Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
If you thought that Helium (He) was common, then you would be quite right about that because it is the second most abundant element in the Universe. In fact about 24% of both the Sun and also Jupiter is Helium. However … and this is the real kicker for us … this very abundant and common element is excessively rare … Read more
“WE can go it alone, we don’t need them” has been a LEAVE stance, and yet if the UK is indeed to thrive outside the EU then there will need to be a considerable scientific investment to make up for the sudden absence of EU funding. It also of course goes way beyond the pure … Read more
We have read the entire human genome, and so now a new project has been initiated to take the next step. There is now a 10 year plan to create an entire synthetic human genome. We have been pouring over the billions of base pairs within the human genome for some time now and that … Read more
Climate Change relentlessly rolls forward. 2015 was the warmest year on record ever, but 2016 is now well on track to shatter that record. Consider this … Oct 2015 was the warmest Oct ever. Nov 2015 was the warmest Nov ever. Dec 2015 was the warmest Dec ever. Jan 2016 was the warmest Jan ever. … Read more
Did you know that coffee was part of the Group 2b list of foods that are “carcinogenic to humans”? (Group 2b meant that officially it “possibly” caused cancer). Well if you did, and still drank it, then you can now rest a tad easier. This is because WHO have now removed it from that list. You can … Read more
The Periodic Table has been extended and we now have four new elements on it. Here is an illustration of them (via Phil Plate) … The Official Press Release So who gets to pick such things? The answer is that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) does this, and the process involved is … Read more