SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 66 Week ending Friday, 10th May 2002 Stand by your beds! Coming your way this week are microscopes and Macs, men and mountains, munchies and Martians. And a couple of brilliant online games to teach 11-14 year olds science without them even noticing… Here’s the schedule: • QX3 MICROSCOPES AND MACS – now compatible • UPDATE FROM EVEREST - and which bits get coldest • CHELTENHAM Science Festival • SCIZMIC Balloon Challenge • SCIENCE Book of the Year Nominations • EXPRESS Yourself • TEA – good for you, says report • RECOMMENDED Website of the Week • FOODY Science Line Questions • WHAT'S WELSH FOR 'CENTRIFUGAL'? • ALIEN Joke of the Week • LONG Title Challenge • AOB OF MICROSCOPES AND MACS Great news for schools using Macintosh computers. Apple have just let us know that there is now a Mac driver available for the Intel Play QX3 computer microscope which was sent out free to all maintained schools in England earlier this year. The drivers/software are only compatible with Mac OS X (the latest version of the Mac OS), which has been shipping with all new Macs since BETT this year. If you’d like to find out more and download the drivers, go to: http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=13065&db=mac >top WHICH BITS OF YOU GET COLDEST? You may remember us mentioning the amazing feat currently being undertaken by physics teacher Chris Mothersdale together with software giants, NewMedia. This is the world first in which a climber (Chris) is scaling Everest and thanks to cutting edge technology is - in real time - collecting and transmitting physical, meterological and other data back from where he is to the website and to all his global online observers... This whole project was conceived as a schools' resource which will bring human physiology and general science to life in a dramatically new way. All schools are invited to take advantage of the opportunity – and it’s FREE. There's no deadline, so it's still possible to register to access all the data and analytical tools and to interact with Chris on his trip. If you're a teacher and this sounds interesting, visit the site and follow the directions. And if you're a student and this sounds interesting, pester your teacher! Anyone else - have a look anyway, you won't see anything quite like this for a while… Meanwhile, we thought it was time for a news update on how Chris is doing. The answer is, he's doing fine and he’s at 6400m already. He's now into week 3 of data transmission/collation, and has just beamed back a raft of new data and images. You can view pics of him at Advanced Base Camp, and more photos are being posted up shortly. A few days ago Chris called in and answered questions that pupils from Chatham Grammar School had asked… Emma, Steph, Emmie and Sarah from 7M wanted to know: a. Do you use oxygen and if so how much per night? b. What times do you sleep? c. What do you feel like when you wake up and what is the first thing you do? d. Do you dream? If so, what about? e. Which bits of you get coldest? ... and you can read the text or actually listen to the audio of Chris answering these questions if you click on the 'Expeditions' page of the Everest link (above). If you register, your questions could be next ones beamed to him. (And Chris is a lovely guy, so will no doubt be up for answering even any Yeti/toilet/does-your-snot-freeze questions you may have as well as more conventionally curriculum-based ones.) And let's face it he needs all the friendly company he can get up there! >top CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL ALERT The first Cheltenham Festival of Science will take place between 22 and 26 May, and to celebrate Science Year has 10 pairs of tickets to give away. Attractions include demonstrations of magic machinery that can make anyone’s ropey old voice sound as good as a truly talented singer like George Michael or Zoe Birkett; a presentation about ghostbusting the high-tech way; a chance to go behind the scenes of 'The Blue Planet'; and a bit of what they’re calling "illegal engineering" – or how to crack a safe. Not THAT safe then, huh… If you'd like to go along - and possibly with a free pair of tickets in your hand, email Clare Reddington on Clarer@cheltenham.gov.uk. The first 10 emails received will win the freebies which will allow you entry to any event (subject to availability) at the festival. For more info and the full Festival Programme visit http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.co.uk . Have a look – they’ve got some brilliant stuff… >top ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE SCIZMIC BALLOON CHALLENGE? 'SciZmic', the science discovery clubs network, is expanding into Wales. And on June 10th, science clubs in the Cardiff area are being invited to compete in Wales Science Year's SciZmic Balloon Challenge. Each club is being asked to design and build hot air balloons to compete in four challenges. If you'd like more information or would like to take part, contact Ros Mist on ros.mist@the-ba.net, or Louise Webb on webb@techniquest.org, or visit the BA’s website at http://www.the-ba.net. And if you speak Welsh and love science, keep reading because we have more for you coming up… >top AND THE NOMINATIONS ARE... It's that time of year again, when the candidates for the prestigious Aventis (formerly Rhone-Poulenc) science-book-of-the-year are limbering into position in hopeful readiness for the final announcement and award ceremony on 25 June. This year the organisers have teamed up with the aforementioned SciZmic science club network to find the winner of the Junior Prize. The shortlist was announced for this category last week, so we thought you might like to have a snoop: ‘Life Finds Its Feet’ by Jacqui Bailey A&C Black £9.99 The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopaedia by David Burnie Kingfisher £18.99 Dead Famous: Albert Einstein and his Inflatable Universe by Mike Goldsmith Scholastic £3.99 Mega Bites: Bugs by Christopher Maynard Dorling Kindersley £4.99 The Usborne Internet-Linked Library of Science: Materials by Alistair Smith, Phillip Clarke & Corinne Henderson Usborne £8.99 DK Guide to the Human Body by Richard Walker Dorling Kindersley £12.99 As for the General Prize, the shortlist will be announced on 23 May... and we will of course get back to you with the winners of both. You can find all other details - judges, past winners etc - on their website at http://www.aventissciencebookprizes.com >top EXPRESS YOURSELF... It's all very well being full of scientific knowledge and insights, but communication skills can also be critical to scientific success and to avoid being popularly labeled as a b-word. (Boffin, that is). This is why the Pupil Researcher Initiative are running a series of free one-day events that will enable students to hone their presentation skills in terms of both poster and oral skills, then take part in a real research conference where they'll have the opportunity to discuss their own work. They're aimed at 13-16 year olds and represent a fun, inspiring and instructive day away from the school routine... These conferences, entitled 'Express Yourself 2002' have been run before, and have the endorsement of PPARC and the SPSRC. Here are the dates: Belfast - 14th June Perth - 19th June Sheffield - 21st June Hertfordshire - 11 July To find out more, contact Alison Walker at a.m.walker@shu.ac.uk/pri or register online at http://www.shu.ac.uk/pri >top MORE TEA, VICAR? Alert alert! Tea may contain caffeine, which we're always being told is not so good for the body ... but now the tea-leaves are fighting back. Several studies have already found correlations between frequent tea-drinking and a lower incidence of heart attacks, and now a new study suggests that tea-drinking may also help increase a patient's chances of survival following a heart attack. The report in question was published in the American Heart Association's journal 'Circulation' and you can check it out at http://216.185.112.5/presenter.jhtml so put the kettle on and settle down for a good read. Black tea is what they recommend - but maybe that's only as opposed to green tea, since Americans don't go for our eminently refined convention of adding a slosh of milk. Next week: Chocolate Hob Nobs increase life expectancy. And we'll be bringing you that report just as soon as we've located it... >top RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK ... is without a doubt Channel 4's newly launched 'Secondary Online Science' site at http://www.channel4.com/sos . The site's the result of a collaboration between C4, the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry. And the idea was to take advantage of 11-14 year olds' enthusiasm for computer games by creating three games that are hugely addictive and fun to play and underpinning them with serious curriculum-based science. So the more you play, the more you learn... There are two games up and running so far, 'Energy Quest' and 'Fashion Victim' - (the latter a textile-technology game including enticing segments in which the user has to 'visit shops and buy clothes' all in the name of science). Shortly, a third game will be completed, called 'Sound Park' which as the name suggests explores the world of sound, music and all things audio. Children of all abilities can play the games (hey even adults can have a go) - and we guarantee you'll enjoy the experience. So what are you waiting for?! >top SCIENCE LINE - finger firmly on the (tinned) PULSES Food. What is it good for? Absolutely ... everything? Or just some things? Or what? Three questions this week from the Science Line files: Q. Is a vegetarian diet better for you than one that uses meat? A. Find out here: And Q. Does eating fish make you brainy? A. Here's where you'll find out: And finally, what's going on in a world where 'healthy' food in a tin is able to claim to have as long a life expectancy as the 15 year old shelf-stacker responsible for putting it on display? OK, slight exaggeration, but the issue of time-suspended food has been bothering one Science Line correspondent recently, so for anyone else perplexed by the whole concept of 'locked-in goodness', here it is: Q. How can canned food, such as chickpeas, be good for you? They have use-by dates years in advance, they can't be fresh. A. Click here for the answer: Those answers of course provided by Science Line, our free science-question answering service, who are standing by for your calls and emails right this moment. (Well, Mon-Sat 1-7pm). The web address is: http://www.sciencenet.org.uk and the phone number is 0808 800 4000. And they're very nice so don't be scared! >top WHAT'S WELSH FOR 'CENTRIFUGAL'? Meanwhile, we thought it was time for another reminder about Science Line's funky Welsh cousin, 'Gwifren Gwyddoniaeth'. This is a similar public-information service which was set up by BBC Wales specifically to answer science-based questions in Welsh. A huge panel of science experts have been signed up to help out, and here are two of the best Q&A they've dealt with lately. If you can't read Welsh, sorry this isn't for you. But you could always sign up for an evening class in the autumn ...? Q. How much nuclear material is there in the earth's core as compared to the surface? Does the fact that the earth is turning cause the heavier material to be pushed to the earth's surface through centrifugal force? A. Find out here And on a futuristic note: Q. Is there evidence that events at a quantum level can affect human consciousness, and are there implications for the possibility of creating computers that can think? A. Click here for the answer >top ALIEN JOKE OF THE WEEK Two aliens (let’s call them Martians) were cruising through the solar system when they suddenly got the urge to try some Earth food. They had no local currency so decided to steal some Mars bars from the local shop. They furtively slipped into the shop while the shopkeeper wasn’t looking, nabbed the bars and slipped back out again. "Stop! You never paid for those!" shouted the shopkeeper. The aliens dropped the bars and beamed back up to the mothership. Their mates were furious when they discovered they hasn’t brought any food back with them. "What?" they goggled, "you couldn’t even take a few Mars bars from a shop without getting caught? What happened?" "I don’t know how the shopkeeper saw us…" said one of the unsuccessful shoplifters, "She must have had eyes in the front of her head!" >top LONG TITLE CHALLENGE We are looking for the longest and most entertaining title of a scientific paper ever… just for fun. To open the batting, we have a very impressive example from Dr Peter Walsh: ‘The Paleogeography of the Southern Half of the British Isles and Adjacent Continental Shelf at the Paleogene/Neogene (G/N) Boundary and Its Subsequent Modification: A Reconsideration’ Can you do better? The prize for the longest (authenticated) title received by the end of May – or the one closest in length to that classic above - will win a Roget’s Thesaurus and a deckchair for the summer… >top ANY OTHER BUSINESS Please send any contributions for future newsletters to anne.mcnaught@scienceyear.com And have a great week! >top