Author: Stephanie Burrell, David Fisher & Robin Lucas

Echinoderm carbon capture An unlikely new strategy for carbon capture is being investigated based on a method used by sea urchins. In an article published in Catalysis, Science and Technology, researchers are looking at ways to harness the sea urchin’s natural carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbing ability; this can be used to tackle the problem of […]

Do you always come up smelling sweet? Leading scientists have isolated a gene (ABCC11), the lucky owners of which don’t produce any under-arm odour. The study was carried out by a team of researchers on 6,495 women. They found 2% carried this beneficial gene. However, the need to conform to social norms means the majority […]

Every January since 1978 thousands of technology enthusiasts have descended upon Las Vegas. Some say their motives are to gamble away their millions made from another bumper Christmas, with tablet and smartphone sales soaring even further than before in Q4 2012, but to most following consumer technology ‘January’ and ‘Las Vegas’ can be replaced with […]

A recent study conducted at the National Institute of Health in the US has provided supporting evidence for the existence of an “intermediate phenotype” of schizophrenia. A phenotype is the visible and measureable presentation of an individual’s particular genotype, their genetic code. For example, an individual who has brown hair and blue eyes (their phenotype) […]

R.I.P Windows Live Messenger Initially released as MSN Messenger in 1999, 15 March 2013 will see the end of messages being sent on Windows Live Messenger. The Software giant has taken the decision to withdraw the messaging service after its acquisition of Skype in October 2011 for $8.5bn (£5.3bn). Used by thousands worldwide throughout the noughties […]

A Quiet Solar Flare Cycle but Beware Rogues In 2013, the Sun will be reaching the peak of its 11-year solar flare cycle. According to scientists at NASA, this peak will be the quietest observed in more than a hundred years as sunspot numbers are low and radio waves that are known to indicate high […]

If you were paying attention in your Biology lessons at school, you will know that mitochondria are the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell, meeting the cell’s energy needs through respiration. If you were really paying attention, you may also remember that when fertilisation occurs, all the mitochondria come from the mother’s egg and none from the […]