Category: Science

Why is the Universe is Expanding and Accelerating? Here’s my pet theory… (by a non-physicist)

Scientists don’t normally make much money.

space
An accelerating, expanding Universe?
But Nobel Prize winners Perlmutter, Riess and Schmidt don’t need worry about being short of cash anymore. They can forget eating instant noodles and cobbling together loose change to keep the electricity meter running. Winning the highest accolade in science is more than luck. It wasn’t their lucky stars that bagged them the $1.5 million Prize this week; but their tenacity in studying celestial bodies.

Their discovery – that the Universe is expanding at an ever increasing speed – is simply profound. Although they first discovered it back in 1998, it still causes confusion amongst bespeckled star-gazers and flies in the face of the accepted notion that everything around us is simply the result of a Big Explosion.

No one has yet come up with a wholly convincing reason why stars are speeding away from each other at an increasing rate of knots. I have a little theory that’s been on my mind for a while – and I’d like to share it. Watch out, things are going to get rather theoretical… Read more

The Scary New Computer Program that spots Born Leaders and Predicts Election Results!

Have you ever done a ‘leadership’ exercise?

three cups stackedI’m sure you know the sort of thing – You’re on a corporate “training day” and after being placed into arbitrary groups in a stuffy meeting room, you are given a handful of straws, paperclips and plastic cups and told to build a tower that reaches the ceiling. Oh, and it’s a race.

Normally billed as a light-hearted ‘ice breaker’, such tasks are watched by an eagle-eyed organiser – on the lookout for the ‘natural leaders’. Which people are the ‘doers’; who are the diplomatic types; and who like the sound of their own voice a little too much?! These activities make me cringe – they feel artificial and forced – and worse, presume that true leadership can be identified in a conference room.

But is leadership really an inherent ability that some of us have but others don’t? Researchers from the University of Amsterdam seem to think so. In newly published work, they claim to have developed a computer program that not only predicts who are the best leaders from facial characteristics, but will also tell you who will win the next presidential election…

Read more

“Don’t Blame Me Officer! I was Sleep-Driving…”

In a world of silly excuses for lousy driving, this just about tops the list.

Gimme a break
Busted!
‘Sleep Driving’ isn’t about getting pulled over for driving your Ford Capri drunk. Nor is it taking to the road in a sleep-deprived haze. As improbable as it sounds, ‘sleep driving’ is navigating your gasoline-powered auto whilst completely away-with-the-fairies asleep.

Increasingly, sleep driving has been recognised as a real and dangerous condition by police. Reported most often in The United States, and getting some high profile news coverage, some suggest it’s another quack condition concocted by creative lawyers.

I would wholeheartedly disagree. Sleep driving does happen – but not like how it has been reported in the media. It does seem to happen most often in the USA. No one knows why, but I’d guess it has a lot to do with the wide highways and automatic cars our American friends like to drive… Read more

The Next Legal High: Sun Tanning?

“You’ve got a healthy glow! Have you been somewhere hot?”

No, I’ve just spent the afternoon in the garden!

Blue MagicI am one of those irritating people who get a tan at the mere hint of sunshine. A hundred years ago however, I wouldn’t be gloating. Until fairly recently, women went to extraordinary (and dangerous) lengths in pursuit of a freckle-free, pale complexion. To be tanned was ugly and represented the poor, undesirable ‘working class’. That all changed the moment fashion designer Coco Chanel stepped off a cruise liner in 1922 – with a sun-bronzed skin.

Fast forward to today – no longer are lead-based skin whiteners or blood-letting beauty treatments threatening health. The present day sun-worshipping generation risk skin cancer and – perversely – increased skin aging, immune system damage and blindness.

Increasingly, research is uncovering that tanning has become more than an innocuous way to while away a sunny afternoon: For some it becomes an uncontrollable compulsion. Offering a buzz similar to taking drugs, some experts now claim that ‘Tanorexia’ is a very real addiction that destroys lives… Read more

How much 9/11 TV footage is too much?

UA Flight 175 hits WTC south towerTen years on from the fateful and tragic day, once again our TV screens relive the moments when the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon came under terrorist attack.

Footage of planes exploding into skyscrapers, crumbling buildings and billowing dust clouds are all now indelibly etched into all of our psyches. It was a watershed moment for countries, world religions, and citizens the world over – and now it is right that due homage is paid for the lives wasted and suffering that resulted. For each of us, September 11th 2001 will hold different meanings.

But is repeated coverage of towers tumbling, bodies falling and people dying truly helpful? It may serve to educate the young and provoke solemnity within the rest of us – but continuous looped footage (as some news channels have opted for) accompanied by increasingly tenuous documentaries is possibly doing those who suffered that day a great disservice – and increasing their mental anguish… Read more

Behind the Headlines: ‘9/11 Counselling Drives People Mad’ – Is this Tabloid Journalism at its Worst?

September 11, 2001Where were you when the Twin Towers came down? Most of us can remember.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 stirred nations to war; triggered a decade of ‘Islamophobia’– and some even say – unified the people of USA. It has been the most televised and reported event in modern history.

In the hours and days following 9/11, thousands of counsellors travelled to New York to offer support for the traumatised. Although well-intentioned, were these psychologists actually doing more harm than good?

The Daily Mail recently reported that ‘[post trauma] therapy can drive you mad’. You can read their article here. Most people won’t be able to access the 7,000 word research paper they claim to report (without paying twelve bucks). So, if you’d like to know the truth behind the headline, read on… Needless to say, this is tabloid spin at its finest… Read more

The Mystery of the Meat Sweat!

Another meal, another medical mystery…

eat it!As I savoured the dying moments of the summer bank holiday, I was relishing the last few mouthfuls of a marvellous and hearty meaty meal. Then as the sun started to set, that dreaded line finally came: “Hey, I’ve got a question for your blog!”

Now something of a running joke, the question has become an excuse for friends to ask me all manner of interesting, amusing and distasteful questions. This one was better than most – “Why do we get meat sweats?”

Having indulged in liberal servings of steak, chicken and tuna – all cooked on a Raclette (a quirky Swiss Fondue-BBQ hybrid plate invention) – we knew what would likely come next: Hours spent lying in bed overheating and sweating profusely – this seems to be the punishment for such protein gluttony. But why? What causes the dreaded ‘meat sweat’? Read more

Is being Self-Employed good for your Health?

1of365Working for yourself will make you happier, more satisfied and more productive.

These are the surprising conclusions of over two decades of life-satisfaction research – Which is rather odd; considering that being your own boss means no health insurance, no pension and no end of the month office party (!!)

With increasing pressure on salaried jobs and ever-diminishing public-sector pensions, many more of us could be looking at self-employment. But can longer hours, increased responsibility and more stress really be for everyone? Surely, having to do the company accounts when your friends are watching the Grand Prix is going to take a psychological and physiological toll…?

Taking a speedy look through the most current research, today’s post might help you find out whether driving solo is really good for you and your health… Read more

The Science of Rioting – Is there a reason for the Violence? Is there a Solution?

Violenti scontri per le strade by Il Fatto Quotidiano, on FlickrThe streets of major British cities descended into chaos last night. Again.

Angry stick-weilding, BMX-riding hooded teenagers went on the rampage. Breaking, burning and looting for no apparent reason – the police largely impotent to halt to the anarchy.

It’s been a long time since the UK has seen anything like this. Just what triggered these night-time waves of indiscriminate destruction, no-one seems certain. A peaceful protest three days ago about a questionable police shooting escalated into violence. Now neither shops, homes or landmarks are being spared by the hands, bats and Molotovs of an uncontrolled testosterone-fuelled rage.

Is this the product of a disenfranchised youth? Former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone blames the austerity cuts. London councillor, Mike Fisher called it “pure criminal activity by mindless thugs and morons”. As David Cameron cuts short his summer break to exert some leadership, I’d be very surprised if he’ll be ‘hugging a hoodie‘ in London tonight.

Politicians and victims of the violence will undoubtedly draw their conclusions to make sense of the carnage. Is there a rational scientific viewpoint to take on the reason for all the unrest? Current thinking in psychology, might make you reassess what is going on… Read more

Time to Change how we view ‘Nuclear Power’

This article was recently featured in the Tampa Tribune Newspaper – a discussion with experts about alternative nuclear power. Enjoy!

We are in an increasingly energy-hungry world.

Power On Button
We're living in an increasingly energy dependent world
As we sit enjoying breakfast in well-lit, air conditioned homes, Nigeria is crippled by power outages. The most rapidly developing African nation is blighted by near-continuous black-outs. At night, families huddle around kerosene burners for heat and light.

However, we in the West are not immune to the perils of energy shortages. Oil supplies are dwindling, and the USA’s aging electricity grid is buckling under our insatiable appetite for 24/7 air conditioning, computing and entertainment. Washington, D.C., recently saw a new wave of blackouts — one, ironically, causing a shutdown in the nation’s electricity control center. Unless something is done soon, our future could be a very dark one. Read more