So it’s goodbye to the Brit Awards and hello to the Oscars. All that fawning and blubbering - can’t imagine such a spectacle at the Nobels. “I’d like to thank my team, (eyes welling up) Ernie the porter for invaluable discussions, the 24hr coffee shop across the road, Citations-R-Us, and most of all (snivel) my equipment – I couldn’t have done it without you. (Lower lip trembling.) HPLC – this is for you! (Brandish!)

Before we get going – a quick mention of World Book Day on 6 March.  We’ve taken the liberty of scattering a few of our favourite book titles throughout the newsletter. If you think they’re bad – you should check out the rest of the PS Joke Collection. Or then again, maybe not.

The line-up this week:

1. A Spot of Agri-Culture: Weather or not?
2. Gimme Five... facts about flamingos
3. Stump the Scientist: flour stumper
4. Activity of the Week: Physics – stronger than those who study it?
5. Mouses at the Ready:  Inside DNA exhibition
6. Noticeboard: FYI
7. Recommended websites of the week
8. The Winners’ Enclosure
9. Joke of the Week

Here’s our Farmer-in Residence, Guy Smith for an agricultural take on life.
			As the month of March approaches, the question for the farmer is when he should start his spring work. If he starts too early and the weather turns back to winter then he will rue the fact he jumped the gun. On the other hand, too much delay can mean an opportunity is wasted. There is an old adage in farming which posits the question “what is the difference between a good farmer and a bad farmer”, the answer being   “about a month”. The point being made is that the good farmer is timely in his farming and works with the weather rather than against it. The problem is that, in hindsight, the weather can make a fool of the wisest farmer.  Another piece of folklore is that if the farmer wanted to know if his fields were warm enough for spring seeding then the best way to work it out was to remove all clothing below the belt and sit on the soil. Too much discomfort meant it would be too uncomfortable for seeds as well. (This is conjuring up some fairly ghastly images – Ed.  “No Constable you don’t understand, I was merely assessing the conditions…”) Most cows produce one calf each year and the gestation period is 9 months. Sound familiar? Beef farmers plan for their cows to have their calves in the winter to make best use of the peak grow of grazing grass in April, May and June. When the grass is growing at its best the grazing cows produce better milk and hence feed the calves better. Peak milk production is timed to coincide with peak demand from the calf. For the dairy farmers the question is whether or not he should turn his cows out to graze grass. It is always cheaper for the farmer to feed his cows grass rather than keep them in the barn eating expensive cow cake. When we use the term  “cow cake” we should point out that farmers do not feed cows a nice iced sponge or a bit of Battenburg (shame) but rather a compressed pellet containing things like milled barley or ground beans. Again the problem is that if the farmer turns his cows out too early then the grass will suffer as it is not in the full flush of its spring growth. Similarly grazing too early can spoil the sward as the cows hooves churn it up. One frustration for the farmer is that while we have lots of experts predicting what the weather is going to be like for the next fifty years, no one can tell the farmer accurately what the weather is going to be like in the next fortnight.

Thanks Guy. If you send us the right answer to this question you could win a packet of seeds from Garden Organic, the leading charity dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food.

‘How long is a cow pregnant for?’

Simply email us with your correct answer and your name and address, and the words SOW WHAT in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The winner will be picked at random on Wednesday 19 March at 5pm.

This week’s Gimme Five is courtesy of Jonathan Sanderson the Scicast-meister himself:

1. They're filter-feeders. They eat by sifting water for tiny shrimp using bristles in their bills.
2. Flamingos aren't naturally pink. The shrimp and algae they eat contain beta-carotene dye which the birds excrete into their feathers, turning them pink.
3. Flamingo tongues were a delicacy in ancient Rome.
4. The arteries and veins in flamingos' legs run closely together, acting like a heat exchanger to warm the body-bound blood by cooling the foot-bound blood.
5. Flamingos stand on one foot to stay warm, hunt food, and stay "unwrinkled".

Read here for more Flamingo facts.

Thanks Jonathan!

Have you got FIVE facts about anything/everything?  Preferably science-based of course (we’re not called Planet Science for nothing y’know).  If so, send it along to us at planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk with GIMME FIVE in the subject line. Fancy seeing your name in print? Your wish is our command.

Roy Lowry proffers

Nigel Bowen adds

Thanks for that scientists – on this occasion the scientist was NOT stumped!

If you can help or have a burning question of your own then send us an email with STUMP THE SCIENTIST in the subject line to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk

Boy or girl? High risk or healthy? Innocent or guilty? A little DNA can make a big difference...

Inside DNA is a brand new exhibition exploring the human genome and how current research will affect our lives in future. Collect DNA evidence to solve a murder, find out how similar or unique you are compared with other exhibition visitors, compare yourself to a primate or Neanderthal, and explore issues such as selecting babies' characteristics, medical testing and the use of DNA databases. You will also have the chance to feed your opinions into government policy.

Inside DNA is in Explore-At-Bristol until 2 September 2008; call 0845 345 1235 or visit the site.

Developed by At-Bristol on behalf of Ecsite-uk, with funding from the Wellcome Trust and support from the Sanger Institute.

We have TWO family passes for Explore-At-Bristol!  If you’d like to win one

then email us with your name and address, and the words ‘GENE-IUS in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.

The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 27th February.

Plus those generous folks at Explore-At- Bristol have offered us twenty discount vouchers for the runners up.  How kind!

Thanks to Andrew Harmworth who alerted us to this useful website which he came across through the Eco-Schools website.

Sustainable Learning is a programme providing a structured, task based approach to the way energy and water is used in schools. Schools working through this programme have realised energy reductions of 10% on average and have a better understanding of how energy and water is used in their schools.

Since most State Schools will need to carry Energy Certificates on some of their buildings, it’s useful to know that the Sustainable Learning website has information about this.

By the way, if you’ve got a good website to recommend then send it along to us at planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk with RWW in the subject line. Thank you very gladly.