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Yes, it’s a list! Five Profoundest Scientific Breakthroughs of 2013
Okay, 2013 is as good as over, and you’re no doubt currently bombarded by countdowns and reviews describing cultural highlights from the last 12 months. Basically, it was all twerking, One Direction,...
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All-natural produce is full of (eek!) chemicals!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, to blogger James Kennedy, for this: You see, regular foodstuffs found in nature are chock full of E-numbers, sugars, acids, and things ending in “-ose” and “-dehyde”...
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Favourites List (24.01.14)
What else could it be? (Pic: USAToday.com) The week in six bits: 1. NASA startled by ‘Jelly Donut’ on Mars. Probably not a doughnut, though. Personally, I’m more startled by how dumbed down USA Today...
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Won’t somebody *please* think of the validity?
I’ve concluded that they’re right. Mobile phones DO addle the brain. They DO interfere with competent cognition. They DO cause people to become rambling, incoherent, and negligent thinkers, and to...
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Results being “due to” causes somehow doesn’t imply causality
So, last week I had the pleasure of enjoying this delicious meal while exploring some backstreet neighbourhoods in Muscat, Oman. See can you guess what the green stuff is… Here’s a closer look… And...
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Some pieces and bits
It’s early January. That time when other people’s New Year’s resolutions mean that you get lots of emails. About really important stuff that you simply must deal with, like, immediately. These folks...
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Um Starbucks, could you not?
The Starbucks I go to is now selling magic beans. Well, matcha tea lattes actually, which are like magic beans in the sense that they possess special powers: Detox the body High in antioxidants Helps...
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Floss for fertility? Really?
As slogans go, the BBC News’s “Floss for Fertility” was definitely the catchiest. It was certainly more pleasing to the ear than alternatives such as “Brush Regularly to Get Pregnant” (as appeared in...
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What women want…to be exploited by capitalists
I don’t know much about Marie Claire, but it appears to be some sort of magazine/website for people who hate women. At least, that’s the conclusion I drew from reading this story in their UK edition’s...
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Seven billion Earthlings: So what’s the problem?
Typically, I get uncomfortable when I’m in the presence of more than, say, five other people. Therefore, you might expect me to be particularly perturbed by reports that the world’s population reached...
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Scientific advice for Christmas (Original Soundtrack), Part 1
It’s Christmas (kind of). This is a science blog (kind of). And so, therefore, I am obliged to offer you… …A SCIENCE-OF-CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! Woo-hoo! As with all Christmas-related activities, blogging...
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Want to lose weight? Hint: Do NOT eat chocolate cake
Mmmmm. Chocolate cake. As in “cake” with “chocolate” in it. It’s a straightforward, yet somehow radical, concept. Except it’s not that radical. It’s just everyday, common-or-garden, run-of-the-mill...
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One year in: The Science Bit’s greatest hits
I am generally nonplussed by birthdays. And I realise that blog posts about blog posts can sometimes be boring. However, as I’m an obsessive hoarder and a data geek, in this case I am going to make an...
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Chocolate keeps you thin? Fat chance!
It seems like only yesterday I was writing about the idea that scoffing mounds of chocolicious contraband might actually be — bear with me — bad for your physical health. That’s right. Call me Doctor...
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Happy Meals make you unhappy? Not so fast…
So here is even more scientific research into the non-obvious consequences of eating junk food. As regular readers will know, we’ve recently heard of a couple of studies claiming that eating chocolate...
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Cancer: Misinformation is a risk factor too
People who know me personally will know that I don’t take cancer lightly (for various reasons I won’t go into here). So I am always a bit reluctant to criticize people who make the fight against...
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Water on the brain
It’s coming up to that time of year again (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least). The daylight creeps longer into the evening hours, leaves on tree and shrub begin to glow in clouds of verdant...
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Aside: More on the science of college exams
Yesterday I drew attention to a study claiming that students who bring water into exams get better grades. I made the point that at this time of year the media are often keen to report ‘science news’...
View ArticleOverweight people have lower death risk…#yesterdaysnewstoday
Recipe for a long life: overweight people have lower death risk #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/tk7UxlYJ — The Independent (@Independent) January 1, 2013 I must be getting old. Things are...
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Correlation? Causation? YOU decide! (It’s as good an approach as any…)
So, I’ve concluded that we might as well give up on trying to spread the word about the correlation-causation fallacy. People just don’t seem to be getting it. I do appreciate that there are...
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Bad things are bad for you. As are good things.
It’s all bad news this week, I’m afraid. Literally. Not only does it look bad and sound bad, but it also has bad effects on you. It’s all-round baaaaaaaaad. First of all — and you’re not going to be...
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Favourites List (22.11.13)
The week in six bits: 1. What would it feel like to touch a human brain? We’re always told it’s jelly-like and yet, when I held it in my undergrad gross anatomy class, it felt like a cold cooked...
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Sports drink ad fuels complaints, producer ordered to water down claim
It turns out that Lucozade Sport doesn’t hydrate and fuel better than water after all. In the UK, our old friends the ASA have finally told them to quit saying so in their celebrity-laden ads. I guess...
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‘Science Diet.’ You know, for geeks
Well, for geek pet owners at any rate… Although it must be pointed out that said Science Diet does not appear to be up to much: Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dog Food is a plant-based kibble using a below...
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On alcohol guidelines and social desirability
I’ve posted a piece at Psychology Today on the methodological problems surrounding Britain’s new alcohol consumption guidelines: The UK government has published new guidelines on healthy alcohol...
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