The Frog Blog

The Scale of the Universe

2012-02-24T12:39:00.001Z

In a previous post we highlighted a brilliant flash animation from Learn.Genetics to show the scale of living cells to atoms. Now a similar animation goes much further, allowing you explore the entire scale of the universe, using a simple scroll bar. As a teaching tool it's perfect for introducing DNA, exploring the atom, sub-atomic particles, wavelenthgs of light, comparing planet or star size in astronomy or simply just for fun. It's "fascinating for any biologist, chemist, physicist, astronomer, cosmologist, science student or simply anyone who marvels at our insignificance in the grand scale of things". Click here to visit 'Scale of the Universe'

Weird Watery Exoplanet Confirmed

2012-02-22T10:10:00.000Z

As planets go, GJ 1214b is right up there on the weird stakes. However, it's also wonderful! Representing a new category of exoplanet, GJ 1214b has been confirmed as a mysterious waterworld with a thick steamy atmosphere by astronomers working on the Hubble Space Telescope. Dubbed a "Super-Earth", the exoplanet is about 2.7 times the diameter of our home planet but weights nearly seven times as much. It orbits a cool, dim red-dwarf star (80% of all stars are red dwarves) at a distance of just two million KM (Earth is nearly 150 million KM from our Sun). Yet, because the red dwarf sun is much cooler than our own home planet, the temperatures on GJ 1214b probably don't exceed 230°C. Spectral analysis and estimations of its density suggest the planet consists mainly of water.

With the high temperatures and pressures on the surface of the mysterious waterworld things get a little freaky though. It is believed that the water might behave strangely in these conditions, creating exotic materials like 'hot ice' or 'superfluid water', substances not found on our world. The planet is like nothing astronomers have ever seen before and, being relatively close to Earth (around 40 light years), there will be opportunities for further analysis in the future - principally using the new James Webb Space Telescope which will be launched in around 5 years time.

The excellent Bad Astronomy blog has more on this story. The research paper is available here.

David Puttnam on 'Technology, Education & Ireland'

2012-02-22T08:02:00.000Z

The 'Open Minds Series' returns next Monday (February 27th) with the brilliant David Puttnam speaking on "Technology, education and Ireland: How new ways of learning can assist economic recovery". The 'Open Mind Series' is a collaborative effort from McCann FitzGerald and TCD's Science Gallery, which will see some of the world’s leading thinkers coming together to support the development of Ireland as a global centre for science, technology and innovation. The event kicks off at 6:30pm sharp and pre-booking is essential. Tickets cost €10 or €6 if you are a student. Further information can be access from the Science Gallery website here.

David Puttnam - A Short Biography.

As well as producing award winning films like The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Memphis Belle, David Puttnam has been working in the areas of education, the environment, and the 'creative and communications' for nearly 15 years. He founded the National Teaching Awards, was the founding Chair of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and spent 10 years as the Chancellor of The University of Sunderland. He is President of the Film Distributors’ Association, Chairman of The Sage Gateshead, Deputy Chairman of Channel Four, Deputy Chairman of Profero and a trustee of the Eden Project. He is also the present Chancellor of the Open University,

The talk is sure to inspire and engage, and might prove a nice way to top off what is sure to be a cracking weekend at the CESI Conference in Portlaoise?

Reposted from More Stress Less Success.

Origins of Photosynthesis in Plants & Algae Revealed

2012-02-21T22:22:00.001Z

A detailed new study has revealed the origins of photosynthesis in modern plants and algae, and confirms that all plants and algae share a common ancestor. This common ancestor would have formed by endosymbiosis - a theory that eukaryotic cell organelles (like chloroplasts) originated from bacteria that were taken inside the cell.

The team of scientists from Rutgers University sequenced over 70 million base pairs of the genome of the single celled alga Cyanophora - an extremely simple and ancient organisms - focusing on the plastids or chlorplasts. By comparing the results with DNA sequences from plastids of modern plants and algae, the scientists were able to find common genes between modern plants and these ancient algae. They also found that the Cyanophora also share some gene sequences from their cyanobacterial cousins! The results were published in the journal Science.

For more information on this study click here.

PDST Data Logging Workshops for Junior Science

2012-02-21T20:44:00.000Z

The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) have annouced a new series of follow-up workshops are follow-up on using DATA LOGGING technologies in junior science lessons. During the sessions, participants will be guided through the Vernier's Logger Pro software and how it can be used to enhance investigative science. Any issues involving the use of LabQuests or TI Calculators will be addressed. The main focus on the night will be on how to create graphs and charts in LoggerPro, transferring data from loggers to LoggerPro, analysing graphs, inserting text, photos, etc. into LoggerPro and how to add pages to a LoggerPro report. All participants who bring their laptops will also be given the most up to date software for LoggerPro.

There are a number of sessions planned - the dates and venues below.

Donegal Education Centre - Tuesday March 6th, 7 – 9 pm
Galway Education Centre - Wednesday March 7th, 7 – 9 pm
Galway Education Centre - Thursday March 8th, 7 – 9 pm
Navan Education Centre, Tuesday March 20th, 7 – 9 pm
Limerick Education Centre - Thursday March 22th, 7 – 9 pm
Blackrock Education Centre - Monday March 26th, 7 – 9 pm
Kilkenny Education Centre - Tuesday March 27th, 7 – 9 pm

To apply for a place on any course email your name, number and school details to sciences@pdst.ie.

National Library of Ireland Launches 'Particles of the Past' Exhibition

2012-02-21T10:43:00.000Z

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) will shortly launch a new interactive multimedia exhibition entitled 'Particles of the Past', showcasing a fascinating selection of science-related gems from their collections. The exhibition forms part of the Dublin City of Science 2012 programme of events and promises to provide a wonderful insight in to the works of some of Ireland greatest scientists and engineers.

There is an eclectic mix going on display including booklets and postcards on the wondrous engineering feat that was Ireland's first hydroelectric power station at Ardnacrusha (a massive tourist attraction at the time), a handwritten journal recording Captain Cook’s second voyage and displays of early Irish photography.

NLI Co-Curator Riona McMorrow recognises that, despite being a humanities library, their collection houses some wonderful pieces that “reflect what was going on in the scientific world hundreds of years ago".

The library will also display Robert Boyle's seminal work ‘The Sceptical Chymist’, and a book containing an interesting collection of home remedies for everything from sore throats to piles. NLI Co-Curator Aoife O’Connor describes some of here favourite 17th century cures:

“In the 1700s they were doing things like crushing up earthworms, powdering them and feeding them to people; the powdered earthworms were generally served with white wine it seems! Another remedy involved the use of human faeces to cure eye complaints. Fantastic stuff!”

As mentioned before, 'Particles of the Past' is very much an interactive exhibition. So, in addition to viewing items in their cases, visitors will be able to examine them in greater detail by using our innovative ‘Discovery’ touchscreens. Each item will also have an accompanying video where visitors can listen to an expert discuss the item in greater depth. Finally, visitors can also look forward to the conservation and preservation elements of the exhibition where they can see how science is used here in the NLI to protect individual items in our collections so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come.

The exhibition opens next Tuesday, February 28th, promising to be a brilliant exhibition and a highlight of the Dublin City of Science programme.

YouTube Saturday - Smart Futures: Made in Ireland

2012-02-11T13:00:00.000Z

Recently I wrote how choosing a degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) would provide young people with the necessary skills needed for the competitive jobs market ahead. This video, created by STEPS as part of their Smart Futures campaign to highlight the career opportunities available for young graduates in ICT, furthers that argument illustrating the accelerating pace of change in society and technology in recent years. The excellent video also reveals why engineers will always be necessary to keep finding solutions for society.

YouTube Saturday - How Do 3d Glasses Work?

2012-02-04T08:27:00.000Z

3D movies are everywhere and some, like Martin Scorsese's Hugo, are simply mind bogglingly good! But, just how do those nifty 3D glasses work? Professor Phil Moriarty, a member of the Sixty Symbols team, explains all!

"I See Dead People" - The Human Body Exhibition Opens in Dublin

2012-02-02T12:37:00.000Z

The Human Body Exhibition returns to Dublin today, opening for a three month stint at the Ambassador Theatre on Parnell Street. The controversial exhibition features preserved human bodies, modelled to reveal the true complexity and beauty of this wonderful machine. The 200 specimens, spread over nine galleries, provide insight into how the human body functions and how it is affected by lifestyle choices, such as smoking and overeating. The exhibition is designed to educate, encourage and enlighten, often displaying the physical damage caused by neglecting your body. One display starkly reveals the differences between a pair of healthy human lungs and those of a regular smoker.

The exhibition travels all around the world and where it goes controversy always follows. There has been criticism over the source of the bodies - nearly all are "unclaimed" bodies of Chinese citizens and there has been some suggestion that some of the bodies were those of Chinese prisoners. According to the exhibition curators, Dalian Hoffen Bio-technique Laboratory, all the bodies are "legally donated".

The preservation technique is very interesting indeed. Using a process called plastination, the body water is removed and replaced with a liquid silicone rubber that is treated and hardened. The end result is a rubberised specimen, preserved to the cellular level, showcasing the complexity of the body’s many bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and organs. The full-body specimens can take over a year to prepare.

The exhibition is deeply controversial but one cannot deny its educational potential. It will foster an appreciation of the complexity of the human body amongst the young and old, and hopefully spark a debate around ethical issues in science and technology.

The exhibition is open daily, from this evening. Ticket information on Ticketmaster.ie.

Burmese Pythons Linked to Mammal Decline in Florida's Everglades

2012-01-31T19:34:00.002Z

The increasing number of Burmese Pythons in the Florida Everglades is resulting in a dramatic drop in the numbers of small mammals in the area, a new study has revealed. A non native species, Burmese Python's have become one of the most dominant predators in the Everglades, devouring many small mammals like racoons and rabbits as well as larger mammals like bobcats and deer. There has even been cases of mammals attacking and eating aligators (with horrific effects).

The exact number of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades is unclear - over 900 were removed from the Florida's National Park in 2009 - but they have quickly become the dominant species there. Their presence was only first recorded in 2000 after many individuals bought the animals as pets and released them when they grew to their mammoth size (they are the 6th largest snake in the world and can grow up to 6m in length). Earlier this month, it was announced that there will soon be a ban on importing the pythons, but many feel it's too little too late.

The new study, published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Science' (PNAS), studied the numbers of mammals observed as road-kill in the 90's to similar statistics in the 00's. They found that the numbers of raccoons and opossums observed dropped by nearly 100% while there was a drop of over 94% in observations of white-tailed deer. The number of bobcats in the area is believed to have dropped by 87.5%. The study in the 90's found that rabbits were amongst the most common small mammal observed yet no rabbits were seen during the more recent road-kill survey. Many of these animals are known to graze on the water's edge, so may have been ambushed by the ferocious predator. The researchers also found that the declines in mammals coincided geographically with the spread of Burmese Pythons.

Suggested Pupil Activity: Find out more about the Burmese Python. Read Junior Frog Blog Reporter Lorcan Maule's essay on the world's sixth largest snake.

Choose Life, Choose a Job, Choose a Career, Choose STEM!

2012-01-31T17:12:00.000Z

Choosing a third level course is an important decision and one that will have lasting effects on you and your career. As a Guidance Counsellor, I believe that decision is ultimately about finding a course / direction that suits your personality, aptitude and ability. However, it's also about looking to the future and about giving you the best opportunity to grow in your career. With the "official" closing date for CAO (Irish university applications) at 5:15pm tomorrow, my advice is to think STEM!

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics and encompasses a wide range of training courses which help to develop critical thinking, problem solving and analytical skills. These skills are highly sought after and valued across a range of industries and a degree in science, engineering, technology or maths will provide a solid foundation for a future career. According to the IDA, the technology and science industries in Ireland are set to grow in the coming decade, providing well qualified young graduates with job opportunities. Saying that, the skills obtained while studying STEM subjects are highly transferable to other industries - areas that value critical thinking and analytical skills.

The Irish universities and IT's offer a wide range of STEM courses - at NFQ Level 6, 7 and 8. There is a STEM course for everybody and a quick search through Qualifax will help you find the STEM course for you. CareersPortal.ie has a brilliant section to help you find out more about STEM careers. You can explore hundreds of career possibilities through their website and view all the CAO courses in the STEM disciplines. There is also a large video library of people involved in STEM professions.

Let's face it - if you're studying for the Leaving Certificate this year, you are likely to face an extremely competitive jobs market in 5 years time. Choosing a STEM course will help you develop the skills that will help you get you that job - you will need to add a little bit of your other strengths to guarantee it's yours.

Note: The closing date for normal CAO applications is tomorrow, however you don't need to finalise your course choices until much later. While the CAO system will shut for a few months, from early May you will be able to able to change your course preferences if you need - except restricted courses (including nursing) which need to be on your preference list by tomorrow.

UCD Physics Distinguished Speaker Series

2012-01-30T14:36:00.000Z

To celebrate Dublin's "City of Science" status, the UCD Department of Physics and the RDS have organised a brilliant series of lectures over the coming months to whet your science appetite. They are bringing some of the world's leading physicists to speak in Dublin about the latest developments in their fields of research. Here are some of the highlights:

February 14th - Metamaterials & the Science of Invisibility - Prof John Pendry (Imperial College) - RDS Concert Hall
March 20th - The Moon That Thinks it's a Planet - Prof John Zarnecki (Open University) - RDS Minerva Suite
May 15th - Lasers in the Fast Lane - Prof William Sibbett (St. Andrew's) - RDS Concert Hall
May 22nd - The Biological Physics of Sickle Cell Anaemia - Prof William A Eaton (National Institute of Health, USA) - RDS Merrion Room

All the talks have a 6pm kick-off time and are suitable for students aged 12 years and older. All of the talks are free but pre-booking is essential. For more information about these talks - and the UCD Science Summer School - visit their website here.

YouTube Saturday - This is a Galaxy. Or is it?

2012-01-28T13:58:00.000Z

Featured in the recent Stargazing Live series on the beeb, this excellent video shows how super-computers can be used to simulate how the universe works. Thanks to science teacher Lisa Darley for recommending this to us.

NASA Reveals Stunning New "Blue Marble" Image

2012-01-27T10:43:00.002Z

NASA has released a new high definition composite image of our home - Planet Earth. Dubbed the new 'Blue Marble', the stunning image was taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. Click here for the ultra-high definition image.

Dublin City of Science 2012 Launches 'Festival of Science'

2012-01-26T17:27:00.002Z

The varied members of Ireland's science community crammed in to the Convention Centre Dublin this morning to officially launch Dublin as the European City of Science 2012. Politicians, scientists, educators, science journalists, bloggers, policy makers and others were treated to a slick and inspiring launch, which genuinely created an air of excitement for the year ahead. The launch was MC'd by Irish comedian, TV presenter and science enthusiast Dara O'Briain (with whom I had a great chat to about science blogging and the nature of effective science programming), who spoke of his love of science and what it means for him to act as a science ambassador for Dublin City of Science 2012. He was joined on stage by Patrick Cunningham (Chief Science Advisor to the Government), Richard Bruton (Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation), Seán Sherlock (Junior Minister in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation), Aoibhinn Ni Shúilleabháin (Dublin City of Science 2012 Ambassador) and Andrew Montague (Lord Mayor of Dublin & former Veterinary scientist). Each spoke with passion on what the City of Science title meant to them and of the 160 events planned during the "celebration of science" to come over the next 11 months.

So what of these 160 events? Many of these will centre around the excellent science hub that is Science Gallery. Their 2012 programme of events is jam-packed with a brilliant range of exhibitions including Happy, Hack the City & the Dublin Maker Faire. But that's not all. This year's St. Patrick's Day Festival will have a science theme, 'Future Visions' & 'Amaze Your Head' will explore science using film, the Ark Project will fuse art and science through a series of programmes, 'Arcade Science' will bring science images to building gables and billboards and the National Concert Hall will present the 'Icarus: At the Edge of Time' - a musical adaptation of Brian Greene's book.

In July of this year Dublin's Convention Centre will play host to the European Science Open Forum (ESOF) - a biennial pan-European meeting dedicated to scientific research and innovation. It is expected that over 5000 scientists, business leaders, senior EU and Irish government officials and the science media will come together over the week in what is an extremely full programme of events. Some of the key-note speakers confirmed are top-drawer and include Rolf-Deiter Heuer (Director General of CERN), Craig Venter (the first man to create synthetic life forms), Jean Jacques Dordain (Head of ESA), three Novel Laureates (Peter Doherty, Jules Hoffman & James Watson), Mary Robinson, Bob Geldolf as well as giants of Irish science like Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Additional confirmed speakers include Bruce Albert (Editor of Science), Phil Campbell (Editor of Nature), Deborah Blum (former Pulitzer Prize winner), Ed Yong (Science Blogger at Not Exactly Rocket Science) and Dara O'Briain. ESOF 2012 is truly set to inspire, amaze and put Ireland firmly at the centre of world science.

The only word that comes to mind is WOW! The Dublin 2012 team deserve so much credit for creating such a full and enthralling programme of events, not only for the week of ESOF but for the whole year. Now it's over to you - the public (from 1 to 100) - to engage with the programme of events and discover that science is not boring but a truly wonderful field that can entertain and excite. I have no doubt you will. As a science educator, I hope I the programme of events will help to encourage more students to science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, both at second level and third level.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Dublin and Ireland and I can't wait for the events to begin! Visit the Dublin City of Science Website for more information or follow them on Twitter!

The Nano-particle Vaccine Booster

2012-01-23T12:26:00.001Z

Researchers from Duke University in the US have engineered tiny nano-particles which help boost the effects of vaccines in the lymph nodes of mice. The nano-particles resemble structures called granules which are released from mast cells (pictured above). Mast cells are found in the skin and help fight infection. They produce granules to communicate directly to the lymph nodes, making the immune response more effective. The mast cell granules contain a chemical called tumour necrosis factor (TNF) which help them move to the lymph nodes. The scientists' new nano-particles also contained TNF - meaning it would mimic the granules behaviour.

To make vaccines more effective, medical researchers commonly add a "adjuvant" - a substance used to help boost the immune response. Most of these are chemical based and are believed to only enhance immunity at the site where the vaccine is injected - rather than going to the lymph nodes, where the most effective immune reactions occur. These new particles do move to the lymph nodes, making them more effective than their chemical cousins.

In the study, the team of researchers exposed vaccinated mice to lethal levels of flu virus. They found that the vaccinated mice were able to fight off the disease and had an increased survival rate than those that did not have the nano-particle boosted vaccine.

The researchers outline how their nano-particles could used different signalling molecules (other than TNF) for different disease causing agents (like viruses or bacteria) that might require a different immune response. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Materials.

Suggested Pupil Activity: Find out more about how nano-particles can or could be used in medicine. Here's a good place to start.

ISTA PharmaChemical Ireland Teacher Awards 2012

2012-01-21T11:27:00.001Z

The Irish Science Teachers Association have just announced details of the 2012 ISTA PharmaChemical Ireland Teacher Awards. The award is used to recognise teams of science teachers who do significant work in encouraging the uptake of science in their schools. Nominations are made by school principals with application forms available on the ISTA website and completed forms should be emailed to Tamara Lyons. The closing date for applications is Friday the 30th March. All applications forms received will be assessed by a judging panel consisting of representatives from PharmaChemical Ireland and the ISTA.

The top three teams will be invited to participate in a seminar entitled “Encouraging the Uptake of Science Subjects at Second Level”. This seminar will be held in Trinity College, Dublin on Saturday 21st April (during the ISTA Annual Conference) where each team will present a 10 minute overview on the work done in their school to encourage the uptake of science subjects. All three teams will be presented with their prizes at the annual ISTA Conference dinner in the Alexander Hotel on Saturday 21st April. First prize is valued at €1,200 with Runner-up prizes to the value of €600.

YouTube Saturday - Japanese Giant Hornet

2012-01-21T10:08:00.001Z

Today's science themed YouTube Saturday video goes back to nature - specifically how nature can oft-times be deadly! The Japanese Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica) is a large insect, typically around 4cm long with a wingspan of 6cm, found in the Japanese Isles. It has a large yellow head with large eyes, and a dark brown thorax with an abdomen banded in brown and yellow. It generally feeds on other smaller insects - typically crop pests - and are seen as beneficial to agriculture. However, they also can prey on domesticated honey bees, sometimes killing thousands in a brief period. The video below shows how 30,000 honey bees are killed by just 30 hornets in a few hours. The Japanese Giant Hornets also have particularly strong venom and their sting is said to excruciatingly painful. In fact, over 40 people die every year from anaphylactic shock induced by hornet stings making it the most deadly animal in Japan!

Engineers Week 2012

2012-01-15T20:36:00.000Z

Engineers Week 2012 runs from February 27th to March 4th, celebrating the wonderful world of engineering in Ireland through a comprehensive programme of events for the general public. The aim of the week is to create a positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession to people of various ages with little or no engineering background.

There are loads of ways to get involved. There is a wide range of events running during the week including a national engineer volunteer day, and some great competitions (you can win a trip to NEMO in Amsterdam simply by participating in an event). Schools are also actively encouraged to get involved and can use the website resources to organise quizzes, host events, download activity sheets, download posters or simply find out more about engineering. Individuals and organisations can also submit their events for inclusion in the programme.

Since its inception in 2006, Engineers Week has grown in popularity with over 17,000 taking part in activities nationwide last year. The week is coordinated on a national basis by Engineers Ireland as part of the STEPS programme. Go on, get involved.

Also check out the brilliant Smart Futures competition for young digital creators!

Put Your Thinking Caps on for Google Science Fair 2012

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000Z

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is nearly over for another year (boooo) but never fear, there is still a place for you to stretch your brain (yayyy!). Last week Google launched their 2012 Science Fair, asking students from all over the world "what's your question?". And that's all science really is, a quest to answer the questions that niggle on my minds. The online science competition seeks curious young minds, from 13 to 18, to come up with original, creative projects which try to answer those questions. Google knows that not every genius get A's and the Science Fair is open to everyone - "mavericks, square-pegs and everybody who likes to ask questions".

The Google Science Fair website has everything you need. There are some top tips to ensure your submission is successful, essential "dos and dont's", full details on how the project will be judged and a massive section with all the help and resources you will need.. (The short video below will explain the process too). There is also a dedicated toolkit for teachers on how to get the best from your students.

There are some excellent prizes on offer too, from Google Chromebooks for regional winners to trips to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions, scholarships from Google (up to $50,000 for the overall winner) and work experience opportunities in CERN, LEGO or Google.

So get your thinking caps on, starting thinking of your question and register online now!

YouTube Saturday: The Symphony of Science

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000Z

Symphony of Science is musical project designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. The project has produced twelve full length music videos to date, each focusing on a different scientific principle. The video featured below delves in to the quantum world, a musical investigation into the nature of atoms and subatomic particles. The video features Morgan Freeman as well as some of the world's greatest science communicators including Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Brian Cox, Richard Feynman, and Frank Close. Visit the Symphony of Science website for downloads & more videos! You might not hear it in your local nightclub or on the radio, but I think it's funky!

Heroes of Irish Science - Jocelyn Bell-Burnell

2012-01-12T11:49:00.001Z

The Irish Times today began a new series of articles on the Heroes of Irish Science. The first looks at the life and works of the Irish astronomer Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, who discovered pulsar stars, and is written by Ronan McGreevy.

THE ASTRONOMER Jocelyn Bell-Burnell is one of Ireland’s most accomplished scientists. While still a research student she discovered pulsars and went on to become a distinguished scientist who made important astronomical discoveries.

She is a true hero of Irish science for her many accomplishments and for her ongoing contribution to a better public understanding of science. Her discovery of pulsars is one of the famous stories in science and it is also one of the most infamous.

In 1967 Jocelyn Bell was a 24-year-old PhD student from Belfast, reading radio astronomy at Cambridge University and examining newly-discovered quasars (quasi-stellar radio sources), incredibly bright and incredibly compact structures of light and energy at the centre of galaxies. She spent months reviewing print-outs from a radio telescope when she noticed small rhythmic blips on the paper one night in July.

The blips turned out to be signals from a radio source which had never been conceived before, let alone discovered. At first it was called – half in jest, half with a nod to the remote possibility that they might be signals from intelligent alien life forms – Little Green Man 1 (LGM-1).

On December 21st that year, Bell, as she was then, discovered a similar pulse, this time radiating from a different part of the galaxy. There couldn’t be two alien life forms radiating similar but different frequency pulses from opposite ends of the universe. It had to be a natural phenomenon.

The signals turned out to be pulsars (pulsating radio stars). The announcement was made to an astonished scientific world in Nature magazine in 1968. Six years later Prof Bell-Burnell (she married fellow scientist Martin Burnell in 1968), was denied a Nobel Prize for the discovery. Instead, her supervisor, Prof Antony Hewish, became the first astronomer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, which he shared with Martin Ryle, the then Astronomer Royal and pioneer of radio telescope technology.

It remains a cause célèbre of modern science. Here was a young scientist and a woman in a male-dominated profession, denied the ultimate prize in science. Though many took up the cudgels on her behalf, Bell-Burnell has always been admirably philosophical about it. Research students do not usually win Nobel Prizes, however noteworthy their discoveries.

Hewish himself described it as crediting the discovery of the New World to the look-out who first spotted land on Christopher Columbus’s expedition, though Bell-Burnell had a part in designing the experiment.

The decision was not fair, she says, but a lot of things in life are not fair and besides, she has had a successful career, Nobel Prize or No-Bell Prize, as it was deemed at the time. “It is an awful waste of time and energy to be grieving over something that you can’t do anything about,” she says.

Bell-Burnell had already moved several times after leaving Cambridge by the time the Nobel Prize was awarded in 1974. After a spell at the University of Southampton, she joined the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London working on the Ariel 5 satellite which was launched in 1974 to study X-ray astronomy. “I was very, very lucky. It ( Ariel 5 ) was hugely successful. I found myself wishing somebody would invent a Lord’s Day observant satellite so we could get a day off. It was phenomenally exciting.”

There have been many compensations, not least a slew of honours, most notably when she was made a Dame in 2008 for her work in science.

It was followed by her becoming the first female president of the Institute of Physics, which operates in the UK and Ireland. She has been a recipient of the Oppenheimer Prize and the Michelson Medal and holds several honorary doctorates.

She is also known for her championing of women in science and for her Quaker faith, which remains unmoved by the appliance of science. She has always been an advocate for the idea that science and faith can, as she put it, sit “lightly with each other” and it is part of the Quaker faith to believe that you can get closer to God by observing his creation.

She is critical of the well-known atheistic scientist Richard Dawkins saying he has a “fundamentalist view” of the subject.

“He believes science can prove anything. If it is not amenable to scientific proof, it doesn’t exist. If you care for a young child, for instance, is that science?”

Before Christmas she gave a lecture in Trinity College Dublin about the former planet Pluto. By her admission she was no expert on the subject of this cold and remote world when she was asked to chair a meeting of the International Astronomical Union in 2006 at which Pluto was downgraded to a minor planet.

Several hundred people turned up to hear her recount the often farcical circumstances in which delegates made the decision on the last day of the conference when many of the planetary scientists had gone home. However, with the benefit of hindsight, she still believes it was the right decision taken for the wrong reasons.

As perhaps the most famous living Irish astronomer, Bell-Burnell has been invited to chair several events at the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 meeting taking place next July in Dublin. She will host discussions on exoplanets and black holes, a subject very close to that of pulsars. She will also give a keynote address on a topic yet to be decided.

Read the original article here (which includes a bried introduction to pulsars).

World's Smallest Frog Discovered

2012-01-12T11:29:00.002Z

Researchers have discovered the smallest species of frog, and indeed vertebrate (or back boned animal), during a recent field study in Papua New Guinea. Paedophryne amauensis measures measures just 7.9mm from head to tail making it no bigger than a house fly (and two could fit across a smartie!). The newly discovered species lives amongst the leaf litter, perfectly adapted to its environment by its minuscule size. The researchers discovered the tiny frog species after collecting some lead litter and putting it in a bag.

Up until very recently the smallest frog species was believed to be the Brazilian Gold Frog, found only in the forests of Rio de Janeiro.The Paedophryne genus was only discovered in late 2011 and one must feel bad for Fred Kraus and his research team whose newly discovered species of tiny frog only held the title of smallest amphibian for a mere month. The new species, discovered by a group of researchers from various US institutions and led by Chris Austin from Louisiana State University, have a large surface area for their size and are prone to drying out. These frogs are not equatic and must stay in their moist leafy environment to avoid dehydration. They are likely a target for predators too, even large insects like scorpions, but their role in the ecosystem is obviously important as the numbers are high. Unusually the tiny species also doesn't have a tadpole stage either allowing them develop in the relative safety of the damp forest floor.

The results of the study are published in the Plos One Journal. Ed Yong has more information on the newly discovered amphibian. Click here to read.

Suggested Pupil Activity: Why not find out about the world's largest frog. Here's a good place to start.

Holy Crap!! Close the Toilet Lid to Prevent Spreading Harmful Bacteria

2012-01-12T10:50:00.000Z

Flushing the toilet with the lid open can cause the spread of harmful bacteria, according to a new study by the Microbiology Department at Leeds General Infirmary in the UK and published in the International Journal of Hospital Infection. The bacteria in question is Clostridium difficile, a bacteria which can cause severe cases of diarrhoea.

The researchers used faecal suspensions of C.difficile, to measure the levels of the bacteria in the air and on surfaces (like towels, sinks etc) after flushing the toilet. To compare, they used both lidless and lidded toilets.

They found that air samples 25cm above a lidless toilet, which is about the height of the handle, contained the harmful bacteria, with the highest numbers coming from samples taken immediately after flushing. As one might expect, they also found that flushing the toilet with the lid on reduces the spread of the bacteria - by as much as twelve times!

Outbreaks of C. difficile in hospitals have caused several fatalities, including seven cases in Irish hospitals since 2007. C.difficile can be difficult to control in a hospital setting and they can linger on practically any surface.

The researchers conclude by suggesting that lidless toilets not be used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities in future to reduce the spread of the potentially harmful bacteria.

Irish Times BANG Science Monthly #8

2012-01-11T08:14:00.000Z

BANG is back (with a bang). The Irish Times science monthly, aimed specifically at teens of all ages, returns just as the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition kicks off. Packed full of brilliant articles on what is happening in the world of science right now, BANG is a great read for any science enthusiast. In this issue Shane Hegarty looks at the spectacular space images snapped from a backyard in Dublin, Marie Boran looks at the scale of the universe, John Holden brings us some more "screen science", Aaron Meridith looks at what's been going on this month in science and there's a great look-back at some former winners of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition and what they're doing now. Also in this edition, yours truly investigates when will they invent the invisibility cloak and Claire O'Connell looks at the science of Beyonce!

It's another jammed packed edition and it's free in today's Irish Times! You can also follow BANG on Twitter or Facebook - go on, get some science in to you!