Category Archives: Science

An Inconsistent Truth?

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Stephen

The Science Museum in London is a national shrine to human ingenuity. Its existence is a testament to the value that our society places on inquiry and innovation, its worth paradoxically underscored by the fact that, even in these impecuious … Continue reading →

Posted in AltMed, History of Science, Science | Tagged , | 45 Comments

Small and Very Far Away

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Stephen

As Father Ted might have explained it to Dougal, this one is very small: Atom but that one is far away. Mars (NASA) And yet it is the distant planet and not the nearby atom that seems to excite the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Protein Crystallography, Science | Tagged , , , | 54 Comments

Interesting Times

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Stephen

“May you live in interesting times”, goes the Chinese curse. Chinese scientists are certainly living in interesting times (as reported today in Nature) but they are unlikely to see it as a curse. The budget of the Chinese Academy of … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics | Tagged , | 26 Comments

The shove that dare not speak its name

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Stephen

The following is a commentary that has been published today (in a slightly edited form) in Chemistry and Industry. Only the excellent need apply. Such is the message on research funding from nobelist Sir Paul Nurse, incoming president of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics | Tagged , , , , | 42 Comments

The Importance of Being Confident

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Stephen

The government is worried about the economy and rightly so. It’s in a bit of a state. When Value Added Tax was raised by 2.5% to 20% at the turn of the year, there were nervous glances to see what … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Burying Pigs and Information

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Stephen

Ben Goldacre wrote a short blogpost today to bemoan the habit of many media outlets of not linking to the primary sources for their reports and headlines. He was referring to stories that have appeared today about Asian gangs abusing white … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Media, Science & Politics | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Joule’s Jewel

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Stephen

For the longest time I thought he was French. It’s the name — Joule; it sounds French and in my physics class at school no-one thought to explain otherwise. In fact, Joule was not even introduced as a name — … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, Science | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Snapshots of 2010

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Stephen

I wasn’t going to do a review of the year’s blogposts but, on the off-chance that the recent move to the shiny new site at Occam’s Typewriter has attracted some new readers, I thought I would provide a brief guide … Continue reading →

Posted in AltMed, Astronomy, Blogging, History of Science, Libel Reform, Protein Crystallography, Science, Science & Politics, TV review | 5 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

The Crowded Cell

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Stephen

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe,” the dying replicant Roy says of his off-world experiences in one of the final scenes of BladeRunner. As a structural biologist I often feel I could say the same thing, all the more … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 9 Comments

Attention: remarkable

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Stephen

I came across this today and found it quite remarkable. I’m not going to say anything more right now but, if you have a minute, test yourself with this short video. No questions just yet – just take a look. … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 28 Comments