Category Archives: Guest posts

Infectious opinions

Posted on 14 October 2021 by drtregoning

It’s been a funny old 18 months as world events suddenly came crashing into my corner of science – the immune response to viral infections in the lung. One of the unexpected outcomes of the pandemic was that I wrote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in art, COVID-19, education, Guest posts, Hobbies, Infectious, vaccine, virus | Comments Off on Infectious opinions

What are science?

Posted on 29 October 2016 by rpg

Get ready to blow things up Apparently we all fucking love science, or at least we love pretty pictures, anecdotal facts, chemical explosions and slightly preachy environmentalism. However, science is none of these things.

Posted in explosions, fire, Guest posts, John Tregoning, lab coats, Life, science | Comments Off on What are science?

Blogging; totally worth a go

Posted on 13 January 2016 by Matthew (@MCeeP)

This is my first post to Occam’s Irregulars and when I was planning out what I wanted to write, I though that I needed something that was going to have a splash and get plenty of clicks. But that sounded … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Guest posts, SciBlogs, SciComms, Writing | Comments Off on Blogging; totally worth a go

Some words when one is speechless

Posted on 15 November 2015 by Heather

The current use of “no words” in its semaphoric online sense seems to date back to five or ten years ago. To you, there may seem to be a great difference between five and ten years ago. To me, two … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest posts, idealism, intellectual, ivory tower, obscurantism, Paris, Politics, terrorism | Comments Off on Some words when one is speechless

500 dead bumblebees – the chemical blitz of modern farming

Posted on 15 December 2014 by Philip Strange

Earlier this year, Sheila Horne was walking at Hacton Parkway, a public park and conservation area in Havering, East London. April is normally a good time to see insects in their prime so she was very surprised to find many … Continue reading →

Posted in buff-tailed bumblebee, buglife, bumblebees, common carder bee, conservation, epoxiconazole, flusilazole, fungicides, Guest posts, Hacton Parkway, imidacloprid, insecticides, neonicotinoids, pollinators, red-tailed bumblebee, thiamethoxam, tony gunton | Comments Off on 500 dead bumblebees – the chemical blitz of modern farming

Disturbing the natural order – the case of neonicotinoid insecticides and farmland birds

Posted on 23 July 2014 by Philip Strange

A swift   One of my favourite nature writers is Mark Cocker who has the ability to capture a scene or an idea in a few hundred words. Despite his immense knowledge he never loses his sense of awe and … Continue reading →

Posted in bees, birds, center for food safety, conservation, farmland birds, George Monbiot, Guest posts, imidacloprid, insectivorous birds, Kenneth Allsop, mark cocker, neonicotinoids, netherlands, radboud university, swift, yellow wagtail | Comments Off on Disturbing the natural order – the case of neonicotinoid insecticides and farmland birds

The Flying Squad*

Posted on 21 June 2014 by Philip Strange

An imposing, white-painted beehive stood in the middle of the room. Emblazoned across the front in large black letters was one word – POLICE. The police keep bees?

Posted in agri environment schemes, bee hive, bees, flower rich hay meadows, Flying Squad, Guest posts, higher level stewardship, honeybees, Margaret Couvillon, nature reserves, pollinators, Thomas Thwaites, waggle dance | Comments Off on The Flying Squad*

Lock up your hydrangeas, drug thieves about!

Posted on 19 March 2014 by Philip Strange

Plants are rich and varied sources of chemicals that change brain function, so-called psychoactive chemicals. For example, the coca plant, a shrub indigenous to the foothills of the Andes, was used for thousands of years by the local people because … Continue reading →

Posted in cannabis, cocaine, cyanogenic glycosides, flowers, Guest posts, hortensia, hydrangea, hydrogen cyanide, marijuana, mescaline, opium, peyote, psychoactive chemicals, tetrahydrocannabinol | Comments Off on Lock up your hydrangeas, drug thieves about!

A night at the opera – or how the myth of the love potion seduces both writers and scientists

Posted on 2 January 2014 by Philip Strange

The Glyndebourne Touring Opera visits Plymouth in the South West once a year and it’s a real treat to go to their productions. This year we went to see Donizetti’s frothy but very popular L’elisir d’amore. This was beautifully sung … Continue reading →

Posted in claus wedekind, cuddle hormone, donizetti, glyndebourne, glyndebourne touring opera, Guest posts, harry potter, human monogamy, l'elisir d'amore, love potion, opera, oxytocin, romantic attraction, sweaty t-shirt experiment, tristan and isolde | Comments Off on A night at the opera – or how the myth of the love potion seduces both writers and scientists

The bitter wind of Brussels sprouts

Posted on 13 December 2013 by Philip Strange

It’s that time again; that most controversial of vegetables is appearing in UK shops. I am referring of course to Brussels sprouts, feared and hated by some, lauded by others. Not only is it peak growth season for sprouts but, … Continue reading →

Posted in bitter taste, brussels sprouts, Christmas, francis crick, glucosinolates, Guest posts, vegetables, vitamin C, vitamin K, windiness of sprouts | Comments Off on The bitter wind of Brussels sprouts