tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-342310502013-06-13T13:46:28.008+01:00The Frog Blog is created and maintained by the science teachers in St. Columba's College, Dublin Ireland. It contains science articles on a rich array of topics, from astronomy to zoology (A to Z). It's created for science enthusiasts of all ages, so enjoy!Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comBlogger1284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-54276483639030490522013-02-25T10:17:00.002Z2013-02-26T11:50:20.140Z2013-02-26T11:50:20.140Z

I have decided, after much deliberation, to close the Frog Blog. After over 1300 posts I feel it is now time to hang up my blogging boots and concentrate on work, my newly expanded family and any new science communication projects that arise. Since I began the Frog Blog back in the summer of 2008 with my St. Columba's College colleague Jeremy Stone. We wanted to create an online space to bring

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-54631440569107605252012-12-10T16:59:00.002Z2012-12-10T16:59:49.384Z2012-12-10T16:59:49.384Z

Ireland's new science magazine, Walton,  has just announced a new science writing competition aimed at Irish secondary school students. They want to challenge Irish students to write about any topic in science, technology, engineering and maths that are interested in. See below for competition details. It's a great opportunity to get your writing published or explore a new topic in science. 

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-71357743769171763562012-12-06T18:48:00.002Z2012-12-06T20:55:15.740Z2012-12-06T20:55:15.740Z

The Frog Blog needs your vote! I was delighted to discover earlier in the week that the blog is a finalist in two categories in this year's international Edublog Awards - for 'Best Teacher Blog' and 'Best Ed Tech Blog'. My colleague Julian Girdham, from SCC English, is also a finalist. SCC English is again featured in the 'Best Group Blog' category, which it won in 2008, as well as the 'Best

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-39348736592515600152012-11-24T08:00:00.000Z2012-11-24T08:00:03.730Z2012-11-24T08:00:03.730Z

Today's video features Sunita Williams of NASA recording an extensive tour of the orbital laboratory on the International Space Station on her final days as Commander of the ISS. Just hours after recording she returned to Earth with her colleagues Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide  in their Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft for a landing in the deserts of Kazakhstan. It provides a great insight into life

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-42639171907094650302012-11-23T12:31:00.001Z2012-11-23T12:33:36.468Z2012-11-23T12:33:36.468Z

It's been another busy week on the twitterverse - here are some of my favourite tweets of the week. What a great chat with students from St. Columba's College (@thefrogblog) & @andrewlljackson @thefrogblog @berginsd @ebdisco #IASIE — I'm a Scientist Team (@imascientist) November 16, 2012 If @higgomac wins @imascientist space zone today he has promised to give me his beard to lessen the

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-44430607233599242612012-11-22T13:11:00.000Z2012-11-22T13:11:09.949Z2012-11-22T13:11:09.949Z

Data from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on board the Curiosity Rover reveal that the levels of radiation on the Martian surface would be safe for astronauts - roughly the same levels as on-board the International Space Station. Unlike our home planet, Mars does not have a magnetosphere (our north and south poles) which naturally protect us from the Sun's harmful radiation so it was

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-26684909099306145292012-11-19T17:07:00.000Z2012-11-19T17:07:16.138Z2012-11-19T17:07:16.138Z

Researchers in Chicago have revealed how a new nano-particle drug delivery system can halt the effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in mice and may offer hope to people with other autoimmune disorders like Type 1 diabetes, asthma or food allergies.  This new breakthrough, which highlights the potential benefits of nanoscience to medicine, reveals how  biodegradable nanoparticles were used

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-11720866040123723842012-11-19T12:18:00.000Z2012-11-19T12:24:03.955Z2012-11-19T12:24:03.955Z

It's that time again folks - the Edublog Awards - recognising the best teacher / education blogs worldwide. Ireland has some excellent educational blogs, many run by my friends and colleagues, and here are my nominations. Best individual blog - Fintan O'Mahony, Levdavidovic Best group blog - SCC English Best new blog - NewEnglishBlog (i.e. Newbridge College English Blog) Best ed

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-74412815886823891542012-11-17T07:00:00.000Z2012-11-17T11:16:42.614Z2012-11-17T11:16:42.614Z

Dara O'Briain's excellent new show - The Science Club - is both entertaining and informative. One feature of the show are the excellent animations included and this one, from last Tuesday's episode, is just brilliant! It's the story of physics, as told by Dara, with loads of info, fun and excitement. Be sure to catch the next episode Tuesday at 9pm on BBC 2. See this excellent animated video

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-30352062180759038602012-11-16T13:11:00.003Z2012-11-16T13:11:38.669Z2012-11-16T13:11:38.669Z

NASA astronomers claim to have found the most distant galaxy ever seen. Using the soon to be retired  Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Given the catchy title, MACS0647-JD, the galaxy is very small compared to our Milky Way and is approximately 13.3 billion years old. What we are really seeing is what MACS0647-JD looked like just 420 million years after the Big Bang -

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-18903910242552034932012-11-13T22:23:00.002Z2012-11-13T22:23:45.174Z2012-11-13T22:23:45.174Z

Tonight the Moon passed in front of the Sun, casting a 150km wide shadow across the planet, starting in Australia's Northern Territory, then crossing the north eastern tip of the southern continent before swooping east across the South Pacific. No Pacific islands were in its direct path. Only certain areas of the eastern Australia coast witnessed the total eclipse, plunging the region

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-10765417125545633762012-11-13T20:47:00.002Z2012-11-13T20:47:49.791Z2012-11-13T20:47:49.791Z

Science Week is a national celebration of all things science, with thousands of events taking place across the country this week. This year’s theme is ‘everyday experimenting’ and encourages the general public to carry out some simple experiments at home, school, work or anywhere for that matter.  Here at St. Columba’s we have a wide range of activities planned for the week including a

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-5015824739192569102012-11-06T20:00:00.001Z2012-11-06T20:00:20.151Z2012-11-06T20:00:20.151Z

Tune in to BBC2 tonight at 9pm to see polar bears, giant DNA strands, enormous sperms cells and tiny astronauts leap out of Dara O'Briain's skull!!  Ok well that might not happen. But what we are promised is some exciting science explained in an innovative, entertaining and unique way. The new six part series will see Dara and his team (which includes Alok Jha, Tali Sharot and others)

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-75248576494832048052012-11-06T19:32:00.000Z2012-11-06T19:32:02.632Z2012-11-06T19:32:02.632Z

If you missed Science Gallery's wonderful nanoscience exhibition MAGICAL MATERIALS then shame on you!! It was brilliant and proved a huge hit with schools in particular. The exhibition had a superhero theme, six in all, depicting the magical powers of nanomaterials. Now CRANN and Science Gallery have announced that their annual nanoscience competition for schools will continue with the

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-3593063926057496422012-10-27T08:30:00.000+01:002012-11-06T19:04:32.663Z2012-11-06T19:04:32.663Z

This amazing documentary, recently broadcast on BBC, explores the inner world of the human cellular structure via the narrative of a viral infection from within the world of a single cell. Update: Embedding of the video is no longer supported - click here to view on YouTube.

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-42671519778840076492012-10-25T20:59:00.001+01:002012-10-25T20:59:57.201+01:002012-10-25T20:59:57.201+01:00

The week on Twitter was dominated, for me at least, with the Science 140 project and the launch of A Neutron Walks Into A Bar. So most of my Top Tweets of the Week feature some #Neutron inspired tweets as well as other nuggets of science brilliance. For Science fans in Ireland, this book is well worth looking out for science140.org — Dara O Briain (@daraobriain) October 23, 2012 Why does

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-43089757238988655892012-10-25T19:48:00.000+01:002012-10-25T19:48:06.794+01:002012-10-25T19:48:06.794+01:00

On Tuesday last the Science 140 book - A Neutron Walks Into A Bar - was officially launched in Dublin's Science Gallery by Dr. Aoife McLysaght. Many thanks to all who attended - we had a great night and were delighted with the reaction the book received. All photos below are by Lensmen Team Science 140 - Me, Aoibhinn, Maria & Paul at the launch   Employees from Twitter Dublin

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-17388904588047007272012-10-20T11:30:00.003+01:002012-10-20T11:30:51.628+01:002012-10-20T11:30:51.628+01:00

Pumped is an exciting new competition for second level pupils (under the age of 16) which challenges them to think about teenage health issues and use their imagination to create a short 90 second video. There are some great prizes on offer including iPads, iPods and iPod Nanos. The winning school will also received €5000 for their science department. Organised in association with Bayer and

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-75630912909224349432012-10-20T08:00:00.000+01:002012-10-20T08:00:05.314+01:002012-10-20T08:00:05.314+01:00

It's been all about Baumgartner this week so this week's featured video had to be about the record holding free-faller. After flying to an altitude of 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) in a helium-filled balloon, Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking jump for the ages from the edge of space, exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-37893632407230421792012-10-18T13:20:00.001+01:002012-10-18T13:20:22.608+01:002012-10-18T13:20:22.608+01:00

If you have been following the Science 140 project, of which I am one of the co-ordinators, you'll have no doubt heard about all the wonderful science tweets we received over April, May & June of this year. Over the summer, the Science 140 team were busy collating all the best tweets for our book - A Neutron Walks Into A Bar - which goes on sale today. You'll find it in bookshops across

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-24197396612036571932012-10-18T13:07:00.000+01:002012-10-18T13:07:51.914+01:002012-10-18T13:07:51.914+01:00

The latest issue of Teagasc's excellent research and innovation magazine T-Research is out now and is available both in print or online. This quarter's issues features articles on how we might feed an ever growing human population, picking the right food solutions for weight management, supporting rural enterprise developments and wood energy potential of farm. It's another excellent issue,

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-25038945234993519452012-10-13T10:40:00.000+01:002012-10-13T10:40:11.590+01:002012-10-13T10:40:11.590+01:00

This week's featured YouTube video is from the excellent RTÉ documentary series, 'Science Friction'.  Presented by Liz Bonnin, the show embarks on a journey to meet the different people, both within and outside the science community, whose lives are touched by the controversy surrounding the embryo. It's an excellent way to create debate amongst pupils on the future of stem cell research.  

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-79080009099078094592012-10-09T21:30:00.000+01:002012-10-09T21:30:34.264+01:002012-10-09T21:30:34.264+01:00

Ernest Walton is one of Ireland's greatest scientists and our only scientific Nobel Prize recipient. He received the award in 1951 for his ground-breaking work in artificially splitting the atom in the early 1930's - the first man to do so. It's fitting then, that Ireland's newest magazine publication - a dedicated science and technology mag - bears his name.  'Walton' is an impressive

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-72011313043466482542012-10-06T07:00:00.000+01:002012-10-06T07:00:09.413+01:002012-10-06T07:00:09.413+01:00

This week's YouTube Saturday video is recommended by St. Columba's College TY pupil Bethany Shiell. It's another excellent video from Minute Physics and answers the age old question of "why is it dark at night". The answer isn't as clear cut as you think.

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34231050.post-65124661388908811122012-10-05T12:04:00.000+01:002012-10-05T12:04:51.453+01:002012-10-05T12:04:51.453+01:00

It was another bumper week on Twitter - here are my top tweets of the week. Some cool student competitions for #primary & #secondary students on scienceweek.ie/features/compe… & more to come! — Science Week Ireland (@ScienceWeek) October 4, 2012 If James Bond Tweeted: ‘Slept with a girl I met at a casino. Can’t remember her name! Oops!Oh well, she’ll be dead soon. LOL’ — Maria (@

Humphrey Joneshttps://plus.google.com/118424989540636925843noreply@blogger.com