Recently I saw a photo of a grown man ‘planking’ on top of a tiger. I have had a little experience with big cats and I know that for the most part, they are not always the ferocious and brutish killers we often perceive them to be. However I know for certain they would never [...]

December 3rd, 2012 Read more

I think we’ve all been in the unenviable position of wanting the ‘ground to swallow us up’. Perhaps following an over-exuberant attempt at answering a question in front of 200 peers, you find that you’re not just off the mark, but in the wrong race. In other situations there could be an added degree of [...]

December 3rd, 2012 Read more

If you haven’t seen Felix Baumgartner’s jump from more than 24 miles above the earth, you should. (CLICK HERE!) My heart was in my mouth when, after more than two hours of ascent in a tiny capsule attached to a weather balloon, the door rolled open, revealing the curvature of the earth and the dark [...]

November 19th, 2012 Read more

Advertisers have always used clever methods to get us to notice a product or remember a brand, but recently they have been using more than just slogans or famous faces to get us to pay attention. The new tool in advertising seems to be Science. Think about how many times you hear shampoo adverts trying to [...]

November 19th, 2012 Read more

Rather than writing a novel or translating Latin, I’ve just reached the top level on Call of Duty. Realizing this revered status made me question what exactly was happening in my head every time I stabbed a terrorist or shot a soldier’s head off and what the long term consequences might be. The more neurons [...]

November 19th, 2012 Read more

Art and science seem to be about as closely related as politics and fine cuisine. Nevertheless, the emerging discipline of neuroaesthetics exists in the crossover region of these two fields and attempts to rationally explain the neural basis for our appreciation of art. One of the stars of neuroaesthetics Vilayanur Ramachandran has developed what he [...]

November 19th, 2012 Read more

I have always wanted to talk to animals. Just a sit down conversation: ‘Does everything we humans do seem really bizarre and pointless to you?’  At this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Canada, it was proposed by various experts on cetaceans that due to overwhelming scientific [...]

November 5th, 2012 Read more

As evidence of extensive doping in professional cycling comes to the light, Sebastian Green investigates the extraordinary measures taken to become the best. It’s a simple concept. Muscle fatigue mainly derives from a lack of oxygen supply to meet its increasing demand, leading to anaerobic respiration and a build up of lactic acid. Blood doping [...]

November 5th, 2012 Read more

When it comes to media coverage, most people know not to believe everything they hear. Rumours about celebrities and scandals can be outrageous and exaggerated and are taken as such; rumours. But is it always so easy? When it comes to science reporting it can be harder to differentiate. Unfortunately getting it wrong with science [...]

November 5th, 2012 Read more

There is a clear lack of knowledge regarding animal welfare, animal conservation and the farming industry amongst the general public: most of whom eat meat and have pets. Today, statistics show that many teenagers find “exotic” pets more appealing than the classic cat and dog. “Exotic” is a poorly defined and very wide ranging term, [...]

November 5th, 2012 Read more