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The coronavirus pandemic is affecting everybody and almost everything in our lives. The government rules that have stipulated that we must socially distance ourselves and only go out to work if it is essential, are meaning that the majority of the country is spending a lot of time a home – and for many, are unable to work.

As a student, this could be a very disruptive time as in addition to having to continue studying from home, and many also have part-time jobs to earn some extra income. And many of these jobs are in the hospitality industry – one that is amongst the hardest hit in the UK.

Furlough
Government schemes such as the Employee Retention Scheme is helping businesses to stay afloat and for workers to carry on paying their bills through being ‘furloughed’. The rules say that when you are furloughed, the government will pay 80% towards your wages – with employers choosing whether to add on the extra 20%. The rules also say,...

Nutrition – the things we consume – is arguably the most important modifiable factor in determining the health outcomes you experience, maybe in combination with sleep. The foods we consume determine much of the enjoyment we get from mealtimes and as I’m sure you’re more than aware they also modify your bodyweight, but food is far more than that.

The foods that we eat provide the macronutrients required to build and maintain muscle mass, which enables proper movement and significantly reduces our age-associated physical decline. They provide the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) which support our immune system to fight off disease, to maintain strong hair and nails, and the nutrients needed to maintain skin elasticity long into later life.

Your nutritional choices can even modify certain genes through epigenetics, switching some on and some off to modify your risk of chronic disease, and even affecting your development. Even your hydration status alters your...

The current situation in the world with coronavirus is worrying for everybody. With new announcements being made around the clock and situations shifting all the time, it can be difficult to know what you could and should be doing, as well as what help there is available to you.

If you are a student there is a strong possibility that you are living away from your family and this can cause more uncertainty. Are universities staying open? Should you go back ‘home’? Should you be self-isolating? What help is there out there for students? These are all viable questions and ones that many other people will have.

Here is a guide to what coronavirus might mean for students, helping you to understand where you stand, what you should and shouldn’t be doing, and, importantly, reminding you that you’re not alone – we’ll get through this together.

Should I be self-isolating?
The current advice is that we shouldn’t be leaving our homes unless we...

Originally, I picked my A levels based on what I enjoyed, and researching the degrees possible with those subjects. I picked computing as an A level, but I hadn't a specific career path in mind.

My passion started when I decided to read a copy of CS4FN magazine that was in our classroom. It looked boring but I persisted. After the first page I was hooked. I read about using computers to mimic instruments to form music, without the need for humans, and how robots that were made like birds could use artificial intelligence to scan a disaster area for survivors. I thought about how these industry situations affected people's lives. This made me think about the wider applications of computer science, rather than the stereotype of someone sitting, coding, behind a screen.

I joined a debate group which looked at industry concepts like 'artificial intelligence'. I realised I had learned basic concepts that would help in the situation but I hadn't known when they would...