Link Round-Up 17th February 2015

Hello! Here's my pick of what's been going on around the internet in science over the past week.

1. NASA Releases Video Showcasing The Sun's Activity Over the Last 5 Years
   Last week NASA released the highlights reel from their past 5 years of observing the Sun with the Solar Dynamics Observatory. This video is an incredible look at what out sun is really doing every second of every day and is well worth watching.
2. Mars' Mystery Clouds
   Strange plumes appeared over the edge of Mars in March and April 2012 and so far, no one has a definitive explanation of what is going on. Although it's been a while since they were seen, these events are still a puzzle nearly 3 years on. The team investigating this phenomenon have a couple of ideas of what might be happening, but if either are true they mean our current ideas of what Mars' atmosphere is like are wrong. Hopefully, some of the new probes orbiting Mars might shed some light on what's really going on.
3. Shopping while hungry might cost you extra even if you don't buy food.
   It's commonly held knowledge that shopping for food while you're hungry isn't a good idea. Seeing all that food while wanting to eat can make you splurge on all sorts of things you don't need (I'm looking at you Pop-tarts). But new work by Dr Alison Jing Xu who studies decision making suggests that hunger can make you buy more of pretty much anything. So it might be a good idea to make sure you're well fed are before splashing the cash.

And finally, if you haven't already then you really should be watching the Great Comic Relief Bake Off. It's indescribable.

Currently Listening to Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan. My Wheel of Time listen-athon is progressing nicely and it's a great way to experience the fantasy masterpiece. 

Currently Watching Brooklyn Nine Nine. So funny, so good, I'm making sure I've seen every last episode.

Link Round-Up 10th November 2014

Welcome back to the link round-up! Here are a few things on the net that have caught my eye.

1. It's hopefully not crunch time for the Rosetta probe.
   
   It's nearly time for the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta probe to send the Philae robot down onto the surface of the comet Rosetta has been orbiting for a while now. Starting tomorrow the ESA will be webcasting the landing process, which is scheduled to be completed on the 13th. Fingers crossed Philae will make it safely onto the comet! If you would like to find out when interesting things are happening keep an eye on @ESA_Rosetta on twitter.
2. The Your Life campaign launches.
   
   Today the BBC covered the launch of the Your Life campaign, which aims to increase the number of students taking maths and physics at A-Level by 50% over the next 3 years. Although the government backed campaign is looking to raise numbers across the board, they are particularly keen to boost the number of girls doing A-level maths and physics. At the moment all that the website seems to do is to give some interesting stories about where science and engineering might take you, but it suggests it's going to do more in the months ahead, so fingers crossed it'll engage and encourage people to do more science.
3. Watching the birth of a new solar system.
   
   Whilst testing out a new high resolution mode for the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope, astronomers have managed to capture a disc of planet formation around a young star in beautiful detail. What's particularly interested the scientists is that the star at the centre of this new planetary system would normally be thought of as too young for planets to form around it. Therefore, this one image could lead to a re-think on how planets form! Now, if that's not a great test run I don't know what is.

And finally, as season 8 of Doctor Who came to a pretty good conclusion this weekend here's a Fan Made 50th Anniversary Trailer from last year I'll be watching until Christmas.

Currently Listening to The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, I've become an audio book junkie and its a really efficient way to listen to the ultimate fantasy epic that is the Wheel of Time.
Currently Watching nothing! I've finished my current series and I need to pick something new or an old favourite to re-watch.

Link Round-Up 14th October 2014

Sorry for the delay on getting this post up, yesterday was a busy one! I set up my first lot of students on their lab experiment, went to a careers fair and was a conduit to google maps while I navigated supervisor to Staples. That's not even a joke. 

As one of the useful things I did yesterday was all about graduate recruitment, and as it's the time of year when quite a few firms are hiring, for week's link round up I thought I'd look at some of the different graduate careers websites.

1. Prospects
   Prospects is one of the biggest recruitment websites. The best thing about prospects is that it doesn't just have job adverts, it also has careers advice, career matching quizzes and extensive information on what you can really expect from pretty much any career you can think of. Prospects doesn't just do jobs, it also has a lot of information about post-graduate study, making it a one stop shop for what to do when you graduate! As a tool for searching for work Prospects seems to be a very popular place to advertise graduate jobs as well as industrial placement years and summer internships, so its a good starting point for a job search.
2. Target Jobs
   Target is another of the big recruitment sites offering graduate job listings and internship opportunities. Like Prospects, it has plenty of career's advice and some good pages on applications. They don't have as much information on specific jobs, but it's certainly worth checking out for some extra opportunities and application information.
3. Milkround
   Another of the big recruitment websites, Milkround isn't that great for advice, but it does list a lot of work opportunities.
4. University Careers Website (Leeds)
   Most universities will have their own careers web pages. They tend to have lots of information on choosing a career and on how to make the best application possible. The only downside is that any vacancies they advertise may only be viewable to their own students.

And finally, here's Foxes cover of Don't Stop Me Now from Mummy on the Orient Express. Or, the even more awesome Brett Domino Trio's Doctor Who Song 

Link Round-up 29th September 2014

Happy Monday everyone! Here's this week's link round-up:

1. Sexism in Space.
   Ok so I've gone for a slightly sensationalist title here. On the positive side Yelena Serova is the first Russian woman on the International Space Station! On the negative side at the pre-launch press conference Yelena was asked about make-up, her hair and if her daughter would miss her. Well done to the press for continuing to be the problem and not the solution.
2. The heart of the milky way smells like rum.
   Yes that's right, the alcoholic drink! Thanks to radio astronomy it's been discovered that a dust cloud close to the centre of the Milky Way contains molecules of ethyl formate, which gives raspberries their taste and rum its smell. However, the similarities to more earthly rum don't end there. The same dust cloud also contains billions of litres of alcohol! Unfortunately we won't be partying there any time soon as the gas cloud is around 27,000 light years away.
3. 
   
   Too few fellowships of the Royal Society for female researchers.
   On 19th September the Royal Society announced who would be recipients of this year's University Research Fellowships. Unfortunately out of  the 43 awards made only 2 were made to women. Now, could this be due to around only 5% of the applicants being female? No, in fact 19% of applications were from women, which isn't great, but that's almost 1 in 5. On top of this, looking at previous years the percentage of awards that were made to women was more comparable to the percentage of women applying in the first place. In the article above Professor Athene Donald discusses the figures, issues and what could be done to improve things in the future.

And finally... The piano guys are back with a medley of Batman music! 

Currently Reading The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks. The same book as last time because its 816 pages long!
Currently Watching Psycho Pass. In the near future people are constantly psychologically screened to assess their mental health with the aim of catching those with a 'criminal mindset' before they can ever harm society. Psycho Pass follows investigations of the Public Safety Bureau as they try catch both active and latent criminals. Spoiler alert, it's pretty awesome.

Link Round-Up 15th September 2014

It's September so, it's a time of fresh starts for a lot of people. However, some things aren't changing, like how it's time for a link round-up!

1. The Rosetta probe has a landing site!
   The European Space Agency (ESA) have selected a landing site for the robotic comet lander Philae from the Rosetta probe! The landing area, catchily named Site J, is far from a perfect place to land the robot, but it's the best available option. All being well Philae will land on the comet on 11th November, where it will hopefully make the first ever measurements of a comet, from a comet. To follow Rosetta's progress, pop over to the ESA's dedicated Rosetta blog at http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta .
2. Scotland and Science Funding
   With the Scottish independence vote to be held later this week, the BBC has reported on the discussion about how Scotland leaving the union may effect scientific research. It has previously been reported that a 'yes' vote would end existing funding arrangements, so an independent Scotland will need set up their own funding bodies. As a result it seems scientists aren't very certain that independence is a good thing, with 69% telling Times Higher Education that they will vote 'no'. 
3. After some debate, it looks like the Higgs boson is decaying as predicted.
   Scientists at the LHC can't directly detect the Higgs boson, instead they look at the particles it becomes when it decays. The Higgs decays into photon (light particle) pairs, but the LHC has detected more photons than expected. This has prompted speculation of a second Higgs or other particles being involved in Higgs decay. However, after crunching more and more of the Higgs data, researchers at CERN now think that the Higgs is behaving as current theories would predict after all. 

And finally... if you've not heard of the Lego Academic twitter feed, check out this article on the New Scientist website.
Also, I'm launching a new blog! Overly Excited Opinions is a review blog, so if you want to know what I think about media and literature, rather than science, head on over and check it out.

Currently Reading The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks, the next volume in the Lightbringer series. I'm not very far in yet, but the fall out after the events of the last book is still being felt and it's shaping up to be a great read. I just hope my favourite characters survive!
Currently Listening to The Awesome Mix Volume 1 aka the soundtrack to one of the best films of the summer, Guardians of the Galaxy. Will it make me want to dance around the lab? Why yes, of course it will, and I don't think I'll be able to resist.

Weekly Round-up Monday 11th August

When you read this I'll have just finished having an incredibly geeky weekend at Nine Worlds Geekfest in Heathrow. If you want to know more about my convention adventures you're in luck as I'll be bringing you my Nine Worlds convention diary next week. However, today it's time for a weekly round-up and in honour of Nine Worlds I'm going to be looking at some of the conventions coming up soon which you should be looking at going to.

1. Loncon 3 (World Con)
   On Thursday World Con, the world science fiction convention, comes to London in the form of Loncon3. Loncon will be celebrating all kinds of science fiction and fantasy works from TV to tabletop board gaming with a strong focus on literature. Some highlights include George RR Martin and Robin Hobb's readings and panels. Attendees will never be stuck for something to do that's for sure.
2. Sheffield Film and Comic Con
   The first ever Sheffield Film and Comic Con will be taking place later this month at the Sheffield Arena! So far guests include Burn Gorman, Eve Myles, Paul McGann and John Rhys Davis to name but a few. As it's so close to home for me it would be rude not to go and I wouldn't be taking full advantage if I didn't use it as a fantastic shopping opportunity either!
3. MCM Expo
   I've never been to an MCM Expo, something which I'm planning to change in the next year. MCM run a pretty packed program of conventions all over the country, so there's bound to be one relatively close by (normal venues include Manchester, London and Birmingham). The only downside is that guests are often not announced to the last minute so you don't always know who you're going to be seeing.
4. Nine Worlds 2015
   Should you be going next year? Definitely! Ok maybe wait until you read my diary,  (I'm writing this before the convention so you never know, it might not have been good this year) but then get your tickets booked at the super early bird rate. Nine Worlds is one of the more expensive conventions on this list, but it is also one of the ones with the most to do, so it all balances out.

And finally, it's slightly old news by now, but the season 8 premier of Doctor Who will be streaming to cinema's around the country, along with bonus content and a live Q and A from London's Leicester Square Odeon. Also, tickets are now on sale for the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular, a concert celebrating the music of Doctor Who, conducted by the amazing Ben Foster, which should be coming to an Arena near you.

Currently Reading The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, so I'm behind the times, but I'm very much enjoying catching up on this excellent book. If you like Brent Weeks or GRRM you'll love this!
Currently Playing Dungeons and Dragons 5E, I may not have known what to expect at first, but I really love 5E so far and I can't wait to get my hands on the players handbook later this week. If you want to get into Dungeons and Dragons and don't know where to start the D&D Starter Set is a great place to begin your quest.

Weekly Round-up 28th July 2014

Happy Monday everyone! Here are a selection of things that have caught my eye on the internet during the past week.

1. Making plastic from food scraps!
   A research group in Italy has come up with a new way to make plastic from food scraps. You may have been given bioplastic bags (I believe One Stop use them) in the past which are sometimes biodegradable and tend to be made from plant starches. However, these are sourced from food crops, which isn't a great option due to the world's growing demand for food. The new plastics come from unusable food scraps from farming processes and the method to make the plastics is quicker and simpler. Unfortunately, due to the costs of manufacturing it may not currently be industrially viable to scale up this new method, but maybe in the future we'll be able to have more environmentally friendly plastics!
2. New Scientist looks at some of the new technologies to help people with disabilities.
   This week the New Scientist have produced a slideshow of some of the recent developments in technologies to help people with disabilities. From electronic chips to provide eyesight to robot carers, have a look to see what awesome inventions might be improving peoples lives in the future.
3. New form of radiotherapy for breast cancer treatment.
   A new form of radiotherapy is going to be offered on the NHS in the near future which will allow breast cancer to be treated with a single targeted dose of radiotherapy. In this new treatment radiation is delivered directly to an early stage tumour during surgery. The new method has a similar level of effectiveness to standard radiotherapy, except it reduces the level of radiation that other organs receive, along with the number hospital visits for the patient.

And finally, it was San Diego Comic Con last week and along with exciting new concept images for the next Avengers  film the biggest surprises came during the Game of Thrones panel with announcements of the new cast members for season 5 and the characters who won't make it from the books into the show. However, the biggest news came when GRR Martin dropped a revelation about a certain character who was omitted/changed in the TV show appearing in the prologue to The Winds of Winter (Book 6 of A Song of Ice and Fire). GRRM also said that he wouldn't be writing a season 5 episode so he can finish Winds of Winter. Fingers crossed this means we might be seeing Winds of Winter on bookshelves in the near future (haha, I wish).

Currently Reading Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. Bad Science is a fantastic book which looks to lift the lid on science in the media, homoeopathy and the current obsession with nutritionists. It's a fantastic book which I'll be talking about in more detail in another post in the near future.

Currently Watching Gurren Lagan on Netflix. All the Anime released this often discussed anime to Netflix in preparation for it's DVD/BluRay release next month. I'm very glad they did because I'm currently enjoying having its maximum rediculosity fill my evenings before Doctor Who lands next month!

Weekly Round-up 14th July 2014

Happy Monday! Here's this week's link round-up for you of freshly squeezed internet goodness.

1. What happens if you stick your hand in liquid nitrogen?
   Ever wondered what happens if you stick your hand in liquid nitrogen? I hadn't until this IFL Science post popped up on my facebook feed. Don't get me wrong, I love fun with liquid nitrogen, I've seen it poured onto hands and floors, as well as make a magnet float but still, dipping my hand into it never crossed my mind. However, it seems it has crossed someone's mind so check out the link and video above to see what happens!
2. Common science myths debunked.
   This week IFL Science have also lifted the lid on some common science myths that just won't go away. Have a look and see if you learn something!
3. The LHC warms up by cooling down
   CERN have begun cooling down the LHC ready to start a new round of experiments in early 2015, after a 3 year stop for repairs, which will let the LHC smash particles together at even higher energies. After lots of data analysis the Higgs appears to be behaving as expected under the standard model, but there is so much more to look for such as new particles and super symmetry (the LHC has already ruled out some forms of this). Fingers crossed the switch on goes well, but in the meantime I'm sure there will be further news on the properties of the Higg's Boson coming our way.

Finally, this week has seen two exciting reveals; firstly the cover for 'A Wicked Thing', my friend Rhiannon's first novel (coming out in Feb 2015 in the US)! Secondly, the first full trailer for Doctor Who Series 8, roll on August 23rd!

Currently Watching Tokyo Ghoul and Terror in Resonance aka this summer's 2 most hyped anime series. After 1 and 2 episodes respectively I'm impressed, both have interesting premises and characters as well as directors with impressive pedigrees so I can't wait to see what happens next! (I also tried Sailor Moon Crystal, but erm... I think I'll just watch the abridged series of that...) You can catch both series legally and free on wakanim.co.uk in the UK now.

Currently Playing (well about to start playing) Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition, and I'm both excited and apprehensive about it. As a fan of the much maligned 4E version of the game, the striping down of powers (I like being epic), optional nature of tactical combat and grids is a little bit worrying. However, I love the new back story features in character creation, and the look of main line adventure series, so fingers crossed it turns out to be good!

Weekly Round-up 30th June 2014 (Return of the Round-up)

Today after a short break the weekly link round-up is back! As well as looking at the things I've found interesting online I thought I would add on a little nod to the things I'm currently enjoying in the form of books, games, music and TV.

1. Super Cool Livers for Super Transplants
   The New Scientist Reports that an experiment to see if cryopreservation of livers allows them to maintain function after days in storage. At the moment a liver may only remain functional for half a day, meaning distance can effect who receives the organ. However, by freezing livers treated with chemicals to keep cell fluids liquid and protect cell membranes, researchers found that a liver transplant within 3 days of freezing maintained function in all rat tests. The researchers are now working to see if they can repeat their results in a large animal model, with a comparable to human liver size. Fingers crossed this advance will make it easier to transport organs to the people who need them.
2. Gravitational Waves or Dust?
   After a huge media storm around the discovery of gravitational waves, two independent analyses have concluded that the observed results could have been caused by dust in space. Interestingly, the discovery was initially revealed before the research paper had been peer reviewed, a process the initial study is currently undergoing. It will be interesting to see if the paper makes it through to a journal, but whatever happens it looks like we may need further data to conclusively prove the existence of gravity waves.
3. NASA Tests Their New Flying Saucer
   NASA have been testing a new form of landing craft which may be a key stepping stone on our journey to the red planet. The NASA flying saucer test was designed to examine the performance of a pair of technologies designed to slow a craft down in order to land on a planet. The key driver in doing this is to make it possible for heavier vehicles to be able to land safely. Fingers crossed this test and the tests planned later in the year help pave the way for our first manned missions to our nearest neighbour. 

And finally... The clock strikes 12... 

It's coming! The BBC have finally announced that Doctor Who will return on 23rd August (bank holiday Saturday) with the feature length episode "Deep Breath" ushering in the Capaldi era. Check out the explosive teaser below.

Currently Reading: Stray Souls by Kate Griffin, a fantasy novel set in modern day London where underground tickets have magical properties and sorcerers draw power from the rhythms of the city (the same world initially introduced in Griffin's Matthew Swift books). It's a fantastic book on its own, but I'd read the previous Matthew Swift books (starting with a Madness of Angels) to get the most out of it.

Currently Watching: Avatar: The Legend of Korra, the sequel series to the Last Airbender, which for my money, far surpasses the original series. It follows the story of new avatar Korra and her struggle to bring balance to Republic City. I'm motoring through the first series so I can't wait for the second to come out on DVD!

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!

Weekly Round-up 19th May 2014

It's been a busy few weeks in science with Royal Society appointments, paper retractions and merger deals. Here's a few of the links, stories and posts from around the internet that have caught my eye.

1. Statin Safety
   
   It seems like there are a lot of studies being refuted and withdrawn at the moment. This week, portions of a paper claiming that statins maybe a high risk treatment have been withdrawn from the British Medical Journal. But is it too little too late? The paper questioning the safety of the drugs has caused confusion and worry for many patients. In many ways this situation highlights the importance of transparent research practices, rigorous review and the way the media represents research to the public. 
2. The Royal Society and Women in Science
   There has been a lot of talk over the recent wave of new appointments to the Royal Society and how the number of female members of the UK's most prestigious scientific society trails the equivalent society in the US. Prof. Athene Donald tackles the difficult subject of how we might be able to increase female membership, without resorting to tokenism. 
3. ITER Begins to Take Shape
   The question of how we're going to power our world in the future is still hanging over us and a project to help us solve that problem is finally beginning to take shape. The ITER project is aiming to meet our energy needs through nuclear fusion, the process which happens in the sun where energy is released by sticking atoms together,  which produces helium (a useful resource) and other common atoms in the process. Now, after a rather long and drawn out start up phase, some of the more complex and important parts of ITER are beginning to take shape. Although there are still substantial delays going forward, fingers crossed this international project will get a handle on how we can harness fusion power on Earth. 
4. Pfizer + AstraZeneca = ??
   After a few weeks of uncertainty it seems like the saga of whether Pfizer will take over UK based AstraZeneca and how this will effect UK science, is finally reaching a conclusion. Pfizer have faced large opposition, as there is a significant fear that Pfizer might simply take Astra's drugs portfolio and scale down drug research in the UK. However, after Pfizer's final bid for Astra was rejected this morning it looks like UK jobs and science will be protected for the foreseeable future.

And finally here's Smeagol Sings 'Empire State of Mind' for your viewing pleasure.

Link Roundup 5th May 2014

Happy May Day bank holiday! I hope everyone is enjoying a well earned break from work today. While you relax, here's my selection of interesting links from around the internet for your viewing pleasure.

1. Cambridge's Vice Chancellor Talks Scientific Publishing and Open Access 
   The VC at Cambridge has been talking about scientific publishing and how he's not very happy with the amount the university are spending with scientific publishing giant Elsevier. In addition he's also been talking about how easy it would be to go open access, in view of the large number of journals which charge for publishing and whether pushing to publish in free open access journals would hurt a researcher's career prospects. I think this is a really interesting debate as a lot of the research with the most impact is either published behind a pay wall, or open access at a rather large expense to the university. Going forward there is no doubt that the free open access vs. paid open access vs. subscription debate is going to be rattling on for a long time.
2. 5 Things Successful PhD Students Don't Do
   I came across this interesting article via Athene Donald's twitter feed and it's definitely an interesting read for any aspiring/current PhD students. There's definitely a few things in there that I for one really need to remember! 
3. Flipping the Women in Science Debate
   As well as talking about the lack of women in science, shouldn't we also be talking about the lack of men in nursing, teaching and other caring professions? I would definitely say yes! Equality is a two way street; men need to feel welcome and be encouraged into the more 'care focussed' professions just as much as women should be encouraged and accepted into 'technical' careers. This interesting article provides a spot light onto the disparities in the number of men and women in different profession and wonders if we need a pipeline into the caring professions for men, just like the one being put into place to help women into science and technology. Thank you to the Women In Science, Engineering and Technology Group at the University of Leeds for dropping this into my inbox this week.
4. From Adult to Embryonic Through Cloning
   After recent controversies in stem cell research, I came across some good news for the field this week! A team of researchers have cloned skin cells into a donated egg to create insulin producing cells as a possible future cure for diabetes. This form of creating stem cells, while being bundled up in ethical issues, allows for the production of stem cells without genetic reprogramming, which will hopefully avoid the produced cells  being a cancer risk. Fingers crossed this could be a step in the right direction for research into stem cell production.

And finally here's former Doctor Who companion Arthur Darvill singing his own special version of 'Let It Go' from Frozen.

Link Round-up 7th April 2014

Here's my this weeks round-up of things on the net that have caught my eye:

1. The world's first trial of human suspended animation has been green lit in the US.
   It seems like science fiction my soon become science fact as the FDA approve the first human trials of cryopreservation. In the trial 10 patients with serious knife or gunshot wounds will be placed in suspended animation, hanging between life and death, in an attempt to create more time for doctors to save their lives. This incredible technology has been previously trialled successfully in pigs and, if successful, could revolutionise surgical treatment. 
2. The Guardian highlights some famous 'secret scientists'.
   It's a little known fact that scientists can been seen in all areas of public life as directors, sports people, actors and musicians. This article in the guardian highlights some famous faces with strong scientific acumen who left the lab for pastures new.
3. NASA releases a video of a recent solar flare.
   Scientists at NASA have captured a solar flare in ultraviolet light on the 2nd April. It's been re-colourised and uploaded to youtube so everyone can watch this incredible phenomenon.

And finally, it's a week of new beginnings as Game of Thrones returns, filming on Star Wars Episode VII has begun and the second series of The Musketeers goes into production for BBC 1 today. But what should you do while waiting a full year to get season 4 of Game of Thrones on DVD (come on HBO, a year? no wonder its the most pirated show ever)? Or to help beat the no Musketeer's blues? Watch Radio 1's Game of Moans and Wolverine the Musical of course. Then go see Captain America: The Winter Soldier, because its awesome!

Link Round-up 10th March

As always, its time for a look at some of the best links I've found over the past two weeks.

1. GLaDOS Explains Nuclear Fission and Fusion.
   If you're not clued up on what nuclear fission and fusion are, or if you just want an excuse to listen to GLaDOS (as played by 

   Ellen McLain

   ) related things like me, check out this youtube video from NASA. If that's just not enough GLaDOS for you, then why not check out the amazing Pacific Rim, where she voices the Jaeger AI systems.
2. What is Academic Success on International Women's Day 
   Among the many, many articles released for International Women's Day, I particularly liked this one by Prof. Athene Donald focussing on how women define academic success. Another article well worth a read is "Don't just use women in science- listen to them too" by Alice Bell.
3. Cartilage Replacement from Your Fat
   Following on from last week's post on tissue engineering; this week research was published on using stem cells from fat to grow cartilage. In the work  fat stem cells (which can be accessed through liposuction) were put on a synthetic scaffold, and were directed to produce cartilage-like tissue. One of the possible applications of this work could be in providing ear reconstruction for children, as the tissue should be able to grow with the child or in improving on the previous artificial trachea transplant by kick starting it with fat stem cells. If you're interested in reading the actual paper, it is open access and can be viewed here. As a health warning the BBC article is full of hype and a closer look at the actual paper shows that this is a very early proof of concept study so, even though these are exciting results, don't expect to see this technology in use for a while yet!

And finally... Peter Capaldi Appears in 12th Doctor Costume at the BBC Worldwide Showcase. I don't know about you, but that picture revealing Peter Capaldi's look as the 12th Doctor was pretty funny. Thankfully, we can now see it in a more natural natural way (and looking pretty good) in Peter Capaldi's appearance at the BBC Worldwide Showcase. 

BREAKING NEWS!

Fellow Yorkshire geeks rejoice! Showmasters have just announced they will be running a Sheffield Film and Comic Con at the arena on 30th and 31st August  for the first time ever this year! The event appears to have Sky Atlantic and Anime League support, so I'm crossing my fingers for lots of Game of Thrones and anime related shenanigans. 

Link Round-up 24th February

Here's a quick look at a few of the things that have caught my eye on the internet over the past 2 weeks.

1. Nature Talks p Values  
   Nature makes the round-up again this week. However, this time it's because they've published a lovely tutorial on the use and abuse of statistics in science. In particular they focus on the cult of the p value, a number which is often used to denote whether the result of a study could be replicated by random chance. Hopefully this article will educate others (as it has me) on the right and wrong times for using statistical tests.
2.  CERN Starts Unveiling its 60th Anniversary Plans
   CERN turns 60 on the 29th September and are planning events to commemorate '60 years of science for peace' both at CERN itself and in its member states. So, keep an eye out on the events website to see what's going to be happening near you!
3. What is the Higgs Boson and Higgs Field?
   This week  Professor Peter Higgs was interviewed by Professor Jim Al-Khalili on BBC Radio 4 and gave his explanation of what the Higgs Boson is. Which was a really great thing to listen to as a physicist, but it wasn't very accessible to the wider public. So, I thought I'd point you towards Professor John Ellis' beautifully clear explanation of the Higgs Field and the Higgs Boson.
4. Video Games Need More Women
   Keza MacDonald presents a fantastic article over at the Guardian looking at some of the main reasons developers avoid creating more female characters and why they don't quite add up. 

And finally, here's some floppy disc drives playing Tainted Love by Soft Cell as programmed by youtuber gigawipf. How awesome is that!

Link Round-up 10th February

Here's a quick look at of some of the things I found note worthy and interesting over the last week.

1. Michael Mosley Infests Himself with Parasites
   Michael is a TV doctor known for doing the extreme.  I believe some of his previous escapades have involved sleep deprivation and trying sodium thiopental (the truth drug), so he is definitely an extreme science broadcaster. But for me this is something else. The fact that the results will help medicine is fantastic, but will the actual program be real science or all shock factor? We will wait and see.
2. Disk Detective 
   Two Friday's ago citizen science supremos zooniverse launched their newest project, Disc Detective. This time the task is to locate regions of dust around stars similar to an asteroid field to help identify currently forming or recently formed planets. If you're not familiar with citizen science projects they're all about using lots of people to do data ID tasks we can't leave computers to do, and they give everyone the change to do some cutting edge science from the comfort of their own home.
3.  Nature and Sexism
   Ok so rather than one link, this is a number of links. Nature is one of the biggest and most respected research journals in the world. If science makes the news there is a good chance it was published in Nature. However, Nature has been embroiled in some controversy over its handling of the response to a very interesting article it published on its own stats for female author and reviewership, which declared that it must do better to get more women published and involved in the publishing process. Which is good, right? They acknowledge the problem and pledge to do something. But that was not the end. Things really kicked off when they published an inflammatory letter saying that, in short, research quality is king and that a male dominated reviewing panel is not a problem, followed by a hasty retraction of the publication of the letter. Which all leaves a question hanging in the air. Why did someone not recognise the rubbish they were about to print and stop it in the first place? What does the fact the letter ended up in nature say about the views of some of their staff? The organisation as a whole may be working to try to even out gender bias, but is everyone really on board with that? These are all questions that bother me. I know some people don't want to see the wood for the trees when it comes to under representation of women in science. However, it starts to become worrying when someone at such a big organisation rubber stamps that view. Reader comments are comments and don't reflect the views of an organisation, but I find it concerning none the less. Here is a fantastic blog post by Kelly Hills giving her view on the situation in much more depth and clarity than I have, which you should definitely check out.

And finally... Patrick Stewart Does Sesame Street
Benedict Cumberbatch's Sesame Street Spot may be the top Sesame Street celebrity appearance of the moment, but it will never beat Patrick Stewart's for me!