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STARDATE 325 | Friday 25th September 2009 It’s amazing what you can get on eBay isn’t it? Especially Oliver Yeh who bought a camera, stuck it in a coolbox and launched it into space via helium balloon. Result: excellent set of photographs from space and all on a budget of £93! NASA take note...
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1. Gimme Five 
Since Jeans for Genes Day 2009 is on Friday 2 October we thought the following facts might be in order...1. If the genome was a book, it would be the equivalent of 800 dictionaries. It would take a person typing 60 words per minute, eight hours a day, around 50 years to type the human genome. You would need 3 gigabytes of storage space on a computer to hold all of this 2. Humans are 99.9% genetically identical - only 0.1% of our genetic make-up differs. 3. Less than 2% of the total DNA carries instructions to make proteins. The rest is misleadingly called ‘junk’ DNA, because it is a hodge-podge of sequences that does not seem to code for anything. 4. It takes about eight hours for one of your cells to completely copy its DNA. 5. If you were to start reciting the order of the ATCGs in your DNA tomorrow morning, at a rate of 100 each minute, 57 years would pass before you reached the end (provided that you did not stop to eat, drink, sleep, use the bathroom etc.) Want to know more? More facts about genetics here 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. Back to Top |
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2. Confused Copy
Third in our series dealing with journalists using science vocabulary in the wrong context.
Here’s Ian Francis to explain. They say “Our new software is a quantum leap in social networking”. What they mean is that the new software is a massive leap forward, even revolutionary. But the quantum world is that of the very tiny. A world smaller than atomic level, where a quantum represents the smallest possible change in a quantity, for example the energy of an atom. So a quantum leap really is the smallest possible step forward, and so at the macroscopic level (human scale), the post- quantum leap software will look exactly like the old! Thanks Ian. More next week. Back to Top
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3. Planet SciCast
From Jonathan Sanderson...
Memory of a sieve, me. Here we go: Rebuilds, revamps, and refreshes ahoy! If you're a SciCast site regular, you might have noticed a few things... well, 'broken', actually, but we'd prefer to say 'in progress', in the last few weeks. We've been busily revamping sections of the site for our third year, trying to simplify and clarify, licking things into shape that we've not touched for longer than any of us can believe. Most of the background and competition pages have been updated, with tweaks still to come (more pictures! Bring on the pretty!) - we hope they're easier to read and simpler to pick your way around. They're certainly shorter, which is usually a good thing. There have also been a few changes to film pages, with things like comments and view counts, and tabs that reload in a desperately cunning fashion, without stopping the film from playing and forcing you to start again from the beginning. Minor changes that have a big impact on how usable the site is, we think. Coming in the next few weeks we have a huge number of new Experiment write-ups, and we're starting to tinker with a significant update to the SciCast Blog, too, which should (finally!) banish the impossible- to-read red-text-on-black-background there. Also: generally funkier. After that we're going to roll up our sleeves and see if we can't make the submission process a darn sight more streamlined, too. Oh, and (whisper it) maybe just maybe you'll see embeddable and downloadable films. Though I've been promising that for two years or more, so let's pretend I didn't say anything, eh? Back to Top |
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4. Stump the Scientist Hey we haven’t had one of these for a while! If you’ll forgive us, we’ll quote this one in exactly the way it was written because it’s charming. This week’s stumper is from Levi Thomas who asks: “I wanted to no if cars could be powered bye coke cola it would be funny if it could be powered by coke then it would be good for the environment wouldn't it any way because I think it would be fun I asked u planet science because there was no one else to ask online and I was wondering if u could ask mini the car makers if they could try be cause there cars are cheap and small so they could be the best people to ask.“ Over to you scientists? Or Mini? 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 |
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5. Mouses at the Ready
Well would you Adam-and-Eve it? We’ve got £30 worth of book tokens to give away. So how about you tell us the title of a book that inspired you to like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)? Send the title together with your name and address and the words ‘INSPIRATIONAL BOOK’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The draw will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 30 September. Also Would you like an ASE Laboratory design CD - to help redesign a lab? We’ve got FOURTEEN to give away. If you want one, send your name and address and the words ‘LAB DESIGN CD’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. First come first served. Or Would you like some props for an Oscars/Hollywood theme? We have three rolls of cheapo fake red carpet and two sparkly film-themed top hats to give away in one lot. If you want it, send your name and address and the words ‘RED CARPET’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. Fastest (mouse) fingers first. Back to Top |
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6. Planet Pick of the Week 
Remember the fantastic masks in the Five Kingdoms of Life? Maybe it’s about time we refreshed your memory. Especially with all this stuff in the news about E.coli Spread the word. But make sure that’s all you spread! Back to Top |
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7. Activity of the Week 
Pouring TreacleWhat you need • A balloon • A bin bag or old newspaper. In fact, make that several old newspapers... • A jar of treacle or pourable honey What you do 1. Cover your table with the bin bag or sheets of newspaper. It wouldn't hurt to cover the floor too, just in case. 2. Blow the balloon up, and rub it on your hair or something woolly. With a bit of luck, you'll rub some electrons onto the balloon, and it'll become negatively electrically charged. 3. If you hold the balloon near a gently-running tap, you might just see the stream of water being deflected towards it. Sometimes this works rather well, but even so, it's not terribly exciting. Which is where the treacle comes in... 4. Hold the treacle jar high above the newspaper, and tip it so a very gentle stream of treacle drizzles out. Now, very carefully, bring the charged balloon near the flowing treacle. 5. You should see the stream of treacle bending right around the balloon. With a little practice, it's possible to make the treacle flow sideways and even slightly upwards, but you'll need a very steady hand. And yet more sheets of newspaper to catch the drips. What's going on The balloon is made of rubber and is a great insulator: it does not let charges move around freely on its surface. When you rub the balloon, electrons which have previously been orbiting hair atoms are physically rubbed off and added to the surface of the balloon. The result is a small patch on the balloon which is negatively charged. The treacle is a neutral: it doesn't have any excess positive or negative charges. However, the molecules that make up the treacle are polar: although neutral overall, each molecule has a positive and a negative 'side'. When the negative balloon approaches the flow of treacle the molecules twist with their positive side facing the negative balloon. Since opposite charges attract the treacle moves towards the balloon. And because the treacle is so thick its slow motion allows the molecules to spend longer in the electric field, the treacle moves more than a thinner, faster moving liquid such as water. The treacle will flow sideways and in some cases even upwards. It is interesting to note that only a charged up balloon can make the treacle defy gravity - showing that the electromagnetic force is considerably stronger than gravity. Special safety advice Although perfectly safe, there is a real risk of the treacle pouring onto the floor, and so carpeted rooms are best avoided for this experiment. If you intend to repeat the experiment, try to use a fresh balloon unless you want treacle in your hair. This activity came from the Pouring Treacle activity on the Planet SciCast site. |
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8. Recommended Websites of the Week 
Jeans for Genes Day 2009 is on Friday 2 October. That being the case we’d like to tell you about the educational resources available for Jeans for Genes. Genes are Us is the exciting new website for teachers created by Jeans for Genes, where your school can meet children with genetic disorders through short films and classroom activities targeted at key areas of the national curriculum. There are resources for all age groups from 5-16 years. ‘What Genes Means’ is a great animation aimed at young children. Plus there are plenty of opportunities for discussion following the short clips about real-life experiences. To tell us about your favourite science websites - drop us an email with the words ‘RWW’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. Back to Top |
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9. Joke of the week There was confusion. While transcribing medical audiotapes, the secretary came upon the following garbled diagnosis: “This man has pholenfrometry.” Knowing nothing about that particular condition, she double-checked with the doctor. After listening to the tape, he shook his head. “This man,” he said, translating for her, “has fallen from a tree.” And if you think that’s bad, you should see the jokes in the Planet Science joke collection Have a great week! Back to Top |
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