The first proper snow of winter arrived just in time to be a full two months too late for Christmas. As is traditional, the cold snap appeared to catch the UK airport and highway authorities completely unawares – surprising considering recent temperatures and the fact that it’s currently winter. This cynicism aside, the snow provided [...]

February 20th, 2012 Read more

Are ‘more rounded’ individuals dissuaded from pursuing scientific careers by the ‘geek’ branding of some prominent scientists?   TV presenter and Bristol alumnus Alice Roberts was recently appointed Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. On accepting the role, Roberts expressed her negative opinion of the specificity of A Level education [...]

February 20th, 2012 Read more

Did you manage to keep to your New Year resolution? Mine was to eat more fruit. My flat-mate, in an effort to lose weight, swears by her new tiny fork – a product endorsed by the unfortunately-named though no doubt nutritionally-qualified peer, Lord Sugar. Every year seemingly hundreds of new diets and programmes offer to [...]

February 20th, 2012 Read more

Since the discovery of performance-enhancing drugs there have always been less-than scrupulous athletes seduced by the promise of a boost to their abilities. Prior to each Olympic event the International Olympic Committee – the IOC – publishes a comprehensive public report outlining the rules on anti-doping, yet some individuals are still willing to risk the [...]

February 6th, 2012 Read more

In 2009 the scientific community celebrated 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin’s famous book, On the Origin of Species. This text outlined his theory of natural selection, explaining how genes are passed down from generation to generation, adapting to environments through random mutations within the genetic code that occur over millions of years. [...]

February 6th, 2012 Read more

After the fabulous gluttony of Christmas, the word ‘chocolate’ probably evokes feelings of guilt and disgust. Most of us are understandably sick of the stuff. The traditional declaration to ‘cut down’ may even have featured on your list of New Year’s resolutions. Considering the proximity of Valentine’s Day, who can predict how long this resolve [...]

February 6th, 2012 Read more

There is a hidden global crisis in access to medicines. Today 27,000 people will die unnecessarily from diseases due to a lack of readily available essential medicine. There are many contributing factors to this, ranging from poor logistical infrastructure to widespread corruption within developing countries. Many of these problems seem intractable to a concerned citizen [...]

February 1st, 2012 Read more