Author Archives: Stephen

Festive Tech

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Stephen

It’s Christmas Eve and the Curry household is getting ready for the big day. All the shopping is done and work has been put aside for a couple of days. Now I can turn my mind to the serious business … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 10 Comments

Sixes and Sevens

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Stephen

It’s all been rather unsettling but I guess that’s life these days. Moving the blog to its new home was a bit more fraught than I had been anticipating. Though I can piece together a rationale for Nature Network’s rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 25 Comments

Arsenic up for Review

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Stephen

This amused me. It might amuse you too. The other night Ed Yong asked on Twitter if anyone could remember mention in a recent blogpost of the fact that salts of arsenic often contain phosphate. I’m guessing he was preparing … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Science | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Moving On

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Stephen

Hi All – this is just a short placeholder post for anyone who may have wanted to leave a comment about my farewell post at Nature Network, which is now up. I’m afraid I am unable to respond to comments … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | 8 Comments

Moving On (NN)

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Stephen

The time has come to say goodbye to Nature Network. I am moving Reciprocal Space to at new site at Occam’s Typewriter, which launches today. In part, to be perfectly honest, the move is motivated by the frustration accumulated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | Comments Off on Moving On (NN)

Time Travel

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Stephen

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dublin Airport,” says the pilot. “Please remember to turn your watches back thirty years.” So goes the time-worn joke but last weekend that’s more or less exactly what I did. I flew to Dublin to … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 11 Comments

Touch, Feel

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Stephen

I’m not proud of myself but I have to confess to a lascivious addiction. I know. It’s disgusting. But I can’t help it. The problem started in 1999. I remember all too clearly my first glimpse of the well-proportioned curves … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 23 Comments

Cosmos and Kapoor

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Stephen

Having delighted in Jacob Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man earlier this year, I sat down to watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, which several commenters had recommended to me. You can read what I thought of it in my guest post at … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Communication, TV review | 2 Comments

Libel Reform: Not There Yet

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Stephen

The British cardiologist Dr Peter Wilmshurst was reported in 2007 to have made remarks critical of a clinical trial involving a medical device made by NMT Medical. He is now being sued for libel. The case is complex and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Libel Reform | 1 Comment

Science is Vital: Perturbation Theory and Practice

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Stephen

The firework screamed upwards into the night sky and burst, with an almighty crack, into a vibrant spray of light and colour. Everyone looked up. Some people cheered. And then the murmur of conversation resumed. Is that what happened with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Politics | 44 Comments

Ask

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Stephen

Despite having a physics degree and some notion of the stretchiness of space and time in Einstein’s theory of special relativity, I’ve never felt comfortable with these ideas. In particular, I have never really had a good feel for why … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | 5 Comments

Science is Vital: Letter to my MP

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Stephen

I am presently attending a conference on Caliciviruses in Chile and am enjoying being immersed in both the warm spring sunshine and the latest research on this important group of pathogens. Any of you who has suffered at the hands … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Politics, Scientific Life | 12 Comments