, 8 марта имеет давнюю историю. Началось все еще в середине 19 века с «марша пустых к а с т р ю л ь » , к о т о р ы й у с т р о и л и текстильщицы Нью-Йорка именно 8 марта, а потом еще несколько лет подряд проходили подобные женские забастовки с требованием равноправия. Появление самого праздника связано с именем Клары Цеткин – известной политической д е я т е л ь н и ц е й , я р к о й ф и г у р о й германского и международного рабочего движения. Именно она в 1910 году в Копенгагене поставила вопрос о том, чтобы выбрать определенный день в году, когда женщины всего мира будут привлекать внимание общества к своим проблемам в борьбе за социальное и э к о н о м и ч е с к о е р а в н о п р а в и е и предложила ежегодно отмечать 8 марта как Международный день солидарности женщин в борьбе за свои права. Правда, провозглашенный впервые в 1913 году, праздник прижился не сразу. Лишь с 1966 года Международный женский день стал официальным праздником и нерабочим днем. С тех пор 8 марта – один из самых популярных праздников России. Это день, когда мужчины всех возрастов поздравляют с праздником своих мам, сестер, подруг, любимых. Дарят им цветы и подарки. Говорят приятные слова женщинам на улице и стараются вести себя как настоящие джентльмены. А готовятся к празднику как правило заранее: женщины могут целый год придумывать, что бы такое попросить на 8 марта.

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Monaco’s Murder Gemma Paramithiotti, Year 10 The murder victim is a 30 year-old Sicilian chef, Alfio Phallic, who lived in Menton with his wife. He was murdered on Saturday, the 25th of February, at the Pulcinella restaurant in Monte Carlo. According to investigations carried out by the Carabinieri of Bordighera, the man was killed by Nika Ricard, also a 30 year-old Albanian, resident in the city of palm trees and an Italian citizen.

According to the findings of the military coordinated by Captain Ighazio Lorito, who questioned the man all night, the Albanian 30 year old would have fled from the Principality, after the events taking place in the kitchen of 'Pulcinella' and has been spotted in Bordighera, in a daze. Stopped by the Police and when pressed, he then confessed to the murder, but only after contacting the Monegasque Police.

The police, together with colleagues from the French police, are working to reconstruct what happened. It seems, in fact, that recently there had been some disagreements between the two and that the motives of the assassination can be found precisely in a quarrel which ended badly. The time of the crime was identified in the late afternoon, but the man's body was found a few hours later by a colleague.

The 'Pulcinella' restaurant was obviously closed with the seals by the Police of the Principality, and no one, including the owners, were present this morning in the vicinity of the venue. At present it is not yet clear whether Ricard Nika worked in the same restaurant or another.

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Apres un rendez-vous décevant avec le gouverneur d’Illinois Bruce Rauner à propos de la récente annonce de réduire le financement d’écoles, Chance the Rapper a décidé d’aborder le problème lui-même.

En Décembre, Rauner a mis un veto au plan qui donnait $215 million aux écoles publiques de Chicago. Le rappeur aux 3 prix Grammy’s, a eu une réunion avec ce-dernier pour en discuter mais Chance a dit que la réponse du gouverneur était « vague  ». Ils ont aussi parlé par téléphone après ce rendez-vous mais leurs conversations n’ont pas eu beaucoup de succès selon Chance.

Le rappeur de Chicago, dont le nom complet est Chancelor Bennett, a annoncé le 6 Mars durant un conférence publique, qu’il allait faire un don de $1 million aux établissements publiques de Chicago.

« Bien que je sois frustré et déçu par l’inaction du gouverneur, cela ne va pas m’arrêter de faire tout ce que je peux pour soutenir la ressource de la plus grande valeur de Chicago  : ses enfants.  » a dit l’artiste le Lundi durant la conférence de presse à l’école primaire Wescott.

Les efforts de Chance ont attiré l’attention de l’ancienne première dame Michelle Obama qui l’a glorifié par twitter. «Merci @chancetherapper pour ton don à la communauté de Chicago qui elle, nous a donné tellement. » Obama, lui, a écrit « Tu es un exemple du pouvoir de l’éducation en arts ».

Chance the rapper fait un don de $1 million aux écoles publiques de Chicago Hannah Fredly, Year 11

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Many of us have had an experience in which we thought we saw, came into contact or interacted with a ghost. Even if none of the above have happened to you, there’s still a chance that you believe in ghosts, despite the fact that their is very little evidential proof of this being so.

While their have been many scientific experiments debunking this myth, the most recent, and perhaps most innovative, involves the Large Hadron Collider, the largest and most powerfu l par t ic le accelerator in the world. To give some background, the Large Hadron Collider is a 27-kilometer ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way.

Because of the high energy of the particles, they smash together nearly at the speed of light and essentially create very tiny versions of the Big Bang, and scientists then record what these collisions form..

Physicist Brian Cox has stated that in order for ghosts to exist, ”We must… invent an extension to the Standard Model of Particle Physics that has escaped detection at the Large Hadron Collider.

That's almost inconceivable at the energy scales typical of the particle interactions in our bodies.” Basically, the existence of ghosts would go against all laws of physics, and so we can safely presume that they are merely myth.

Myth or Reality? Simone Swarzenski, Year 12

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Man City Vs Monaco By Jett Nunn and Tommaso Pelanconi, Year 10 On the 21/02/17 Manchester city trashed AS Monaco in their homeland (Manchester). Making Manchester city 2-0 on aggregate, when they come here to Monaco, for the second leg of the fixture. After 26 minutes, Manchester city took the lead, with a goal by Sterling. However, by the end of the first half Monaco had brought the score to 1-2 to Monaco with goals by Falcao and Mbappé.

At the beginning of the second half Falcao had the opportunity to make it 1-3 to AS Monaco,when he got a penalty. Falcao himself took the penalty, however cracked under pressure, when he hit a very poor penal

that was very easy for Manchester City’s goalkeeper to save. Aguero made things even when he scored on the 58th minute. But on the 61st minute Falcao redeemed himself, and scored an amazing goal making it 2-3 to AS Monaco. In the last 20 minutes Aguero, Stones and Sané got Manchester City the win, making the final score 5-3.

On March 15th there will be the second leg of this fixture in Monaco at the Stade Louis II. If you hurry up you might be able to still get tickets, who do you think will be the winner?

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Contact:

Alya Masoud Abdelhafid, Year 11: alyaom17@gmail.com

Hannah Maclean, Year 12: hannah.maclean@me.com