Category Archives: Uncategorized

Music in a nutshell

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Stephen

I once read in a physics textbook that if an atom were to be magnified to the size of London’s Wembley Stadium, the nucleus at the centre would be about as big as a hazelnut. Well screw that, because I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 39 Comments

Beachbooks 2: Dagnificent Messolation

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Stephen

For my second holiday read I gave in to the excitement surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and splashed out on Buzz Aldrin’s Magnificent Desolation. The book (co-written with Ken Abraham) tells of the aftermath of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Beachbooks 1: Trick or Treatment

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Stephen

Just before heading off on holiday I gave notice of my intended reading matter. Pedalo-duty permitting, I hoped to get through all four books. The wind and currents of the French Atlantic coast precluded any pedalo action so the kids … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Uncategorized | 28 Comments

Blog hol

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Stephen

This’ll be brief since it’s been a busy week. I’m aiming to get through my ‘to do’ list before heading off on holiday at the weekend. If past form is anything to go by, it will me take a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 25 Comments

Vital Supplements

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Stephen

Those outside science are often surprised to learn that we usually have to pay for the privilege of being published. The charges incurred by authors, argue the journal publishers, reflect the cost of the significant value that added when a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 78 Comments

Picture perfect?

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Stephen

I love pictures. And photographs. Unlike some, I can’t paint or draw with any great skill, but in common with many other people I get immense pleasure from photography. I’m no expert and wouldn’t even consider myself a serious hobbyist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 33 Comments

Confessions of a Twitter Fritterer: slightly hipper but a little bitter

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Stephen

I’m guessing that pretty much everyone has mixed feelings about the micro-blogging service, Twitter. The ability to rapidly post ‘tweets’ of no more than 140 characters can easily be seen as both a blessing and a curse. I was certainly … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Keep the Libel Laws out of Science

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Stephen

Simon Singh is a brave man. He has announced that he is going to apply to appeal in his case with the British Chiropractic Association. He writes about the background to the case here. Simultaneously, Sense About Science is launching … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

I don’t know what to say

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Stephen

My most recent post, “Respect my Authority!”, which was an attempt to explore the origin of scientific authority, has been removed by Nature Network because their legal advice deemed it to contain some dubious assertions. The matter was handled with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 104 Comments

Oddly Connect

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Stephen

The germ of this post started with a remark by Kristi, who was struck on a recent visit to the UK by the number of people reading on public transport. I was reading a piece from this week’s Nature as … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, History of Science, Science & Media, Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Desirous of structures?

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Stephen

There was a very nice piece in yesterday’s Nature by Ananyo Bhattacharya (a former PhD student of mine who now works for the journal). Ananyo discusses the current structural ‘wish list’ with some of the world’s most ambitious protein crystallographers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Nod to the pod squad

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Stephen

When I was a little boy I remember that my mother would sometimes extract a dull metal implement from the dark recess of a rarely used cupboard and clamp it to the kitchen table. Turning the handle she would feed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments