Peer reviewing: should it detect fraud?
What is the future of peer review, and should it detect fraud and misconduct were just a few of the questions tackled at a talk at the British Science Festival on Tuesday. At the session Science Fact or Science Fiction: Should Peer Review Stop Plagiarism,…
Gaia v Goldilocks: the theory giants go head to head
Two rival models of how life on Earth continues to exist thrashed it out on Saturday at Royal Holloway University as part of the British Science Festival. In the red corner was Dr David Wilkinson of John Moores University with the Gaia concept, the theory…
Why journalists are suckers for stupid algebra
Why do journalists love stupid equations? That’s the question popular science writer Simon Singh posed on Sunday to a packed lecture theatre at the British Science Festival. The author of the best-selling maths novel Fermat’s Last Theorem discussed the tenuously contrived equations dreamt up by…
Light through a lens
Surrey’s skies were a source of fascination yesterday night, as astronomers of all skill levels gathered at the University of Surrey’s Varsity Centre in Guildford for The Great Look Up. The event, organised by the university itself together with the Guildford Astronomical Society to commemorate…
Stargazing in Surrey – The Great Look Up
Arming myself with a pair of stocking-filler binoculars and a waterproof, I think I’m all set for The Great Look Up tomorrow night. More than 250 people so far are expected to turn up to the event in Guildford, run by the University of Surrey…
Where galaxies and understanding collide
Galaxy collisions, solar flares and creatures which live on “frozen fart gas” – just a few topics covered in the Your Universe festival at University College London (UCL), run for the first time this year and which ended yesterday. Through a series of free talks…
A cut and paste blow to Google News?
Could Attributor sound the death knell to news content pirates? And could that extend to Google News, the Blackbeard of them all? Fingers crossed. Attributor, Roy Greenslade writes in The Guardian, “seeks to recoup a portion of the advertising revenue enjoyed by sites that “borrow”…
Mapping the news
I’m almost sold on Newsmap, the site which could potentially be one of my fave ways of keeping up on the news. Almost, but not quite, down to it still needing a few tweaks before I’ll become a regular user. The site, which is currently…
Computer, name that choon
Here’s a nifty site that could put an end to the days of humming tunes at bemused friends in a bid to identify that song that’s been rattling around your head for days: Midomi. If you haven’t heard of it already (and I hadn’t before…
Death of the fax machine?
Fax rage – the bane of the office worker The fax machine is dying? Bring it on. As Stephen Moss commented in the Guardian today, he was surprised fax machines even existed anymore. Sadly, my summer last year spent working as a receptionist proves the…