Top 6 Things not to do on Facebook
1. Adding people you don’t even know It’s one thing to add an old friend on Facebook and then forgetting about them. It’s another to add anyone whose name you kind of vaguely sort of recognise. Don’t do it. It’s like the lonely man in the pub who nods his head and pats you on the back whilst saying ‘How’ve you been, son?’ You have no idea who he is; he has no idea who you are: don’t add him …
Weird Science: Meat, myself and I
A strange, but potentially revolutionary laboratory project is coming closer to bearing fruit – or should I say meat. That’s right, laboratory-produced meat is no longer contained within the realms of science fiction, according to the scientists who have been working on the project at Maastricht University. Funded by a mysterious, wealthy benefactor, the aim is simple; to produce meat in the lab using animal stem cells. So far, the lab has only produced a few slivers of pink protein, …
5 things you need to know: The biggest science fails
Thomas Midgely Jr vs. the world. Most of us have a minimal impact on the planet’s ecosystem; even Tony Hayward can sleep easy in the knowledge of Thomas Midgely Jr. A chemist and mechanical engineer, he and his research team invented leaded petrol and CFCs. Environmental historian J.R. McNeill said of him that he had “had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth’s history”. Toad of Australia Hall. In 1935, the Bureau of Sugar Experiment …
Don’t miss: The Borrowers
The Borrowers Boxing Day 7.30pm BBC1 This Christmas, BBC1 brings us the return of a much-loved children’s classic. A twenty-first century adaptation of Mary Norton’s fantasy novels sees a fresh take on the little people’s world beneath our floorboards, and their quest to ‘borrow’ items whilst remaining anonymous. The plot follows the curious teenage Borrower Arriety Clock (Aisling Loftus), whose determination to discover the upstairs ‘human beans’ leads her parents Pod (Chris Eccleston) and Homily (Sharon Horgan) Clock to despair. …
Feigned Mars trip a success
Weird Science: the ‘voyage to Mars’ proves it’s psychologically possible to travel to Mars Ok, so who remembers Total Recall? Arnie once again cuts a badass rug as a secret agent come xenophilic liberator of a Martian mining colony, all from the comfort of a flashing chair in an LA clinic. Fanciful stuff. Why then – for the purposes of an incredibly complex psychological experiment into the effects of extended space travel – did the combined international space agencies of Europe …
The Death of Cremation
Helen Culley discusses the greener side of death Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome. Isaac Asimov We’ve all the heard the rumours of Walt Disney being cryogenically frozen; idyllically preserved in time until science provides a way to deal with the small issue of lung cancer and give him a new lease of life. Despite the fact that these rumours are false (the first documented cryogenic freezing took place a mere month after Walt’s death) …
Environmental Sins we all commit
Emma Summerscales discusses the environmental sins we all inadvertantly make Jeans Everyone loves a pair of jeans, but our love for faded and worn looks is more costly than you might think. ‘Labour behind the Label’ has recently looked into the conditions for workers producing our garments, and reported scenes where employees must sandblast jeans for hours on end in sealed cabinets, where they inhale silica particles that cause serious damage to the airways. As authorities have been made aware …
