sciencepunk | July 9, 2009Check out my guest post at the venerable Times Online:
Built into the streets of New York City is a solar calendar on a truly massive scale. Every year around July 12th, New Yorkers are treated to a spectacular phenomenon as the setting sun aligns directly with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main grid, turning them into canyons filled with golden light. The effect is known as Manhattanhenge in reference to the much older stone monument near Salisbury. The term was coined in 2002 by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the charismatic director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American…
sciencepunk | July 5, 2009According to a press release from the University of Washington, tropical islands may become deserts as the climate band delivering their only supply of fresh water creeps north:
The rain band near the equator that determines the supply of freshwater to nearly a billion people throughout the tropics and subtropics has been creeping north for more than 300 years, probably because of a warmer world, according to research published in the July issue of Nature Geoscience.If the band continues to migrate at just less than a mile (1.4 kilometers) a year, which is the average for all the years it…
sciencepunk | July 1, 2009The Ministry of Defence has been left with egg on its face after a much-vaunted seizure of 1.3 tonnes of poppy seed turned out to be mung beans. The food crop was taken during Operation Panther Claw, breathlessly reported as a major strike at the heart of Afghanistan's terror network.
After having the seeds tested by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Kabul, the Guardian reports that officials have acknowledged their error and promised to return the mung beans to their rightful owner.
At the time, Colonel General Khodaidad, Afghanistan's minister of counter-narcotics, claimed…
sciencepunk | June 25, 2009Today the motion for creating a dedicated committee to oversee science policy across Government was discussed in Parliament. Good news, we're getting it back. The Campaign for Science & Engineering had this to say:
The Campaign for Science & Engineering (CaSE) warmly welcomed the House of Commons' decision to establish the Science and Technology Committee. CaSE lobbied for it to be established following the merger of DIUS and BIS. In today's debate Phil Willis MP commended CaSE's efforts to bring back the Science and Technology Committee.
Commenting Nick Dusic, CaSE's Director, said…
sciencepunk | June 24, 20099, a new animated feature produced by Tim Burton and directed by Shane Acker, comes out in September (09/09/09, naturally). Details are sketchy, but it's safe to say in the world of 9, something has gone horribly wrong, the world has been destroyed, and the only survivors are some cute little sack people and an army of murderous machines. One can't help but think that a few squiddies from the Matrix somehow tunnelled into Little Big Planet.
Anyway, it tickles my fancy, if only because it checks the requisite boxes of "post apocalyptic dystopia" and "technopunk machinery". Which is good,…
sciencepunk | June 24, 2009
News just in: tomorrow's issue of Nature will feature a full page ad donated by the magazine asking people to sign up to the campaign to keep libel laws out of science. Managed by Sense About Science, the petition has already collected over 12,000 signatures, from world-renowned scientists and journalists to informed and passionate members of the public. If you haven't done so already, visit the website and show your support. You can also purchase badges and t-shirts, money raised from these will go toward a legal fund for others facing libel attacks.
The Culture, Media and Sport Select…
sciencepunk | June 23, 2009Thanks to the Deputy Dog blog for unveiling these awesome hidden towers of Nevada:
Although they look like retro-futurist prefab apartments, the structures are actually the water intake towers for the Hoover Dam's hydro-electric power station. The images were taken during the construction of the dam, and the towers are now mostly submerged in water. See the Deputy Dog blog for more images.
sciencepunk | June 22, 2009I quite like this science smackdown from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The world needs more robust, funny, scientists on TV.
sciencepunk | June 17, 2009
Researchers at the University of Washington have woven together chitosan and polyester to create a new material that can help to repair severed nerves. Chitosan, found in the shells of crabs and shrimp, was mixed with an industrial polyester; the hybrid fibre combines the biologically favourable qualities of the natural material with the mechanical strength of the synthetic polymer.
"A nerve guide requires very strict conditions. It needs to be biocompatible, stable in solution, resistant to collapse and also pliable, so that surgeons can suture it to the nerve," said lead author Miqin…
sciencepunk | June 14, 2009
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has issued a press release in response to the special report published by the IUSS last week:
Responding to the IUSS Committee's fourth special report of session 2008-9, "The future of science scrutiny following the merger of DIUS and BERR", Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation said:"The creation of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills places science at the heart of the Government's strategy to help the economy come through the recession stronger, more competitive and more sustainable. Our ability to maintain and…
sciencepunk | June 12, 2009As expected, the special report issued by the IUSS Committee recommends the creation of a dedicated committee overseeing science policy in the UK Government. See my report at the Guardian Science Blog:
The Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee issued a special report today calling on the government to safeguard scrutiny of science policy following the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The report recommends that proposals for the creation of a separate science and…
sciencepunk | June 12, 2009
Remember all the fun you had with the Great Sperm Race game a while back? Well, now you can step it up a level with Sperm Rider. In this game you play a delighted little guy in a cowboy hat, riding on a giant spermatozoa through a city drawn crudely in crayons. Using your "seed of destruction", set about squishing the local populace, and fend off attacks from tanks, helicopters and jet planes by deflecting their missiles with your long tail. It's all set to brilliant music and has very little to do with any kind of science, but I like it anyway. Just make sure you don't "ruin everything…
sciencepunk | June 10, 2009Lord Mandelson is insisting science and education won't suffer under the Department for Business, rubbishing the idea that business-led investment and curiosity-led research are exclusive options.
Zoe Corbyn speaks to Mandelson for Times Higher Education:
Told by Times Higher Education that universities had reacted with "horror" to news that the business department would take over responsibility for higher education policy, Lord Mandelson claimed that this was "absolutely untrue"."I spoke yesterday to [Universities UK president] Rick Trainor who expressed no horror whatsoever," he said. "And…
sciencepunk | June 9, 2009
Le Canard Noir reports on a dramatic turn in the ongoing ruckus between chiropractors and supporters of Simon Singh: the McTimoney Association, an organisation of chiropractors, has ordered its members to remove their websites with immediate effect.
Date: 8 June 2009 09:12:18 BDTSubject: FURTHER URGENT ACTION REQUIRED!Dear MemberIf you are reading this, we assume you have also read the urgent email we sent you last Friday. If you did not read it, READ IT VERY CAREFULLY NOW and - this is most important - ACT ON IT. This is not scaremongering. We judge this to be a real threat to you and…
sciencepunk | June 9, 2009Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, will tomorrow announce his intention to place science "at centre of vision of Britain's future prosperity" in a speech at the Science Museum in London.
Marking the launch of the museum's centenary celebrations, Mandelson will outline the role of science in the newly-created Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. In a press release he stated:
A new world is emerging. One on the edge of a new industrial revolution that's driven by new technologies and the world's shift to low-carbon. And where global…
sciencepunk | June 9, 2009I'm in the Guardian again, talking about the Government's decision to scrap the two-year old Department for Innovation, Universities, and Skills in favour of incorporating these duties into the Department for Business. Science is in a vulnerable position at the moment:
As the dust settles following Gordon Brown's cabinet shuffle on Friday, it's clear that the landscape of British science has been transformed. Where the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills once stood, now only a vacant lot and several skips filled with DIUS-branded stationery remain. If the forwarding address is…
sciencepunk | June 7, 2009Amid the carnage surrounding Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle, science has lost its footing and looks like it may end up as simply another tool for business and enterprise (read: grants redirected to profitable areas of research). Over at the Lay Scientist, Martin Robbins has a fairly thorough round up of the changes, and what they might mean:
From the reshuffle that took place yesterday, one piece of news has slipped out under the radar. DIUS, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills currently responsible for the UK science funding councils, is apparently being disbanded just…
sciencepunk | June 5, 2009
Direct via the blue pages of Metafilter comes a slice of flash fun that encourages you to play with zoo poo. Who Pooped? is an educational game from Minnesota Zoo that's full of crap in the best possible way. Guess the owner of a sample, feed them and examine the results. Good dirty fun!
sciencepunk | June 5, 2009The REACHforLIFE campaign has appealed for incoming MEPs to ensure science takes centre stage during their five year term. The organisation, comprising of chemical companies Albemarle, Chemtura and ICL-IP, has a stated aim to tackle mistrust of science and move toward a balanced approach in applying sound scientific evidence in the EU decision-making process. Spokesman Willem Hofland said:
Sound science, particularly when obtained through the EU's official risk assessments, should be paramount in any forthcoming EU legislation. Hence, whils we look to congratulate all new and returning…
sciencepunk | June 4, 2009
Simon Singh has announced that he intends to appeal Judge Eady's ruling:
The article was about an issue of public interest, namely childhood health and the effectiveness of particular treatments for some serious conditions. Hence, I was not prepared to apologise for an article that I still believed was important for parents to read, and which I believed was accurate and legally defensible.The final reason for fighting on was that I knew that I was able to devote the time, money and energy required for a long legal battle. Most journalists would have been forced to back down and settle under…