The BBC’s posted this beautiful set of photographs of deep-sea jellyfish (honestly, I’m beginning to think I have a thing about these creatures).(I couldn’t use one of the beeb’s pictures, so have put in another cool jellyfish photo.)I think I like the…
Science
PhD Comics gets it right, again
Couldn’t resist. PhD comics have been around for quite some time (and I would encourage you to read them whenever you get a chance), but this one (also shown below) was just far too perfect to pass up.Clicking thereon will show it in a slightly more …
Google Transit
I was most exceedingly happy to hear about this yesterday. I am, after all, something of a Google fan.My happiness, however, turned to ecstatic delight when I realised that Google Transit is far, far better than the Metlink website. A thorn in my sid…
The value of knowledge economies
Rod Oram, of the Sunday Star Times, recently wrote this piece.In it, he basically lays out why a knowledge-based (or at least heavily contributed to-) economy is something New Zealand should be striving for.And I have to say I agree: this idea that one…
Personal space issues: now we know the 'where'
Caltech continues to live up to its reputation for producing some fine work.In a recent coup (haha), they appear to have figured out the whole ‘personal bubble’ issue. Well, to be more precise, they’ve figured out which brain structure is responsible….
xkcd: Newton and Leibniz
I couldn’t resist. For the uninitiated, xkcd is a marvellous webcomic revolving around maths, physics, and, well, the human experience. In fact, its author, Randall Munroe, is even publishing a (real) book!(subtitle: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, m…
Addendum to previous post
I found this delightful website (click on logo below)JOVE, or the Journal of Visualised Experiments, is a fantastic idea. Anyone working in the biological sciences will, I’m sure, appreciate how tricky it can be to learn or duplicate a new methodology…
The (threat) challenge to science publishing
An article I recently wrote for the Science Media Centre (note, there’s a really cool sound recording from the WCSJ on the SMC website, here). The debate’s a complicated one - this article just manages to lightly touch upon some of the issues…The Op…
Global warming warning
I’ve just come across this and, frankly, my first reaction was to burst out laughing.Not, I hasten to add, because I think it’s funny in and of itself. And the article itself is very calm and cogent about things. It’s simply that the headline reads s…
Gamma-ray bursts get even more sci-fi
Gamma-ray bursts really are the stuff of science fiction. And something of a mystery.They’re the most impressive explosions the universe has been able to offer after the tremendous effort of the Big Bang. If one happened anywhere near Earth (and by n…