Monthly Archives: March 2012
How the zebra got its stripes
Existing theories as to why zebras have evolved stripes centre on their role in combating predators. Stripes may provide camouflage in the long grass and dappled shade of the savannah; they may also confuse predators by breaking up the outline of the zebra within a herd, making it hard for predators to tell where one [...]
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CSaP Event: Cambridge Public Policy Seminar : Ben Plowden
Speaker: Ben Plowden, Transport for London These seminars aim to bring together a diverse range of individuals from the humanities, social and natural sciences to discuss the public policy implications of their work and research. Each talk will last 25-30 minutes and will be followed by open discussion and run on Friday’s in termtime1-2pm. This [...]
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CSaP Event: Alcohol policy – A gap between evidence and practice
A Hughes Hall Centre for Biomedical Science in Society and Cambridge Public Policy Special Seminar. The event will run between 18:15 and 19:45, with tea and coffee from 17:30. Agenda 17:30 Pre-seminar tea and coffee 18:15 Presentations 19:15 Discussion Venue (Map) Pavillion Room Hughes Hall Cambridge CB1 2EW Speakers Professor Mike Kelly (NICE) ”Describing the gap between evidence and [...]
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CSaP Event: Biodiversity Knowledge Politics Conference
This conference will be jointly hosted by the Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge; Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) and the Natural History Museum in London. The interaction between biodiversity science and policy at the global scale is drawing considerable focus from governments, scientists and civil society. At the [...]
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New blood
When asked their blood group, many people would probably be able to reply “A”, “B”, “AB” or “O”, with some also knowing whether they were Rhesus positive or negative. However, in addition to these usual suspects, there are in fact a further 28 known blood types, with names such as “Duffy” and “Diego”. The proteins [...]
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How to detect traces of explosives
Scientists at the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology in Trivandrum, India, have developed a simple method for detecting attogram (10-18 g) quantities of the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT). TNT is still used in many explosive devices, and the by-products from a TNT explosion can contaminate groundwater and soil for years after detonation. Techniques such as sniffer [...]
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Feature: Powering East Africa from below
Tom Bishop explores the potential of geothermal energy in Africa. What is the solution for nations with increasing energy demands, hindered by frequent power cuts and an inability to compete in the international oil market? For East Africa at least, experts think geothermal energy is the answer. More promising still, the Kenyan government and international [...]
CSAP Event: Cambridge Public Policy Lecture – Lord Young
Speaker: Lord Young of Graffham
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[POPULAR Science] – Niall Mansfield