2013 Nobel Prize – Chemistry

And so now it is the turn of the alchemists, oops sorry, I mean Chemists, to receive an award. What is interesting about this category is that if you look down the list of past winners, you will at best only recognise a few names such as Ernest Rutherford, Marie Curie, and Linus Pauling. Check the rest and … Read more

2013 Nobel Prize – Physics

  For myself, today is perhaps a highlight day for this year’s Nobel Prize – it is time for the Physics prize, and that perhaps betrays a slight bias on my part, because the other categories are just as appropriate (apart from “peace”, but I’ll save that rant until later in the week). So why … Read more

The International day of Coffee

In honour of the International day of coffee, I bring this humble offering to the roasted bean alter … OK, I confess, I’m a few days late, International Coffee day was actually 29th September. Is the 29th Sept really “International Coffee day”, or am I making it up? No, it really was. Says who … … Read more

Why do we still have climate change denial?

As I’m sure you are aware, the much-anticipated report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is out (or at least the first of three parts of AR5), and says with 95% certainty, humans are the dominant cause of global warming since the 1950s. I’ll not dig down into the details too much, there … Read more

Claim: “Proof of aliens” from a real professor at a real university.

The headlines have of course been popping up … Aliens do exist and have been found living in the clouds above the Peak District – Telegraph Balloon sent to edge of atmosphere picks up organisms ‘that can only have come from space’ – Daily Mail OK, so have they actually discovered “alien organisms”? Short answer … Read more