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It’s no secret that drug policy is confusing. At times, it can seem that there is little scientific rigour involved in the regulation of substances (for up-to-date, confidential advice and information on drugs, visit talktofrank.com). This state of affairs is changing slowly, however, as researchers discover previously unknown, positive effects in some of the most …

Science News: Psychedelic Drugs May Help Treat Mental Illnesses Read More »

“It’s as close to being in space as you can be on the Earth,” says Oxford University’s Prof Alex Rogers, as he recalls his journey to a depth of 3,380m inside the Japanese submersible Shinkai 6500. “You are so remote from your normal environment. There’s a real sense of isolation.” Rogers is science director of a …

Exploring the Mysterious Deep Read More »

Measuring 1.5m in length and weighing 180kg, OceanOne is quite unusual for a remotely operated underwater vehicle. Described as a ‘robo-mermaid’, it has a head, two cameras for ‘eyes’ and a pair of fully articulated arms, complete with wrists and fingers. OceanOne acts as an underwater avatar, allowing people to feel like they’re diving to …

Little Mermaid – OceanOne aka the ‘Robo-Mermaid’ Read More »

Although there are no seasons in space, this cosmic vista invokes thoughts of a frosty winter landscape. It is, in fact, a region called NGC 6357 where radiation from hot, young stars is energizing the cooler gas in the cloud that surrounds them. This composite image contains X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and …

Stellar Wonderland – NGC 6357 Read More »

The answer to this question is actually quite simple: pancakes are always round because gravity is an awesome chef! Why is that you ask? Well, because gravity pulls on fluid uniformly so when a blob of batter hits the griddle at a right angle, it gets tugged down into a round, symmetrical shape. At the …

Why Are Pancakes Always Round? Read More »

Resembling an overgrown garden, with tall blades of green grass replaced by white snow, penitentes are the coolest, sharpest snow formations around. It was once wrongly believed that this pointy Andes snowscape was carved out by the biting mountain wind. Let’s get straight to the point – wind doesn’t create penitentes. These spikes of hardened snow …

Unusual Sightings: Spiky Snow Read More »

When Earth’s magnetic field is disturbed by the Sun’s solar wind, the night sky lights up with dancing streaks of colour. While the Northern lights (Aurora borealis) usually steal the show, the Southern lights (Aurora australis) are equally impressive but less accessible. Auroras occur when the solar wind – electrically charged particles escaping the Sun – …

Nature’s Light Show Read More »

On the surface, Lake Abraham in the Canadian Rocky Mountains is a photographer’s dream. But beneath the frozen waters lie towers of bubbles, suspended in ice. These beautiful bubbles hide an ugly secret – they contain harmful methane gas. Lake Abraham’s methane bubbles are produced by bacteria on the lake bed feeding on dead plant …

Bubbling Under – Lake Abraham’s Frozen Waters Read More »