Latest posts

Rearranging the desk chairs

Posted on 9 November 2013 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Once a fortnight, we have a team meeting in the boardroom of our main research building. It’s a room that’s much in demand, so we often have to wait a few minutes past the hour before we can get in – and this week we then had to tidy up the crackers and crumbs thereof that the group before us had left scattered all over the desks. Continue reading →

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My Favourite Book

Posted on 8 November 2013 by Henry Gee

IMG_7981 … is Labyrinths by the Argentine essayist Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986). I bought this copy earlier today at Waterstones in Norwich: this portrait was taken in the in-store café, moments later.

No, this is not an instant conversion. I’m not going to say that I picked this up on a whim, read the whole lot, and my life changed instantly, becau Continue reading →

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Don’t Shoot the Messenger – a Guest Post from Brian Clegg

Posted on 7 November 2013 by Henry Gee

A few days ago my friend Mr B. C. of Swindon, for it is he, let me erupt onto his blog concerning the scientific illiteracy one finds in the desert that is televisual emission. Today I return the compliment, and below he opines on a related, indeed complementary theme. As I am sure you are both aware, Brian is an author of popular science books inc Continue reading →

Posted in Apparitions, brian clegg, Brian Cox, dice world, quantum mechanics, Science Is Vital, science writing, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Don’t Shoot the Messenger – a Guest Post from Brian Clegg

Why are Scientists off the Radar?

Posted on 7 November 2013 by Athene Donald

There are those who believe that one should never have “women-only” lists of anything and that even the venerable BBC programme Woman’s Hour should be banned because there isn’t a Man’s Hour on Radio 4. This viewpoint has it that all such actions are inherently sexist.

I understand this position although I personally don’t subscribe to it. It seems Continue reading →

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Kids these days

Posted on 5 November 2013 by Sylvia McLain

Sunday Will Self was on BBC radio 4 giving his point of view about the youth of today. He pities them as they are being oppressed by the older demographic or as he puts it – “In my darker moments – of which there are quite a few – I often envision the baby boomer generation as a giant and warty toad squatting on the youth Continue reading →

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Guest

Posted on 5 November 2013 by Henry Gee

If you’ve come here expecting a new post – don’t worry. Please retune your browser to the fine establishment of my friend Mr B. C. of Swindon, where I have a guest post today. Anyone fancy doing a guest post here? Continue reading →

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Wagnerismus

Posted on 4 November 2013 by Henry Gee

I remember it well – the moment after I, as an audience member at a panel at an SF convention, mentioned how much I liked the novel Ender’s Game by one Orson Scott Card, when the temperature appeared to drop ten degrees and I was looked at by some people as if I’d brought in something nasty on my shoes. I remained entirely puzzled Continue reading →

Posted in antisemitism, enders gane, Music, musical appreciation, orson scott card, wagner, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Wagnerismus

Those poor beleaguered bees! Now they’re being confused by diesel fumes. Or are they?

Posted on 4 November 2013 by Philip Strange

honeybee on lavender 3

Bees are having a hard time. Pathogens, insecticides and loss of habitat are all thought to be contributing to a decline in their numbers. Now a potential new threat has been added to the “perfect storm” threatening these insects. A group at Southampton University recently reported that diesel exhaust could be affecting the ability of honeybees to Continue reading →

Posted in bee decline, bee numbers, bees, bumblebees, city bees, diesel fumes, Guest posts, honeybees, oilseed rape, southampton university | Comments Off on Those poor beleaguered bees! Now they’re being confused by diesel fumes. Or are they?

In which I step out

Posted on 4 November 2013 by Jennifer Rohn

Six weeks into the big experiment, and I’m surfacing for a brief update.

There is nothing I can say about new motherhood that has not been rehashed a million times, so on the topic of sleepless nights, lunching frantically on handfuls of peanuts while shoving wet clothes into the dryer and slobbing around the house in a milk-stained unbuttone Continue reading →

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Recycling Talks

Posted on 3 November 2013 by Athene Donald

You know that sinking feeling. You have a talk, at a conference or another university, coming up in fewer days (possibly even hours) than you feel comfortable with and the temptation is great to dig into the files and simply reuse a previous one perhaps with a modified title. Is this a good idea? In a certain sense yes, you will indeed have a talk Continue reading →

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