STARDATE 338 | Friday 15th January 2010
We like big butts and we cannot lie! Or so say the scientists from Oxford University who have discovered that deposits of fat around the thighs and bottom could protect against heart disease and diabetes. Hooray! At last! Another Ferrero Rocher then? Well why not. Professor you are really spoiling us...The line-up this week:
- Gimme Five - Facts about scientists honoured in 2010
- The Big Green Challenge
- Mouses at the Ready – Hand warmers
- Planet Pick of the Week – Frosty the Snowman
- Activity of the Week – Blubber Glove
- Noticeboard – FYI
- Recommended websites of the week
- Winners Enclosure
- Joke of the Week
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1. Gimme Five... fascinating facts about newly-honoured scientists
1. Professor Valerie Beral of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit in Oxford received the Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to science. Her team is looking at how a woman's lifestyle, including her reproductive and family history, can influence her health and whether she is likely to develop breast cancer.2. John Burn, head of the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University, UK, was honored with a knighthood for his service to medicine. He is noted for his work in discovering folic acid to be critical component for embryonic development, and for the prevention of spina bifida.
3. Graham Wynne, the head of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), was awarded a knighthood for his services to nature conservation.
4. Sue Ion, a visiting professor at Imperial College London and chair of the UK Fusion Advisory Board, became a dame for her services to science and engineering.
5. Professor John Holman, a lifelong champion of science and technology education, who leads the National Science Learning Centre, was awarded a knighthood.
More news about honours for scientists at bbc.co.uk
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.
2. The Big Green Challenge
Wednesday at Planet Science HQ NESTA, and a bit of a buzzy do downstairs in our conference rooms. It’s the culmination of NESTA’s Big Green Challenge, and the winners of the £1,000,000 Prize are to be announced.
BGC, in case you’ve not heard of it, is a challenge for communities, and that means many things to many people, to reduce their carbon footprint by implementing good old innovation. 350 applicants were whittled down to 10 finalists, each fantastic in their own way, and from then the judges, led by Lord Puttnam, had to decide who got the million.
This was a very tough job indeed when ‘comparing apples with oranges’, as Lord Puttnam admitted. However winners, plural, there were. £300,000 each to three fantastic projects, The Three Valleys, Brecon; Isle of Eigg, Green Island; and Household Energy Service, Ludlow. There was also a runner up, Low Carbon, West Oxford. Please do read about them here and be very inspired!
3. Mouses at the Ready
Oooo. Isn’t it parky? If only you had a handy doodah to warm your frozen mitts. Well there’s no need to get your knickers in a twist because we have just the thing. A pair of handy, reusable little hot pants handwarmers. We’ve got FOUR pairs to give away.So how do they work anyway? Well draw closer my friend (conspiratorial whisper), in a nutshell - crystallisation of sodium acetate. So there you have it.
If you want to win one, send your name and address and the words ‘HOT PANTS’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The draw will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 20 January.
4. Planet Pick of the Week
Another trawl through the Planet Science website unearths yet another topical resource - Frosty the SnowmanThe tale of Frosty raises several science questions. Why was it hot in winter? (Global warming perhaps?) What do we have in common with a snowman? (Answer we both contain a lot of water!) and why did Frosty run away from the children?
This is aimed at 7-11 yrs and gives activity ideas and web links around the idea of ice and melting. Plus you have the lyrics of the song for a good ol’ winter warming singalong!
5. Activity of the Week
Blubber GloveMaybe it’s no bad thing having a layer of blubber round your hips and thighs, especially in this weather, as you will soon find out.
You will need:
• Four waterproof plastic bags, big enough to get your hand in, eg freezer bags. (Or you can use rubber/latex gloves, check no-one’s allergic though.)
• Parcel tape
• A big bowl of ice and water - good and ch-ch-chilly
• A few packs of solid vegetable fat, at room temperature
• A spoon (unless you really want to get your hands dirty!)
What you do:
1. Cut the tops off two of the plastic bags if they have any handles or flaps and place one inside the other.
2. Start to fill the gap between the bags with vegetable fat. Mmmmmn - nice!
3. Once the gap is filled with about 2cm of fat all around, seal the gap between the bags with parcel tape leaving the inner bag open so you put your hand in it. You've now made your blubber glove.
4. Put one hand inside the blubber glove. Squodge the fat around as necessary so as to cover your hand completely.
5. Put your other hand inside the two other plastic bags. Now dip both hands into the icy water. Which one do you have to pull out first? Don't leave either in there too long as they will start to hurt!
What's going on?
You should notice that you can keep your blubber-gloved hand in the bowl of ice much longer than the hand protected only by the plastic bags. This is because the fat acts as an insulator, keeping the heat inside and not letting it pass through to the icy water. In the wild, many sea animals have a thick layer of blubber to protect them from the cold. This activity came from Planet SciCast
If you feel inspired then there’s still time to enter this year’s SciCast competition. Checkout the website for more details.
6. NOTICEBOARD
a) Perfumery's Hot Date: Synthetic Meets Natural - free lecture
Join Will Andrews, a fragrance scientist and odour enthusiast, to discover more about the value of synthetic chemistry to perfumery and the harmonious partnership which exists between Synthetics and Naturals. Thursday 21 January, 6.30pm The Chemistry Centre, Burlington House, LondonTo book your free ticket, please visit www.rsc.org/publiclectures and follow the links through to the online booking system.
Tickets are free but numbers are limited, so booking is recommended.
b) Free SciCast posters available!
Are you a science advisor? Would you like a box of 140 SciCast posters? We have SIX to give away. Email Katie.walsh@nesta.org.uk with your name and address and ‘BOX OF 140’ in the subject line.c) Exploring the Universe Day for KS3 and KS4
Students will experience an inspiring presentation about the origins of the universe and the formation of stars and galaxies by NASA Solar System Ambassador Professor Harold Kozak and will also have the chance to ask him questions. Then watch the new IMAX film, Hubble 3D, which was filmed by astronauts repairing the world’s most famous space telescope, and see some of its truly stunning images of galaxies and nebula. There is also a chance to book other related events in the afternoon. As a special offer to Planet Science readers - every group who books this event will receive a free Universe-themed booked signed by Professor Harold Kozak for their school library or prize-giving and every group will also be entered into a prize draw to win one Mars Mission Science and Engineering Club box worth £130, with everything their club needs to run three fully-resourced activities on the theme of a mission to Mars. Don’t forget to mention Planet Science when you apply.Monday 17 May
1030 – 12.30
For more details visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
d) Partnership Grants
The Royal Society has opened its latest round of its Partnership Grants scheme.It's looking for enthusiastic teachers, scientists and engineers to collaborate on innovative projects in schools that will help show students how exciting science can be!
The Royal Society can offer up to £3000 to schools as part of its Partnership Grants scheme ˆ recent projects include manufacturing biodiesel, designing the perfect beehive, and building a powerboat. The next round of applications closes on 5 March 2010.
For more information on the scheme, go to http://royalsociety.org/partnership
7. Recommended websites of the week
This week’s RWW is STEM Challenges and the good news is that STEMNET has extended the deadline to enter the free of charge STEM Challenges competition to 31 January 2010. You could win an all-expenses paid trip to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne for a teacher and 6 pupils. The STEM Challenges are ten activities that have been inspired by London 2012.In addition there’s a great section on role models including electrical engineers and structural engineers who talk about what their careers involve and how they chose them.
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.
8. The Winners’ Enclosure
Last time we were offering the book A Zeptospace Odyssey - A Journey into the Physics of the LHC by Gian Francesco Giudice (Oxford University Press). The lucky winner is Janet Mckechnie from Cheltenham. Well done!9. Joke of the Week
Jerry is recovering from day surgery when a nurse asks him how he is feeling.“I'm OK, but I didn't like the four-letter word the doctor used in surgery,” he answers.
“What did he say?” asks the nurse.
“OOPS!”
And if you think that’s bad, you should see the jokes in the Planet Science joke collection
Have a great week!
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