Science writer, editor, and presenter
It's early in the morning. Â The caffeine from your morning cup of coffee has yet to fully kick in, but as you turn the corner, you see your bus. Â It's just pulling in to the stop and is only 50m away. Â You know you can make it, so you break into a sprint. It takes …
It's been 25 weeks since we started this epic journey through the alphabet together, and sadly we are nearing the end. Â At this critical juncture, just one letter away from the finality of zed, I thought I would bestow my Pharaoh powers on to you, dear readers. Comment below with your burning science questions, and …
A lot happened in the summer of 1954.  The world's first atomic power station opened in Russia, Alan Turing committed suicide, the CIA set up a coup in Guatemala, food rationing finally ended in the UK, and the first edition of Sports Illustrated was published.  Some pretty big world events, right? You know what else happened? …
It's summer time. Â And you know what that means? Sure, summer means picnics, barbecues, and sun. But it also means the coming of the most dreaded outdoor villains: wasps. Some people freeze up when they see the stripey serial stingers, others try to wave them away. Â I prefer the stoic strategy of a short, sharp …
A friend of mine just got some new camera equipment and we filmed this little promo for the blog: Enjoy! Thanks to Kyle Viterbo (@SciDidWhat) for the filming and editing.
This drawing, of a man contained within a circle and a square, is one of the most recognizable in the world.  It seems to fascinate people and has a way of transcending time and space to connect with its viewers.  It also is really easy to parody. The original document, pictured above and created by Leonardo Da …
Quick, without looking it up: how many elements are there on the periodic table? If I had asked that question before the first hydrogen bomb exploded in 1952, the answer would have been 98.  In that year, humans succeeded in synthesizing the first element that the crucibles of stars and supernovae hadn't supplied to Earth: Einsteinium. Since …
Continue reading "U is for Ununoctium and the Island of Stability"
Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. They're versatile! No, I'm not talking about taters.  I'm talking about tardigrades: quite possibly the most durable creatures on Earth. They might also be the strangest combination of cute and terrifying anybody has ever seen looking through a microscope. Tardigrades, also known as water bears, evolved 500 million …
Consider the following: schooling fish, roundabouts, segregation, and human consciousness are all examples of the same fundamental property of the world.  It may seem crazy to suggest that roundabouts may be interesting in some sense, but bear with me. The property in question, and this week's topic, is emergence.  In each case individual entities, by following simple …
An excerpt from my favourite scene in the 1987 film, the Princess Bride: Westley: Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist. [R.O.U.S. attacks Westley] Westley: Ahhhh!!! Why is that my favourite scene?  Because I laugh every time I watch it.  The R.O.U.S. is just so ridiculous-looking and shows up right after Westley disbelieves its existence. For the devoted …
Jon Farrow 