Salt Wins Art Competition

The Swansea Univeristy Research Forum holds an annual competition celebrating art and photography in research. 

The competition invites anyone from the university to submit a piece of art that was self-produced or a source of inspiration. A professional judging panel had to choose a winner from over 100 entries eventually selecting a grain of salt to be the winner. 

Hollie Rosier submitted an electron microscope image of a salt grain from a laboratory that studies salt formation on jet turbines.  

Some of the other entries included, “Search for a Mutation”, “Blue Flow”, “Drowned Skull” and “Magnet Mania”. Check them out on this link: 

http://www.livescience.com/21096-research-as-art-a-gallery-of-scientific-beauty.html

Fire in the hole!

Geology researchers from the University at Buffalo have recently conducted an experiment mimicking volcanic eruptions.

Measuring 12 feet by 12 feet, a test-bed was filled with gravel, limestone and asphalt and post-holes surrounding the bed were filled with explosives. Greg Valentine, the geology professor working on this project stated that the eruption was “exactly what we wanted” which blew the test-beds contents 50 feet into the air. PhD volcanologist Jacopo Taddeucci, from Rome, Italy, using high-speed cameras, recorded the experiment.

 

The project aims to provide an insight into what occurs during and after an eruption. Obviously these experiments are not accurate to naturally occurring eruptions, but researchers can control the strength of the blast making the test-bed an accurate barometer.

Results from this experiment need to be analysed by Valentine with hopes of a journal publication in the future.

A video of the experimental blast is available from the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeN7R_H5N8w

Jon Richardson on OCD

This summer, Channel 4 aired a programme surrounding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, hosted by the comedian Jon Richardson, who insists he is a perfectionist rather than a sufferer of the anxiety disorder. 

“Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder” was also shown on Channel 4, telling the story of Richard Wallace, a chronic hoarder from Surrey. The public was first introduced to Richard’s story in late 2011 with the follow-up being aired late July this year. 

OCD is no laughing matter and having obsessive tendencies is far from being a chronic sufferer. Public campaigns, charity work and programmes such as those aired on Channel 4 raise awareness and shed light on how sufferers deal with this debilitating disease. 

OCD-UK organizes OCD Awareness Week every year with a series of events hosted around the UK. This year OCD Awareness Week runs from 8^th October – 14^th October, so if you want to get involved, do get in touch with OCD-UK. 

If you wish to talk to anyone about issues surrounding OCD, if you’re sufferer or if you think you suffer from OCD contact a local GP or talk to OCD-UK. 

You can find the Channel 4 programmes listed on 4oD for any of you that missed it first time round. 

Eating penguin poo to survive

My first Focus magazine publication online!

http://sciencefocus.com/blog/eating-penguin-poo-survive

The USA and Pi (the mathematical kind!)

A rather geeky maths fact...

...After 2:29pm on Tuesday, August 14th 2012, the U.S population reached Pi (π) times 100 million!

That's 314,159,265 people! 

Folding into a parking space

Saw this article in the news today and was very excited by the locality of the automobile in question - the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain; one of my travelling destinations in 2011. Onto the story! 

Electric vehicles (EV) have been around nearly a century and have in the past few years become commercially available (albeit at a price!). One such new electric vehicle is the new Hiriko Fold developed by MIT’s Changing Places group and development agency Denokinn.

This modern looking EV is eco-friendly and highly convenient for city community due to its most defining feature…it can fold itself into a parking space! As a two-seater vehicle, the EV is capable of travelling around 75 miles between charges. Prototypes are on trial and the Hiriko Fold is set to go on sale in 2013 for £10,000…so start saving! 

Check out this video of the Hirikon Fold driving round Bilbao, Spain:

http://vimeo.com/45889231

New Scientist Photography Competition

It’s that time again…the magazine New Scientist’s Eureka photography competition and the entries are in!

The New Scientist Eureka Prized for Science Photography goes to an Australian over the age of 18 for “a single photograph taken in the past two years that most effectively communicates an aspect of science". First prize wins $5000, second prize $3000 and third prize $2000 (damn not being Australian I hear you cry!).

Check out the final 10 entries here: http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/technology/sci-tech/2012-new-scientist-eureka-prize-for-science-photography-top-ten-20120814-245wx.html

The winner of the 10 finalists will be announced on the 28^th August, I’ll be posting up the winner’s photograph then so keep an eye out!