I could get into trouble for this
There are 30 posts tagged: "science"
- Nobody here but us chickens
- 22 September 2023
Two Chinese adolescent astronomers, Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang, collaborated to capture this photo of the Running Chicken Nebula, more prosaically known as IC 2944, which lies a mere 6,000 light years away in the constellation of Centaurus.
(more…)- The benefit of hindsight
- 8 June 2023
According to Hannah Ritchie, Kathleen Folbigg was jailed for murdering her children because
(more…)PaTriArchY aNd MisOGyNy
™. But, of course dear.- Unboxing
- 15 May 2023
At the turn of the century, South Wales Police were using groundbreaking DNA genealogy to identify a serial murderer/rapist who'd terrorised the Swansea area in the early '70s. Gilbert John's retelling is a gripping read.
(more…)- Whoopsy!
- 21 April 2023
Given the recent no-love-lost between the BBC and Elon Musk, Jonathan Amos attempts to summarise the recent Space X launch failure in more than three words: HA HA HA. (LOL) (pointright)
- A splash of body odour
- 6 March 2023
It's a fairly lightweight piece of 1200 words on (some of) the wonders of vinegar, which took only three of the BBC's crack(‑smoking) reporters to write. And Zaria Gorvett didn't mention veganism even once!
(more…)- Breaking Bard
- 9 February 2023
Google managed to wipe more than 7% off its stock value when its new AI platform, Bard, didn't perform as well as might've been expected in a recent demonstration. Asked what it could tell a nine-year-old about the James Webb Space Telescope's discoveries, it responded with it being the first to take pictures of a planet outside the earth's solar system.
(more…)- Impossible stars
- 25 October 2022
The Pillars of Creation are a star-forming region of gas and dust that's part of the
(more…)nearby
Eagle Nebula, a mere 6,500 light-years away. Close, but not close enough to borrow a cup of sugar.- Pooh flu
- 30 July 2022
As the confirmation of new Chongvirus infections in Wuhan sends almost one million of its citizens into lockdown, two studies have offered
(more…)compelling evidence
linking the initial outbreak to the city's seafood and wildlife market. Together, they suggest that two variants were introduced into humans, from live mammals sold at Huanan Seafood Market in late 2019.- Dietary habits of the twig children
- 3 May 2022
BBC Future does science. Except, it doesn't really.
(more…)- I'm sarcastic, therefore I'm brainy
- 12 January 2022
According to David Robson, writing for BBC Family Tree, a teenager's sarcasm reflects their intellect. Fortunately for me, my sarcastic teen, Emily, doesn't read the BBC online.
(more…)- D1 R6 D1 S6
- 26 October 2021
In an otherwise dull and TLDR article, on the discovery of a planet candidate outside our own galaxy, one thing struck me. The name of one of the researchers, Dr Rosanne Di Stefano, is remarkable for its periodicity: D1 R6 D1 S6.
(more…)- Safe cigs
- 7 October 2021
VELO is a brand of nicotine pouches from Scandinavia. They're designed to be placed in the mouth, for that rush that you so crave. And, like condoms, they come in a range of different flavours, which is nice, I guess.
(more…)- Wish upon a star
- 30 June 2021
News that two collisions between a neutron star and a black hole have been recorded within ten days of each other, is accompanied by an artist's impression of what such an event might look like.
(more…)- (q) When is an SJW not an SJW?
- 25 July 2020
(a) When they're virtual signalling.
(more…)- The times they are a'changin'
- 19 July 2020
David Shukman, the BBC's science editor, asks whether climate change could mean that
(more…)Summers could become
. Except he doesn't really complete the article by answering the question. To be fair, like a lot of these future-gazing fluff pieces, it's pretty unaswerable except in the broadest terms.too hot for humans
- It's a gas
- 16 July 2020
We all recognise the dangers of global warming and climate change. Or, at least, those of us who're not Donald Trump.
(more…)- When is a kilogram not a kilogram?
- 16 November 2018
I feel that I should be surprised at the ambiguity of BBC journalists. Sadly, I'm not.
(more…)- Hawking to appear at Glastonbury
- 13 May 2015
Prof. Stephen Hawking is to appear at this year's Glastonbury festival, as the result of a booking error. They thought they were getting Hawkwind.
- Pleistocene playground
- 7 February 2014
The oldest human footprints outside of Africa have been discovered by scientists on a Norfolk beach.
(more…)- Smile, but only if you're in the bright bit
- 20 July 2013
The space probe Cassini, which is in orbit around Saturn, will take a photo of Earth on Friday. You are invited to wave and smile.
(more…)- Just a sec'!
- 10 July 2013
Historically, mankind measured time by the passing of the days. But the length of a day varies as the Earth wobbles on its axis. Eventually, in the 1960s, atomic clocks were developed that were stable enough to depend upon, and accurate enough to lose one second only every 100 million years. These clocks are the basis for defining a second and international time co-ordination.
(more…)- An artist's view
- 23 February 2013
Astronomers have discovered the smallest planet as yet identified beyond our solar system.
(more…)- I'm too young to die!
- 9 November 2012
In 2010, President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan set researchers the task of discovering an elixir that could prolong his life. Two years later, they came up with a bio-yoghurt that they claim will do just that.
(more…)- But it's not very pretty, is it?
- 22 November 2011
Researchers have discovered the first orchid to flower exclusively at night. Why it does this appears to be a puzzle for them, but the reason is obvious: it realises it's ugly and doesn't want to be seen in daylight.
(more…)- It was never like that in my day
- 4 March 2011
…my college days, that is.
(more…)- Science fiction* becomes science FACT!
- 4 November 2010
Okay, not quite, but Harry Potter's invisibility cloak comes a little closer to the realm of us mere muggles—or whateverthefuck non-witches were called.
(more…)- Look where you're going!
- 2 November 2010
…oft said, oft ignored. But in the case of birds, it could be fatal. Critical research from the Bonkers Institute (Birmingham Campus) shows that certain birds crash into power lines because they're looking down and their field of vision is too restricted to see what's in front of them.
(more…)- Life on Mars, or elsewhere!
- 30 March 2010
And now Prof. Bonkers and colleagues from the Cassini space mission have demonstrated that the man in the moon is actually PacMan! Although in this case the moon in question is Mimas, one of those orbiting Saturn.
(more…)- Life on Mars, or elsewhere?
- 25 January 2010
Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal, claims that the discovery of life
(more…)out there
[points at stars]would be a moment which would change humanity
.- Accurate estimate
- 10 March 2005
Reading a report on the measurement of vapour pressure, I came across this snippet which amused me greatly:
(more…)