Monthly Archives: January 2011
Weird and Wonderful
A selection of the wackiest research in the world of science Whale snot collected by helicopter Collecting whale snot isn’t easy. Previously, snot had only been obtained from stranded whales or whales in captivity. Recently, however, researchers from the Zoological Society of London have come up with an ingenious method for collecting snot in the [...]
Posted in Life sciences, Medical & clinical Leave a comment
Away from the Bench: In the Driving Seat
Rosie Robison recounts her experience working at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Is your local mp interested in science? If you voted in Cambridge the answer is a resounding yes. Dr Julian Huppert was a researcher at the Cavendish Laboratory before being elected to the House of Commons. Being an MP with scientific [...]
Technology: Mind Games
Tom Ash looks into the development of computer systems that can receive commands directly from the brain Computer game controller design has seen a recent move away from buttons and joysticks towards more naturalistic input using motion sensors and voice recognition. The next step could be even more revolutionary and would not require any movement [...]
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History: The Great Trigonometrical Survey
Tim Middleton explores how India was mapped and the world’s tallest mountain named It was july 1819 and the monsoon was due. Lieutenant George Everest was in the middle of the Indian jungle between the Godavari and Kristna rivers with a team of 150 men. These jungles were home to numerous menacing creatures: hump-backed boars [...]
Posted in Earth & environment 12 Comments
Arts & Reviews: This is Your Brain on Mozart
Lindsey Nield discovers the hidden power of music ‘Brain injury’ is a simple term with complex implications. It describes a variety of causes that can lead, among other effects, to reduced physical function, problems with language comprehension and expression, and memory impairment, possibly putting survivors at greater risk of depression. Maximising a person’s abilities after [...]
Posted in Life sciences, Medical & clinical 2 Comments
Perspective: Test Tube Babies
Sara Lejon gives her perspective on Nobel prize winning in vitro fertilisation technology Late in the evening on 25 July 1978, a heavily pregnant woman is waiting in Oldham hospital outside Manchester for her baby to be delivered by a planned Caesarean section. She has been admitted under a false name, and only a handful [...]
Behind the Science: An Ordinary Genius
Ian Fyfe uncovers the personal life of Albert Einstein “My life is a simple thing that would interest no one. It is a known fact that I was born, and that is all that is necessary.” Albert Einstein did not set out to change the world. He was just a man in awe of the [...]
Posted in Physical sciences Leave a comment
Focus: Life Will Find a Way
Worlds on worlds are rolling ever From creation to decay, Like the bubbles on a river Sparkling, bursting, borne away. —P.B. Shelley, “Hellas”, 1821 Humans don’t want to be alone. Scientific and philosophical speculation about life in the Universe is one of our most ancient and frequently sensationalised pursuits. As early as the 5th century [...]
London’s top secret discovery