Random Thoughts

Great - after posting a blog on alpha_strong, I am leaving today for Mexico. My internet connection is going to be shaky, and right now I am living on the free airport wifi in Paris. But fortunately…

Not Hitler. This is Edward Burton, also known as Eric Arthur Blair, also known as George Orwell By Luke Seaber, University College London If you had been walking down Mile End Road in London on…

Best to keep it under the covers? Lisa S. By Sally O'Reilly, The Open University Sexual intercourse has been getting it on for a long time. Not only has it been boosting the human population since…

Four months ago I started a diet, as my weight had gone above my comfort zone (77kg, when my optimal weight is of about 70kg). I basically implemented a regime (which has worked in the past) of about…

Tomorrow I will be eating and science will barely be on my mind. It will be on some minds. Some people will be trying to find a creative way to make vegan turkey, or free-range stuffing, and…

Jacob and Wilhelm were Grimm. Wikimedia Commons By Marguerite Johnson, University of Newcastle Fairy tales have a tumultuous and fragile history. They originated as tales told by “folk”. They were…

Wired magazine devotes a special issue each November to a "What's Next?" for the upcoming year - and that means it is time to think about what will happen in the world of science in 2015. Wired…

Open access journals charge a fee to publish an article and make the content free to read. Traditional journals charge a subscription - they say the cost is needed because of 'added value' and that…

There is a culture where 98 percent of the people eat red meat, 50 percent of the people are obese and 45 percent of people smoke cigarettes. Yet they have incredible longevity. All of those…

Ready, set, type! Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock By Sally O'Reilly, The Open University We live in a culture obsessed with speed: fast-food, Twitter, overnight celebrity, instant make-overs and cutting…