Hooray for CNET! not only do I use them whenever I’m looking at new tech to buy, but they’ve also pointed me at an extraordinary music video. British musician Sivu (James Page) spent 2-3 hours holed up in an MRI machine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London for his new single, ‘Better Man Than He’. […]
Science and Society
Competition for Wellington infographics makers
This post is aimed at those of you who make infographics, or are interested in them, or know someone who does/is. Think of it as a spreading of the word… On Feb 16th, Contribeauty (‘turning data into design’) and Pledgeme.co.nz (NZ’s own version of Kickstartr) are going to be holding an infographics competition. The second […]
What a thought looks like
Ever wondered what a thought might look like, in real life, as it flashes across the various neurons and synapses we call ‘the brain’? Yes, sure, there are numerous digitally-animated artist’s renditions out there, but what about reality? Now, for the first time, a thought has been filmed as it forms and flashes across a […]
Beer’s bitterness and your health
Yay, more beer-related science! This time, it’s around the chemistry involved in that lovely bitterness in beer. As it turns out, this bitterness is provided by a class of chemicals* called alpha acids, which are to be found in the resin of mature hops. For those living in New Zealand and enjoying the local craft […]
Overly honest scientists
Ahhhh, scientists. As I’ve mentioned before, they can, indeed, actually be amusing. Shock, horror, etc… /waits for people to get back onto their chairs Right, so, just quickly, two amusing topics from the last few days, both on the subject of being, well, overly honest. overly honest cover letter ‘Tis a busy time of […]
How will the End of the World affect clinical trials?
Yes, sure, my first response was also ‘not well - dead patients are often difficult test subjects on which to continue clinical trials’. Thankfully, however, the Canadian Medical Association Journal has looked more deeply into this most pressing of issues. In fact, as the paper’s introduction states: There is a great deal of speculation concerning […]
More microscope pr0n winners announced
I’ve posted before about the Nikon Small World’s microscopy/photography competition. Today, however, focuses on another Maker of Excellent Photographic Equipment - Olympus. For the last 10 years (says the website), Olympus has been sponsoring an international microscopy (i.e.photographing things with a microscope) competition - The Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition - and this year’s winners have […]
RIP Patrick Moore - thank you for the wonder
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS, the self-taught (i.e. amateur) astronomer who inspired millions to look upwards at the heavens, has died aged 89. Sir Patrick Moore. Credit: The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/31/small-ask-young-readers-questions From the Telegraph obituary: …Sir Patrick Moore, who has died aged 89, became better known than any of the academics in his field […]
Google+ rolls out Google Communities
Well, earlier today (depending on where you are, of course), Google+ started rolling out Google Communities. The service is brand new, so I don’t have much of an opinion about it yet. I’ve just joined a makers/hackers/engineers/artists community, as these are things I think are cool and I reckon it’ll be a really interesting example […]
DeSTEMber is here!
A quick note, today, to make sure that you all, dear readers, are aware of and following/taking part in #deSTEMber. What is it, you ask? Well, the Google Science Fair peeps have teamed up with girlstart, with the stated aim being to get people more actively interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths). It’s going […]