Five science selections

  • Persistence of vision – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – If persistence of vision were the explanation for how the mind perceives moving pictures in cinema, cinema wouldn't work, because the persistence would constantly produce images of complementary colour to what is on the screen. The Victorian myth was actually debunked in 1912. Hat-tip to Brian Clegg for alerting me to this.
  • Six Steps to Strychnine – Small molecule, complex structure? That could be the most enticing phrase an organic chemist might hear, in the laboratory at least…
  • Slashing the intangibles – Things that are intangible are easiest to cut in a need to demonstrate results and a drive to look impactful. Anything that is notional, hard to measure, early stage is in line to get slashed. This seems true from notional scientific research to libraries and early child education.
  • Dubious "autism cure" – You cannot "cure" autism through diet or probiotics. Claims otherwise debunked.
  • The Henrietta Lacks effect – Is there a recipe for popular science book success?

My latest selection of five science stories on, picked up by David Bradley Science Writer @sciencebase.