Weekly Round-up 2nd June 2014

Its time for a weekly round-up!So, here's what's caught my eye on the internet over the past few week.

1. MIT's "A Slower Speed of Light"
   
   Researchers at MIT have developed a game to help show what movement at approaching the speed of light might feel like to a human observer. The general idea is that 'seeing' what happens will help people to understand the theory of special relativity, which I think it does, but it is a bit trippy and not suitable for the photosensitive!
2. The New Scientist Discusses Why the EU is Good for British Science
   
   It's a bit too late to change the result of last week's elections (unfortunately my council seat went to UKIP), but for future reference here's another reason why being anit-EU might not be such a good thing for UK science and therefore, UK PLC.
3. The Longitude Prize 2014
   The Longitude Prize has been relaunched for 2014, with £10 million up for grabs for a team or individual who solve a 'global challenge', but what will be the chosen challenge? A public vote is currently running to decide. So is this prize actually going to do something useful or will it just be Britain's Got Science? I'm not sure myself, personally I don't see why there shouldn't be some funding for research in all 6 categories. It's definitely a nice idea, but whether it's the best thing to do or not is another question. I also wonder, what will happen to the money if a research council funded project wins the prize.
4. Glamorous Scientist's Aren't the Answer
   
   George Osbourne is trying to encourage young girls into science through the use of 'glamorous' role models. But, as the 'Science, its a Girl Thing' debacle along with actual research shows, this probably isn't going to work and it may well be a waste of time and money. As the above article suggests the real thing we need to do is refresh public perception of STEM so the general view is that anyone can do science and engineering, not just the cleverest few.

And finally I leave you with the first ever thing I've seen on The Big Bang Theory that we actually do in lab... Enjoy!