Blog Posts in English
Angels and Demons: the new film starring CERN
Angels and Demons, the film of the book of Dan Brown´s sequel to the Da Vinci code, will soon be at a cinema near all of us. And CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, is playing a starring role. Läs mer
The biggest public engagement programme ever?
Did you know that 2009 is International Year of Astronomy? If not, you are missing out on possibly the biggest public engagement event the universe has ever seen!
Wrinkle cream works! The science story that has the UK talking…
It´s not often I find that almost all my friends and family are interested in the finer points of scientific research , but the recent story that an Anti-Wrinkle cream really does work has got everyone talking.
Boom in Science journalism in Germany
A recent report from The Technical University in Dortmund shows that there has been a huge boom in science reporting in the mass media in Germany. And interestingly the reporting has not been limited to the Science sections.
Bio-engineering and the London Marathon
With the London marathon taking place this weekend, this Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph ran a full-page article entitled “What makes the perfect marathon runner?”
I read the science-related articles press with interest, as they generally feature subjects which (they hope) appeal to the wider public. In this quite extensive article, the journalist Sanjida O´Connell manages to cover several topics guaranteed to interest the reader:
1) The limits of the human body: are we running as fast as we can? (answer: nearly)
2) Is it all in our genes or can we all run that fast if we just train a bit harder? (answer: relax – its mainly in the genes) and
3) Could we bioengineer a perfect marathon runner? The surprising answer here is yes, probably! But it would not be a good idea.
The perfect marathon runner really could (in theory at least) be bio-engineered through a technique called gene doping. This technique involves injecting into the body a harmless virus that carries a performance-enhancing gene. This new gene would override genes in the appropriate cells, leading to enhanced athletic performance.
This technique is already being used to develop treatments for conditions such as muscular dystrophy, and whereas few people would question whether this was a Good Thing, many may take issue with gene doping to win races. There are many serious health-related risks, as well as the obvious questions about whether this is an acceptable way to enhance sporting prowess. (Probably not, I would have thought).
But this story is a great example of how to connect every day stories with science. Read the article at: –
