Darcy Jimenez

Journalist and editor writing news stories and reported features.


Interested in social inequality, health, tech and digital culture.

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Pharmaceutical Technology •

Lethal injection: can pharma kill the death penalty?

In October, Oklahoma prison inmate John Marion Grant was executed by a lethal injection. Strapped to a gurney, Grant convulsed and vomited – highly unusual for the procedure – after being given midazolam, a sedative and the first of three drugs that are usually administered for lethal injection. Grant was declared unconscious around 15 minutes after receiving the first injection and died roughly six minutes after that.
Pharmaceutical Technology •

Antibiotic resistance: how AI can tackle the superbug threat

As the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, another health crisis is looming: antibiotic resistance. Bacterial resistance is something that occurs naturally, but widespread antibiotic misuse has propelled antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to major global health threat status; at least 700,000 people are killed by drug-resistant superbugs every year – and by 2050, this number could reach 10 million.
Pharmaceutical Technology •

Are supercomputers set to transform pharma R&D?

Advanced technology is now commonplace in pharma, where innovations like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning accelerate and improve the accuracy of drug discovery and development efforts. Add to the list the supercomputer – a powerful class of computer, vastly superior to general-purpose computers in terms of speed and performance, that are commonly used for data-intensive scientific purposes.
Pharmaceutical Technology •

Quantum Brilliance: reimagining drug discovery with quantum computing

The discovery and design of novel therapies is an increasingly challenging endeavour in the 21st century; though technology has progressed in leaps and bounds, identifying previously unknown molecules and drugs has become trickier, and every avenue that could accelerate or enhance the process must be explored. Approaches that were once unthinkable, such as artificial intelligence, have become commonplace in drug discovery – and now, quantum computing is emerging as pharma’s next frontier.
Pharmaceutical Technology •

Covid-19 vaccines: the role of social media in disinformation

Numerous conspiracy theories about the nature and origin of Covid-19 have circulated on the internet since the pandemic was declared last year, and have only been spurred on by the introduction of numerous speedily developed vaccines. But it’s not just misinformed members of the public peddling false or distorted information online – organised campaigns are actively working to undermine confidence in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
The Guardian •

'Let down': calls for Gibraltar's Covid-delayed abortion vote to take place

Earlier this year, pro-choice activists in Gibraltar were hopeful that their territory’s abortion laws – the harshest in Europe – could soon be overturned. Terminations are banned in the tiny British territory, even in the cases of rape, incest, or foetal abnormality where the foetus will not survive. Abortions are punishable by life imprisonment, except when the woman’s life is in danger.