Category Archives: Science

On why

Posted on 12 March 2012 by rpg

The other morning, between about 7.30 and 8.45, I had a long, involved and very realistic dream. In it, I visited the MRC LMB in Cambridge, to discover that it had been partly rebuilt into a modern, if not downright … Continue reading →

Posted in Lab ratting, Science, War stories, Work, you | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Science is Vital meets David Willetts

Posted on 9 October 2011 by rpg

Cross-posted from Science is Vital. Following the publication of our report on science careers in the UK, which drew on nearly 700 responses to a call for evidence, members of the Science is Vital team met with Minister of State … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Science | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

On keeping a good notebook

Posted on 17 August 2011 by rpg

(Lazy cross-post time: also at Naturally Selected) One of the first and most important things a neophyte scientist learns–or at least, is taught–is the importance of keeping a comprehensive and accurate record. We all know it’s a good thing, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Tagged | 5 Comments

Echoes

Posted on 13 July 2011 by rpg

At the pub the other night, I was asking how a friend was doing. He was particularly busy, it appears, because he had to attend students’ exhibitions, located inexplicably at inconvenient and distant locations the length and breadth of town. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Photography, Science | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Big angry macrophage

Posted on 17 June 2011 by rpg

Those of you who know anything about British popular culture will no doubt be familiar with Benny Hill. The Benny Hill Show was long-running and immensely popular—although it was often accused of being sexist, it was the men who were … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Video | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

On the hairy nature of light—redux

Posted on 15 June 2011 by rpg

A while ago I reported on an experiment. Using my laser beam I demonstrated the wave nature of light, by measuring its diffraction. One of the referees, for reasons of poetry, wanted to see the experiment repeated with a different … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

On the hairy nature of light

Posted on 1 March 2011 by rpg

One of the least strange physical phenomena is that light behaves like a wave. Some of the time, at least. (The Younger Pawn asked if she could surf on light, if it was a wave. I said only if she … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

Razzmatazz

Posted on 14 January 2011 by rpg

Hello folks at world! Greetings from sunny North Carolina (yes, ‘sunny’), where men are real men, women are real women, and science bloggers come to pay homage to the blogfather. Yup, it’s Science Online 2011, where I am but one … Continue reading →

Posted in Scio11 | 8 Comments

On lucky breaks

Posted on 4 January 2011 by rpg

I’ve been somewhat out of things for the last couple of weeks. I took some well-deserved vacation days and generally chilled out (even the presence of 350+ unread emails in my inbox when I got to work this morning didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Science, wibbling | Tagged , , , , , | 53 Comments