Scientists find the gene for…

  Steve Jones begun his talk at the Henley Literature Festival by breaking the news that he was not the same Steve Jones who played guitar in the Sex Pistols. I was personally quite glad about this because it would have made writing this article on genetics somewhat difficult. The Welsh geneticist and snail fan-iteration...

Survivorship Bias in Science

Let’s imagine for a moment that uncertain job prospects and too much caffeine pushes me over the edge and I gather up every monkey in the world and shut them in a room with a bunch of computers. Sometime later, I return to a lot of flung poo and, among all the random strings of letters typed by the unfortunate (and now cannibalistic)...

Scientific Stockholm Syndrome

Science embodied as a person would be a rubbish date. You’d be so dazzled by Science's awesome that you’d not only end up paying for dinner, but you’d find yourself promising them your undying loyalty. Then, before you know it, you're feeling guilty for not spending all of your time with Science and Ohhh that Kool-Aid looks really...

Swan (Dive) Song

On leaving laboratory science and why it’s going to be awesome (but first a rant) A few years ago, I went on this residential course for postdocs whose years’ experience was greater than their output of Nature/Science/Cell papers. We made paper bridges for hamsters and drew our innermost feelings on giant shields for a reason...

Anthropomorphism Gone Wild

One of my pet hates? Cartoon animals with breasts (I'm opening myself up for some horrendous Google searches, aren't I?). Let's take Madagascar III as an example. All the animals in the first two iterations are relatively animal-like (other than the, you know, part where they can talk). Then we get to the third film...

The Green (Fluorescent Protein)-Eyed Monster

Is there a formula for scientific success, or do some scientists simply ‘get lucky’? When in doubt, draw a graph. This is not so much useful advice as a way of life. The pros and cons of various DNA ladders? The best flavour of soup for ten minute incubation breaks? Or the relationship between things breaking and student proximity?...

Fw: Criminal Gang Initiations in Rural English Villages

If you see a baby seat left by the side of the road, DO NOT STOP!!! Local police have released a warning that criminal gangs are using this ruse to lure women into stopping their cars to check on the baby. The location of the car seat will usually be beside a wooded area, and the woman will be dragged out of view of the road,...

Bingo doesn't get tougher than this

  My theory? Gregg Wallace and John Torode have been replaced with automata programmed with a set number of nonsensical phrases and the ability to construct strings of adjectives that would be better suited to an erotic novel. But Masterchef is a bit like the boy who cried wolf. There is only so many times...

Guru Magazine Issue 10

In their words, "Guru Magazine is an exclusively crowd-sourced, free science-themed magazine. Released bi-monthly, it’s designed to be read and understood by regular people (like you and I). This means, like Wikipedia, it is shaped by its readers and dependent upon its contributors." Issue 10 is out today and is full of great stuff,...

Do you want to put science in the headlines?

If you do then the British Science Association Media Fellowships are for you. Experience first-hand how science is reported by spending 3-6 weeks on a summer placement with a press, broadcast or online journalist such as the Guardian, The Times or BBC. You will work with them to produce well informed, newsworthy pieces...

Faecal Transplants Through the Medium of Cartoons

Faecal transplants are highly effective in treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infections compared to conventional antibiotics. The transplants proved so successful that the trial was stopped early to give other patients the chance to benefit from this slightly icky-sounding treatment, which is proposed to repopulate the...