May 29, 2009
Posted in Science at 4:00 pm by David Bradley -- 3 Comments; add yours
A sneak preview of my spectroscopyNOW ezine headlines for June 1:
Bi-curious microcylinders – A team in the US has produced micrometre-wide discs and elongated rods from bi-coloured and multicoloured compartments. The composite materials could have novel applications in diagnostics, drug delivery, and a new type of display technology.
X-shooter snap the cosmos – The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope now has an X-shooter, a second-generation spectroscopic instrument that can record the entire spectrum …
May 27, 2009
Posted in Science at 5:00 pm by David Bradley -- 8 Comments; add yours
Personally, I’ve never had a problem with a fear of flying, a lot of people suffer from this often debilitating phobia though despite reassurances about road death statistics being much worse than air crashes. That said perhaps there is one aspect of flying that should be of concern – exposure to radiation from outer space, cosmic rays, in other words.
Buzzing along at high altitudes in a passenger jet exposes each passenger …
May 25, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 4 Comments; add yours
David Bradley Science Writer – I am a freelance science writer. I’ve been plying the trade for two decades and have worked in most areas of science for a wide variety of outlets from daily papers, such as The Guardian and The Telegraph, dozens of trade magazines in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, countless popular science publications such as New Scientist, American Scientist, Focus, and Popular Science, and professional journals such as …
May 22, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 7 Comments; add yours
Marc Ostfield is the Senior Advisor for Bioterrorism, Biodefense, and Health Security, US Department of State, Office of International Health and Biodefense in Washington DC and believes that the concept of biosecurity as a primary strategy to combat terrorism is nothing more than an illusion.
As a concept biosecurity, also known as pathogen security, suggests that governments can somehow assert control over terrorists who might use biological weapons, lethal pathogens, in their …
May 20, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 5 Comments; add yours
In my SpecNOW science news column this week:
C60, C80, C0, Go! – X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and other techniques have allowed German chemists to demonstrate their synthesis of the first non-carbon analogue of the C80 fullerene molecule. And yes, the title is an allusion to the Malcolm McClaren fashion vehicle of the post-punk era, Bow Wow Wow.
Photosynthetic disorder – An international team has used solid state …
May 18, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 3 Comments; add yours
This weekend we, and a dozen other properties in our village, hosted a team of archaeologists from the University of Cambridge. The team, led by Dr Carenza Lewis (well known to Time Team viewers), were intent on unearthing the secrets of the centuries locked in our gardens. So, armed with mattocks and buckets, we mucked in and set about digging out layer by layer a one …
May 15, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 8 Comments; add yours
Researchers in Argentina have developed a new approach to testing food packaging for trace amounts of the toxic heavy metal cadmium.
Cadmium is one of several additives used extensively in the manufacture of plastics. Regulations limit the concentration of cadmium allowable, of course. In the European Union that limit is 100 milligrams per kilogram. But, the toxic metal has a long biological half-life (10 to 30 years) and so …
May 13, 2009
Posted in Geek, Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 2 Comments; add yours
Mercury seals, ancient climate change, and even older microwaves, all feature in my Spotlight column over on Intute, this month.
Mercury seals – The Polar Bear has often been given the role of proverbial environmental canary, coming to prominence in the movie An Inconvenient Truth by former US Vice President Al Gore. But, researchers in Canada have now reported for the first time how high levels …
May 11, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 11 Comments; add yours
Having discussed the possible environmental risks of charitable aid in the form of obsolete electronic goods to the developing world, it seemed to timely to mention other research looking into strong solutions to some of the critical problems facing people in many parts of the world.
Researchers, Priti Parikh and Allan McRobie, in Cambridge, England, suggest that the current cocktail of approaches used to address poverty in the slums often stretches …
May 8, 2009
Posted in Environment at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 7 Comments; add yours
Charitable schemes to send unwanted electronic equipment, including mobile phones and computers to the developing world could be creating more environmental problems than they solve if the equipment becomes entirely obsolete in a short time. Researchers in India have carried out an evaluation of the trade-offs between cost and environmental risks to prove the point.
There are many benefits to schemes intended to provide …
May 6, 2009
Posted in Bird Flu, Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 12 Comments; add yours
Swine flu (H1N1) information leaflets are being delivered to households across the UK today. I suspect they do nothing but increase fear and confuse people, especially as the WHO/UN are about to lower the swine flu alert level.
In the UK, 27 people now have the virus, with 23 in England and four in Scotland and the first P2P transmission in the UK has been reported. But, what happened to …
May 4, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 6 Comments; add yours
Sciscoop.com – the Science News Forum – was relaunched in on May 1. I gave the site a seriously long overdue makeover, re-themed the site, switched to new web hosting, and rebuilt everything from the ground up with the amazing technical assistance of my friend Ariel to make the most of advances in web content management systems.
The archive of well over 3000 articles contributed by more than 4300 members …
May 1, 2009
Posted in Science at 1:00 pm by David Bradley -- 2 Comments; add yours
This week, it’s my The Alchemist chemistry news column that coincides with SpectroscopyNOW updates:
The Alchemist this week catches site through his spyglass of complex interstellar molecules with a hint of raspberry and rum, and a possible way to capture carbon usefully that doesn’t require huge energy input. Geordie scientists have discovered why a breakfast fry-up could be the optimal hangover cure, a NIST team has found a …
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