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In which there’s no cure like a good geeky read

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

With the arrival of September, autumn has arrived in London with a vengeance. The air is crisp and cold, marigolds wither on my back porch, and the campus is full of robed, jubilant undergraduates ready to accept their diplomas and take their place in the world. Summer holidays are already a distant memory, and months of uncertainty lie ahead – wil Continue reading →

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On taking notes

Posted on 1 September 2011 by rpg

Cath’s post on whether it’s good manners to take some means of taking notes to a seminar, when you’ve been specifically asked for feedback, reminds me of a seminar I had the dubious pleasure to attend at a certain University department a long, long way from here.

This particular department had a seminar series, given by completed Continue reading →

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Dusty old data

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Frank Norman

Every now and then I am reminded that, once upon a time, I did a chemistry degree. I still feel some warmth towards the subject, though I have forgotten most of what I learnt. I still remember some of my final year project – hours spent doing prep TLC to purify some obscure product and then a vain attempt to find out what it was. It confirmed Continue reading →

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Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Athene Donald

This book review first appeared in Times Higher Education on September 1st 2011.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World

By Lisa Randall
Bodley Head, 464pp, £20.00 ISBN 9781847920690 Published 1 September 2011

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Posted in Communicating Science, Higgs Particle, Large Hadron Collider, Lisa Randall, Research | Comments Off on Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Portable document FAIL

Posted on 31 August 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Provisional PDF of a paper in press from my postdoc lab:

Are they editing papers with marker pens now?!

Pretty damn foolish…

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Carnival of Evolution #39

Posted on 31 August 2011 by Henry Gee

Not content with hosting endless tribute bands and seaside-postcard revues, the End of the Pier Show goes all upmarket by hosting the latest Carnival of Evolution. So, roll up! Roll up! Get yer tickets ‘ere for a plethoric phantasmagoria of the peerless presentations of the natural Universe, like wot she is spoke, notwithstanding inasmuch as Continue reading →

Posted in Darwin, evolution, fitness, grummet-nadgers scrode, Research, Science Is Vital, speciation, wallaby, zelnio, zimmer | Comments Off on Carnival of Evolution #39

A momentary lapse of reason—Chapter Seven

Posted on 31 August 2011 by rpg

Chapter Six

The Institute

Max sat on a bench, smoking his fifth cigarette of the morning and keeping his eyes fixed on the main entrance of the Wolfhaven Institute. Its relatively new façade was already turning a dirty grey from pollution, and the building looked even uglier under the bright sunlight, which seemed to accentuate its every architect Continue reading →

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Coming Soon [18]

Posted on 29 August 2011 by Stephen

Today sees the release of the new trailer of my latest and most ambitious film project. In doing so I am following the sound advice of Richard Hamming and forcing my own hand. With the trailer now on public view, I will definitely have to finish the film.

The video started life in the midst of bloody battle — when I was a participant in the online Continue reading →

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What I Read On My Summer Holidays

Posted on 29 August 2011 by Henry Gee

Having just returned from a short break in La France Profonde I am compelled as if by the urugations of my fundament to tell you about the two books I read while sleeping off yet another repast cooked in goose fat. The selection of these books was almost random – they were two titles I’d had on my shelves for a while, waiting their turn Continue reading →

Posted in alice in wonderland, borges, dan simmons, phases of gravity, scarlett thomas, Science-fiction, sex, the end of mr Y, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on What I Read On My Summer Holidays