Sciencegate mar 2012 by JoeConnor

March 2012

HIGHGATE SCHOOL’S SCIENCE MAGAZINE

From the editors . . . Co-editors Joe Connor and Lucas Shelemy welcome you to the latest edition of Sciencegate, which features a large range of articles written by both pupils and staff on the theme of ’new science’. We hope that you find this issue enjoyable and accessible, and remember, if, having read these articles, you want to get involved then don’t hesitate to contact either Joe Connor (joscon97@highgateschool.org.uk) or Lucas Shelemy (lucshe97@highgateschool.org.uk)

CONTENTS IN BRIEF A concise overview of the news from the scientific world over the last few weeks GENOME SEQUENCING Ozan Toker discusses the role genome sequencing will have in the future GETTING OUT AND ABOUT London offers a wealth of scientific opportunities this winter THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOLOGY Co-editor Lucas Shelemy discusses how psychology will develop in the years to come SCIENCE WEEK 2012 A timetable of events for the busiest Science Week ever BLUNDERS ON THE BIG SCREEN Joe Connor discusses the biggest scientific errors from Hollywood WHAT LIES IN STORE FOR RELIGION VS SCIENCE? Toby Sharpe looks at how developing scientific discovery will affect this age-old battle FUTURE FOOD SYSTEMS THAT COULD ONE DAY SAVE OUR DIETS Bahar Ghodsian discusses the potential solution to the obesity epidemic in Great Britain FUTURE ENERGY SYSTEMS With natural resources dwindling,, Jamie Goodier looks at the potential solutions CHANGING THE WAY WE TRAVEL A fascinating piece by Cheryl Liu that discusses the future of transport - be it on Earth or in space TECHNOLOGY: JUST HOW FAR CAN IT GO? Our resident technology expert Charlie Bruce explores the exciting the future of technology is BRAIN TEASERS Can you work out the everyday objects that have been put under an electron microscope? NANOMEDICINE - THE FUTURE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE? Toni Daci explores the exciting new world on nanomedicine THE FUTURE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION Dr. Szydlo discusses how science education has changed, and how it will change in the future

IN BRIEF

Are NFL players at risk of ALS? ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is a motor neurone disease whose most famous sufferer is Stephen Hawking [see Sciencegate February issue]. ALS causes degradation of upper neurones, those in the brain, and lower neurones, those in the spine, throughout the body. Since the muscles are unable to function, they weaken and atrophy (waste away). In an American Footballer‟s life, he can expect at least a couple of concussions. Research by a team at Boston‟s Centre for the

Alzheimer’s symptoms reversed in mice.

Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy found a link between ALS and other neurological problems, such as dementia, and repeated head trauma. Upon performing post mortems on three ex-Green Bay Packers players who had dies prematurely from neurological disorders, it was found that there existed huge levels of defective tau-protein. These normally stabilise microtubules in neurones in the CNS. However, when defective proteins are over-expressed the neurones lose stability and degenerate. The experiments are set to be repeated later this year to secure further accuracy commonly attributed to Alzheimer‟s.

The team used the drug bexarotene, which was Researchers at the Case approved in 199 for the Western Reserve University treatment of cutaneous T cell in Cleveland have been able to lymphomas. It was chosen reverse the effects of Alzbecause it interacts with heimer‟s in mice using a 13 proteins in brain cells and as a year old skin cancer drug. The result can affect accumalation mice involved in the study had of amyloid plaques. been genetically modified to exhibit Alzheimer‟s symptoms. The drug did indeed reverse These included the toxic the symptoms, but what was Amyloid plaques (shown in most incredible was the speed red on the picture on the left) with which the mice which make neurones clump recovered. The drug lowered together and, eventually, die; the most toxic form of plaque as well as the dementia most by 25% after just one dose,

Collisions, such as this, leading to head trauma can lead to neurological disorders later in life.

and remained at that level for 3 days. Additionally, mice resumed normal behaviour after just 72 hours. Mice began to make nests with supplied toilet paper - a trait forgotten as plaques increased in their brain.

receptors on brain cells to produce Apolpoprotein E - a fat-protein complex that removes amyloid plaques from the space between neurons. The fact that bexarotene doesn‟t directly remove the plaques is an interesting trait for an Alzheimer‟s drug to Alzheimer research is a diffi- have. As such, given the failure of the numerous other cult field to work in. This is shown the countless number drugs, it‟s a road researchers of failed drugs that seemed to want to try going down have so much potential. What excites scientists, though, is The question on everyone‟s that bexarotene works differ- lips is now whether the ently. Its primary function treatment can be transferred isn‟t to remove the plaques. to humans. Instead, it activates retinoid

The -Amyloid plaques (shown in red) are present in an untreated mouse, on the left, and clear significantly when the same mouse, on the right, is given a dose of bexarotene.

Joe Connor

IN BRIEF

‘Pinball planets’ endure a bumpy ride

the one shown on the right. The large gas giant looms ominously in the skyline of the ‟home‟ A select few of the stars we see at rocky planet. The giant neighbour planet‟s orbit has become increasnight are in binary systems - in ingly elliptical over time and is which two stars constantly orbit now nearly crossing the rocky each other. It is believed that these stars, like most others, will planet‟s one. The smaller planet is have their own planetary systems. then ‟bumped‟ out of its orbit and its fate is now sealed. The issue begins to arise when both stars have unique systems. The planet is then whirled into a The proximity of the planets and wild ‟orbit‟, during which it is the stars themselves, combined bounced between each star bewith the quirky orbits of the stars, fore finally being hurled into the can de-stabilise the orbits of the deep freeze of outer space. planets themselves. Binary planetary systems, then pinball on a vast scale. This can lead to a situation like

Earth in for a bumpy ride

The Sun is quickly approaching its ‟solar maximum‟ - the period, every 11 or so years, when it throws out more bursts of magnetic activity.

The sun is getting more and more lively - something we here in England saw examples of with With sunspot activity at some the appearance of aurora above of its highest levels over the Yorkshire. past few years, there are fears that the next major solar storm Auroras are caused by the Sun to affect Earth will be a ‟Katrina releasing charged particles, of a storm‟ - according to Jonaknown as solar wind, which than MacDowell of the Harvard interact with our atmosphere Smithsonian Center for Astroand magnetosphere. As the Sun physics. gets more and more lively, larger and stronger solar winds With more and more of our are released, causing the effects modern world relying on techwe‟ve witnessed early this year. nology, such as communication-

Binary planetary systems could lead to almost unthinkable situations like this

-s and global positioning systems, which can be severely affected by these storms, scientists are concerned whether we are ready for such a storm.

the answer. They believe that zebras evolved stripes to ward off blood sucking flies. Using horses with white, brown and black coats, the team investigated the polarising effect of each on light. It was found that Just why did the the black and brown coats produced horizontally polarzebra get its ised light, which travels in only the horizontal direcstripes? tion, which is very attractive to flies. However, unlike the It‟s a question that has been other two, the white coat addressed in scientific con- reflected the light in all diferences to children‟s storections. Flies find light like ries. A research team from this extremely unattractive Belgium now claim they have and left these horses alone.

How does one protein protect against HIV?

that the protein SAMHD1 stops this hijacking of host cell DNA. When DNA replicates, during cell division and growth, a second set of The majority of HIV research foits building blocks, DNA nucleocuses on finding parts of the body which are resistant to HIV infection tides, need to be found. There is a „pool‟ of free nucleotides that can and exploiting the reasons why. be used on new DNA molecules. Research at the John and Joel Smilow Research Center has found Protein SAMHD1 works by removthat immune cells known as dening this pool of nucleotides. This dritic cells are indeed resistant to ensures that the virus, having enHIV infection. tered the cell, cannot make its own DNA and insert it into the host When a virus, such as HIV, infects a cell it combines its own DNA with cell‟s DNA. the host cell, ensuring that it is proDendritic cells are resistant to HIV infection due to duced every time that cell and its It is hoped that findings such as this the action of the protein SAMHD1. derivatives divide and grow. It has can help the production of cures in been found by this research team the future.

Joe Connor

GENOME SEQUENCING was split up into 150,000 letter long fragments, which were then chopped up randomly and inserted into engiyet at the same time, dazzlingly simple chronicle of our neered bacteria, which replicated the fragment. The mixvery beings. An account of what we are, and a hint of ture of different lengths of the sequence in the bacteria what may become of each and every one of us is encrypted in a codex of over three billion letters, stored in is used to piece it together as overlapping fragments are found. the nucleus of nearly every cell in our bodies. Furthermore, the entire lexicon of this compendium of humanNowadays, high-throughput sequencing is ity is composed of four humble letters: A, T, C, and G, mostly used, which cuts DNA into 100 letter long grouped in three letter words. These letters are in fact strands which have a marker attached to the end of the nitrogenous bases Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and them, which stick to a plate and are read by a laser. This Guanine, each attached to a nucleotide, the building method can sequence billions of strands in one go. Using block of DNA. this method, sequencing a personâ&#x20AC;&#x;s full genome takes just

The human genome is a remarkably complex,

Thus, one can understand the necessity and desire to decode the genome. To fully decipher and understand the letters that make up our bodies and consciousness would spark a new era in medicine and biology. A project was undertaken in 1990, which was the first full sequencing of the human genome. It took 13 years, three billion dollars, and the collaboration of scientists from the US, UK, France, Germany, China, Japan and India, but finally in 2003, the project produced a complete human genome.

Since then, as computational power increased and new techniques and machines were developed, the cost of sequencing a human genome has been dropping rapidly. The original method of sequencing genomes was tedious and lengthy: the 3 billion letter long sequence

a few months and less than $10,000.

However, the newest technology promises to drive the price and waiting time for sequencing genomes even further, and furthermore promises to do all this on a USB stick that can be plugged into a laptop where the results are downloaded! The device, developed by British company Oxford Nanopore Technologies, is expected to cost less than $900, a much more appropriate price for researchers who donâ&#x20AC;&#x;t have the funding for or access to current sequencers, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

GENOME SEQUENCING through the hole. The electrical current is disrupted as each base passes through, but each base affects the curtal patientâ&#x20AC;&#x;s genome could be read quickly from the bedside, showing the genetic predispositions which may rent differently, so each base gives a unique signal when put certain people at risk from certain medications and passed through. This way it is easy to count and identify all the bases, and a full genome can be sequenced in less treatments. Also, often, treatments are ineffectual due to a personâ&#x20AC;&#x;s genes, so by checking the genome, a per- than a day. sonalised treatment could be devised that would give Unfortunately, the new machines have an erthe patient a much better chance battling diseases such ror rate of 4%, which may not seem like much, but as cancer. when a genome with 3 billion bases that have to be se-

It is hoped that with these sequencers, a hospi-

quenced, the error count is over 120 million. This quencing, and has been in development since 1995. The means that this machine is not yet suitable for clinical use, and it will be another year or two before really idea is that a hole, around 1 nanometre in diameter (thatâ&#x20AC;&#x;s one billionth of a metre!) is bored into silicon or quick, cheap and accurate sequencing will come on the graphene, and an electrical current applied across it. A market. DNA helix is unzipped and one of the strands fed

The new technique is called nanopore se-

Ozan Toker

OUT AND ABOUT This Easter, London offers a wealth of opportunities to get out and about and follow up your scientific interests The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (www.kew.org) What? The world‟s largest collection of living plants, featuring excellent exhibitions on plant biology and evolution Nearest Tube? Kew Gardens Which bus? Routes 65 or 391 stop at the entrance How much? Adults £13.90, Concessions £11.90, Children Free The Natural History Museum (www.nhm.ac.uk) What? Home to 70 million life and earth science specimens, with exhibitions on evolution, paleontology, geology, botany and anything else you can imagine. Many of Darwin‟s original specimins are housed here. Nearest Tube? South Kensington Which bus? Routes 14, 49, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414 and C1 stop nearby How much? Free, although temporary exhibitions will charge Don’t Miss! Scott‟s Last Expedition: 20th January - 2nd September 2012 Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer Competition until 11th March 2012 The Royal Society (royalsociety.org/Events-and-Exhibitions) What? The Royal Society offers a variety of free events for public audiences on topics including science, technology, engineering, medicine and much more. Nearest Tube? Piccadilly, Green Park, Leicester Square Which bus? Routes 9, 12, 14 and 38 stop nearby How much? Most lectures are free, but you may need to book. The Hunterian Museum (www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums) What? The Hunterian museum at the Royal College of Surgeons houses a vast collection of surgical instruments, anatomical specimens and exhibitions on the history of medicine. Nearest Tube? Holborn Which bus? Routes 1, 4, 8, 11, 25, 38, 55, 172 and 243 stop nearby How much? Free. The Wellcome Collection (www.wellcomecollection.org) What? The most eclectic and unpredictable collection of medical history in the world. Nearest Tube? Euston Which bus? Routes 10, 18, 73 and 91 stop nearby How much? Free.

Joe Connor

THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology and the study of the human and animal mind is arguably the most rapidly growing science at the moment. It was only in 2003 when the Nobel Prize was awarded for useful applications with MRI imaging of the brain. From here scientists have progressively learnt more and more about each nook and cranny of this strange organ‟s secrets. The science from a treatment perspective has taken off, with it becoming more and more fashionable for the public (especially within America) to have a therapist. But where is the science heading? Will we ever fully understand the human mind, thought and how it all works? The truth is it is hard to tell. There is so much to discover when concerning the brain.

Priorities

currently for experimental psychologists are to investigate what the different functions of the brain are and to try and find reasoning behind many of the brain‟s malfunctions. This functional study of the brain is mapping out all the various sections. This is done by finding patients with lesions at different areas of the brain and concluding what that area in the brain must be used for. This is a long and arduous process. It is extremely difficult to find people who have had injuries with very specific damaged areas. As a result, although our knowledge about the various functions of the brain has increased, we are still lost in many of the cortex functions.

Due

fMRI scanners can now effectively show the active areas of the brain at specific points relevant to that concept. Although this may seem pointless, this kind of technology may be used in the future to not only assist verbally impaired people express thoughts but also encourages remote communications and translation devices, as well as helping scientists understand the nature of mental illnesses and the impact on thinking and visualising words.

However this

doesn‟t stop at words. Technology is rapidly developing to be able to produce images, actual pictures, of your thoughts and ideas. This is mindreading, actual visual representation of what a person is thinking, and the surprising thing is that this idea is not even that far off. The University of California Berkley scientists recently developed a scanner that can digitalise thoughts into almost identifiable images. According to the experimental psychologists, this is a step towards reconstructing everything from what we‟re thinking while awake to what‟s happening as we dream.

to this investigation, the race to understand thought is being quickly abandoned. „Thought‟ and „consciousness‟ appears to be such a distant concept that currently there seems to be no scientific method to explain it. It is clear that psychology is rapidly getting more and more credit and acceptance as a scientific study. The past 15 issues of NewScientist have a cover article or main article mentioning emotion, the brain, mind or some other psychology related ideas. But where is this So how does it work? In the test a subject leading us? Models are being made, such as the one at watches new film trailers whilst undergoing an fMRI Carnegie Mellon University which can predict the brain‟s (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan. The fMRI unique patterns associated with concrete nouns. shows to us “quantitative modeling” using “a new motion-energy encoding model.” What this basically proSimilar to this, fMRI scanners can now map out duces is brain activity patched together into an image. the active areas of the brain when a subject pictures a What the scanner manages to see is vague geometry and particular noun and the qualities it brings with it. In this colours and some background blurry images that match way set nouns have been shown to activate neurons in the ones seen by the subject. the sensory motor-cortex regions in the brain that are

The Berkeley neuroscientist Jack Gallant claimed „This is a major leap toward reconstructing internal imagery, we are opening a window into the movies in our minds.”

So,

have increased dramatically, and psychologists are being required frequently in court scenarios and to help assist with many mental issues or problems. What seems likely is that the requirement for counselors is only going to rise. In the Western world a society is evolving that creates the need for human‟s to withdraw from public openness and confide in a select few. Psychology in education is becoming an increasingly popular subject, and so the idea of people seeing psychologists as much as medical doctors is not alien. Psychologist David Barlow has put forward a prediction to how psychoanalysis and treating will change in future, showing more selfawareness from the patient on his or her various vulnerabilities.

although the idea of seeing into people‟s minds and being able to recreate memories and events just by scanning the hippocampus is not possible yet, these science fiction ideas are not too far off. IBM recently published a „Next 5 in 5 forecast‟, predicting all the new technologies that IBM thinks will be around in 5 years time. Of these one of which is that they are confident of technology that will be able to read minds. This idea is already coming true, as seen by the studies at Berkely but also by the EPOC neuroheadset from the company Emotiv. EPOC uses sensors on the scalp to 1. enable people with neurological disorders affecting their communication to be able to move objects on a computer screen using their mind. It uses a set of sensors to 2. tune into electric signals, much like EEG (Electroencephalography) produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expressions and con- 3. nects wirelessly to most PCs. 4.

Electroencepahlography (EEG) can track brain activity during certain activities, such as spikes while playing games.

Although

this technology seems too ambitious for our time, it does exist (although does not always work). IBM are confident that within the next 5 years we will be able to make calls by simply thinking „make a call‟. Crazy I know, but IBM‟s predictions tend to be on the right track for future technology. Although mind-reading isn‟t improbable, neuroscientists cannot see any definitive end at the moment for the quest to understand exactly what biologically „thought‟ is.

How will the psychotherapeutic practice change in the future? The use of psychotherapists and analysts

Psycho-education/boosting motivation (increasing self knowledge and becoming a partner in therapy) Cognitive reappraisal (learning to think accurately about your thinking) Preventing emotional avoidance (accepting emotional experience and increasing emotional literacy) Changing behavioral habits in the context of exposure treatment (facing fears and learning new habits)

As for the science of psychology, currently it is focused heavily on a neuroscientific approach, with various social psychology strands attached. With the relatively new ethical laws regarding the subject‟s understanding of the experiment, social psychology will only decline with an even greater rise on the more factual, biological side of the science in the future. Let‟s not even get started on partial brain transplants… Lucas Shelemy

16:00: Dissecting a mouse brain Dr. Charlotte Scott B3 Year 13

13:00: Faulkes Telescope P3 Anyone

All Day: Robot Wars Big School Year 9

14:15: How to win a Nobel Prize Tim Hunt Dyne House Aduitorium Years 12 & 13

13:00: PCR Workshop B3 Years 12 & 13

13:00: Freaky Animals B1 Years 7 & 8

13: 00: So you think you know the structure of DNA? Dr. ZoĂŤ Bradbrook P3 Open to all

13:00: Liquid Nitrogen Ice-cream C1 Year 10

12:10: Waste Technologies Dyne House Auditorium Year 11

13:00: House Science Olympiad Big School Years 9, 10, 11

SCIENCE WEEK 2012

14:15: Periodic Tales Hugh Aldersey-Williams (OC) Mills Centre Years 12 & 13

13:00: Angiogenesis Dr. James Whiteford B3 Anyone

09:40: Beneath the Surface Dr. David Peggie C2 Year 12

18:00: UCL Lecture - Alan Turing Prof. Andrea Sella University College London Year 12

16:00: The Life of a Paediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass B3 Anyone

13:00: The Marx / Faraday Debate Big School Anyone

13:00: Egg Drop Science Quad Year 7 & 8

12:10: Comets Dyne House Auditorium Year 7

Big Bang Fair NEC Birmingham Year 7

Going into the Dark Young Vic Theatre Year 12

16:00: Crossrail Andy Mitchell P3 Anyone

SCIENCE WEEK 2012

BLUNDERS ON THE BIG SCREEN Simplistic Planets This is something Star Wars is particularly guilty of. Be it forest worlds, such as Endor, or the ice world of Hoth, many films contain planets that have just one type of ecosystem. However, for a planet to support complex life, it must have a variety of ecosystems, providing water and other necessities for life.

Deep Brain Stimulation A surgical treatment involving the implantation of a ‟brain pacemaker‟, deep brain stimulation (DBS) 0 involves sending electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. Despite increasing the quality of life for patients with Parkinson‟s, Tourette syndrome and chronic pain, DBS cannot be used for memory recall - as it was in Season 4 of House M.D. Ludicrously, hospital staff probed House‟s brain so that he would remember something he witnessed when drunk. Since we know so little about how exactly the brain works, it would be impossible to target a single memory (especially because memory is one of the least understood phenomena in our brains) Lasers You‟re standing on a rebel base and see an Imperial walker (pictured left) coming towards you. It fires a laser right in your direction. What do you see? The answer is nothing. That is because lasers are just essentially light, and hence they travel at the speed of light. In Star Wars, however, laser beams appear to travel roughly 10 metres per thirteenth of a second. This translates to 300 m/s - somewhat short of the speed of light, 299,792,458 m/s. When a laser beam becomes visible, it is because it is scattering off minute particles in its path. This would indicate that the laser is in fact losing energy, and by the time it hit its target would have little effect.

Superman kills everyone on Earth In 1978‟s Superman, Lois Lane is killed in an earthquake that Superman is unable to prevent. Grieving, he not only defies all laws of time and space, but also kills every living thing on Earth. Indeed, that‟s what would happen if he flew fast enough around Earth to reverse its orbit. Because of our planet‟s movement through the Solar System, we are all moving at 700 to 1000 mph, depending where you are. If the Earth‟s rotation was to suddenly stop, we would all simultaneously be thrown along the ‟path of inertia‟ (basicallty outwards at an angle of 45° from the Earth) at 700-1000mph, due to Earth‟s centrifugal force - it certainly wouldn‟t be a comfortable landing The Core If I was going to pick one film that consistently makes the most heinous scientific mistakes, it would be 1997‟s The Core. We are told in this film that the Earth‟s molten core has stopped spinning and, as a result, there is significant instability in the Earth‟s electrostatic field. There are significant problems with the film‟s general premise. The inner core is a molten ball of iron the size of Mars, which is constantly spinning. It would take a lot of energy to stop such a rotation. It has around 1035 ergs of energy stored up in its rotation. That is an unbelievable amount of energy - in fact, it is the amount of energy released by the Sun in 100 seconds. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that it simply isn‟t possible for the core to just stop spinning. In fact, on a side-note, they could have saved the film by actually When reaching the inner core, the ship that the group of scientists are in crash lands in a field of giant amethysts. In this scene there are two significant scientific errors. Firstly, the pressure at this point is 800, 000 pounds per square inch - more than 50, 000 times atmospheric pressure at sea level. It is absolutely absurd to think that the suits in which the scientists venture out of the ship could withstand that pressure, even move. Another issue lies in their use of tools at this stage of the core. In order to cut through a sheared-off piece of metal, they use a stream of pressured oxygen gas, Again, due to the pressure at this depth, this would be an impossibility. With this much pressure in the surroundings, the canister containing the oxygen would be at an impossible pressure to make sure the oxygen remains as a gas, Back up on Earth, humans are suffering the affects of deadly microwave radiation. While the most dangerous radiation from the sun is actually the substances in the solar wind. However, this film focuses, for some reason on microwave radiation. The microwave radiation in outer space is so weak that any getting to Earth, which all microwave radiation does, regardless of a magnetic field, wouldn‟t, as the film suggests, create a beam of radiation that cooks everything in its path.

BLUNDERS ON THE BIG SCREEN

You freeze in the vacuum of Space In many films, if a space walk goes wrong and the astronaut spins out into outer space, the unfortunate guy / girl will immediately freeze. That seems to make sense, given that the average temperature in space is a nippy 2 K. However, the vacuum of space doesn‟t technically have a temperature. Temperature is a measure of the movement of atoms, and there aren‟t any in the vacuum. Therefore, the only heat you would lose is the heat that naturally radiates out from your body - before this point you would suffocate

Human cryogenic freezing For years, movie makers have enticed us with promises of never dying. If you have the misfortune to become infected with an incurable disease - why not just freeze yourself until a cure is found? One good reason why not to is no-one has ever survived the process. There are many pre-requisites to ensure the body remains stable. Chemicals must be added to the bloodstream to stop the blood freezing in spikes. Additionally, all fluids need to be replaced by a solution both inside and outside the cells. This ensures the water potential is equal inside and outside cells. Eventually though, the brain will always die as a result of not getting enough oxygen. Brendan Fraser outruns the Sun The Mummy Returns....hardly a film that will go down in history for its scientific accuracy. Brendan‟s son has put on a magical bracelet that must be returned to a temple before the light of the Sun hits it. With the Sun only a few paces behind, Fraser picks up his son and with a burst of speed just makes it. Now, Egypt is 27° N of the equator. A ring around the Earth at this latitude is 22, 162 miles. Since the wall of sunlight takes 24 hours to sweep around the Earth, its observed speed is 923 mph. Now, I‟ve heard of adrenalin boosts, but running that fast is something else.... Joe Connor

WHAT LIES IN STORE FOR SCIENCE VS RELIGION

During the fraction of time humans have clung to the surface of the Earth, we have developed a vast wealth of knowledge. This vault of understanding grows with each passing day that our population expands and innovation booms. Perhaps perplexingly to some, despite the advancements that have been made to explain the mechanics of both the human mind and the universe that it seems to perceive, humanity is still predominantly a spiritual species. With little evidence, we see our fellows, perhaps even ourselves, believing in higher powers, rituals, and hoping that their souls will live on into an unverified afterlife. An important question attaches itself to each scientific discovery: will it damage religion? Eventually, will the development of empirical knowledge disprove a deity, or perhaps shatter any spiritual dimension to life at all?

The prospect, to the believer, seems terrifying and preposterous. A world without religion could be deemed amoral and empty, a hellhole of short-lived animals biting each other, with no motivation for either altruism or alms. The faithful, however, could not presumably imagine their faith to be “rationally” dismissed, given that it is arguable that faith is not a matter of examining earthly evidence and inferring the work of God, but also a spiritual leap into the unknown.

alpha-point was that initiated that cosmic event is unclear. In a cosmos where there is no divine order (or, perhaps, alien overlords), we fall into the trap of infinite regress, where science leaves us looking at eternal chains of events causing one another but with no explanation why other that they do, and how they do. To the theist, although science can explain the “brute facts” of where we live, it can not necessarily explain much more. God, to many, can tell us why the universe is and works as it does, and though the idea of a deity, certainly a JudaeoChristian one, is riddled with internal paradoxes, it is a self-justifying concept that can rely on itself, rather than endless reasons that back each other up and mean nothing in isolation. Some also believe that the belief in God that many possess is something that is beneficial; the prospect of living in a godless universe is, though potentially empowering, also possibly terrifying. Worship and faith could keep mankind moral, though it has not always.

We might, some argue, also be biologically pro-

grammed to believe in what our parents do, and this does not, despite what one might think, fail to explain where the idea of God originated from. The “invisible agents” David Hume stated primitive peoples inferred to have existed in the mysteries of nature could have developed into modern monotheism, and been passed on like an unwanted genetic gift into following generations. ReFaith is, to many philosophers, a matter partly gardless of why mankind believes, science cannot disremoved from the terrestrial realm. With each attack prove religion, and, more importantly, the faith that lies the atheist takes against the believer‟s faith, using science at the core of belief. Belief in something more than us is, as their weapon, the believer can retreat into their oth- for whatever reason, core to man, and it will mutate to erworldly faith. The “god of the gaps” hypothesis is survive even as scientists plunder the heavens for knowlequally disliked by the atheist. This is an idea where God edge once reserved for any gods lurking above. could slink out of science‟s glare as human empiricism learns more and more, leaving religion to explain that Toby Sharpe which has not yet been understood. However, the belief in God is not merely to have faith in something which cannot be proven yet explains that which seems impossible.

Science can, presumably, explain every aspect of the vast universe, but it can only explain how the universe is, some theorise. The Big Bang can replace the concept of Genesis, as indeed it likely has, but what the

FUTURE FOOD SYSTEMS THAT COULD ONE DAY SAVE OUR DIETS lets. The appeal of these foods remains the same but they are cleverly designed to stay intact until they reach of the United Kingdom and a team of scientists at Birmingham University believe that colloids will be the key. the small intestine so they make you feel fuller for A colloid is a substance that is microscopically dispersed longer. The air bubbles can be coated in highly surfacethroughout another substance, such as milk, which is an active proteins called hydrophobins which are extracted from fungi. These hydrophobins assemble at the surface emulsified colloid of liquid butterfat globules dispersed of the bubbles and aggregate to form a gel-like structure within a water-based solution. These scientists have found a way to use colloids to enhance the taste of food that remain stable in liquids for months so they could be used in food emulsions like salad dressings or sauces to while making you feel fuller for longer. cut fat levels without affecting the product quality. However, these hydrophobins can only be extracted in small Obesity is a serious problem in the UK – 1 in 4 amounts from cell cultures so they are rather expensive. adults are obese, many of whom are reluctant to eat However, hopefully in the future, biotechnology could „light‟ foods as they are considered to not taste as nice overcome this. as a fat-filled alternative. The thinking behind many food colloids is to engineer low-fat products by blending in Duplex emulsions (water-in-oil-in-water) can be colloidal systems (often made of water or air) as these used to cut salt levels if salt is restricted to the outer are undetectable in the mouth. Despite these colloids mainly be made up of air, they are far from the „air diet‟ water layer and the inner droplets do not contain any salt. The consumer perceives the product to have a that Grazia magazine wrote about in March 2010, inhigher salt content than it actually does. Alternatively, in spired by a practice called „breatharianism‟: reaching a order to cut fat content, small sub-micrometre drops of level of consciousness where one can obtain all sustewater can be hidden within oil droplet of an emulsion so nance from the air or sunlight. the body is fooled into thinking it is consuming a high-fat product. Water-soluble vitamins and minerals can be hidden within the inner water phase, away from the other compounds that make up the food which would usually react with vitamins and minerals. The contents of the inner droplets would not be tasted and, theoretically, could be released at a controlled rate in response to a stimulus in the body such as temperature or pH.

There is an urgent need to improve the health

There is a great deal of industry interest in new

Obesity has been on the rise for both men and women, with the latest figures showing that 1 in 4 adults are obese

These scientists have food a way to put air into foods while still making sure the food is nutrient rich – possibly a clever way to follow an „air diet‟ without starving. Foods are being produced that a made up of gel -coated air bubbles that taste and feel just like fat drop-

colloidal systems especially ones that encapsulate nutrients. However, encapsulating nutrients is not as straightforward as it is for pharmaceutical products as the in food they may need to survive heat treatment, storage and cooking. Nonetheless, these colloidal food systems are exciting and show a lot of potential so will hopefully soon be available as low-fat, low-salt, tasty products. Bahar Ghodsian

FUTURE ENERGY for energy. Wind farms are often in the news, but unfortunately not always for the right reasons. Far too often towards for environmentally friendly and efficient ways to generate energy, as a means for reducing costs. How- we see folks from the country in the news, complaining of wind farms ruining the scenery. Recently it was reever, with current consumption rates of fossil fuels pointing to an energy crisis later this century, these en- vealed that U.S. billionaire tycoon Donald Trump is willing to pay £10m in order to stop a wind farm being built ergy systems have become more of a necessity than an near his golf course. This highlights many people‟s backeconomic ideal. wards attitudes towards wind farm technologies, and also the fact that Mr. Trump However one annoyingly unavoidable principle clearly cares too much about his hair or his golf swing in Physics is the conservation of energy. Whilst creating being affected by strong gusts. energy from nothing would be ideal, unfortunately it is also impossible. But the next best thing is to generate energy from something we have no use for.

For a long time, scientists have been working

One company that is doing just this thing is

Now normally I would tell Mr. Trump to put his

hair in a scrunchie, put in a bit of practice at the driving Advanced Plasma Power (APP). APP is a company dedi- range and to stop being such a fool, however some cated maximizing energy obtained from waste on a large clever folks at NASA have saved me the trouble of doing this. Rather than scale. They set up „energy from waste‟ plants, which treat a wide range of materials from municipal, industrial and commercial sites. Thes plants produce an energyEmailing him themselves, scientists at NASA rich gas they call syngas, which can be used to generate have instead been researching into the idea of „flying electricity efficiently in gas turbines or fuel cells. The syn- wind farms‟. These would consist of swarms of kite-like gas can also be converted into synthetic natural gas, hy- turbines operating at 30,000 feet above ground level, drogen or liquid fuels. Whilst this is the main output, the sending power down to remaining waste that cannot be converted into syngas is the ground via nano-tube cables. Having the wind farms not just taken to landfill, but is made into a material that at high altitudes does have its advantages, aside from is strong, inert and safe. This product can be used as a keeping the selfish and wealthy happy. At higher alticheap but effective building material, and helps maximize tudes, the wind has a larger velocity and power, can genthe amount of waste that is used and diverted from land- erate as much as 8 to 27 times the amount of power fill. that would be generated at ground level. Also the wind turbines would be tethered to the ground, making them able to be drawn in for maintenance or during storms.

So why have I mentioned these two schemes? Well aside from them being examples of ingenious applications of science that can be understood by your typical secondary school student, they highlight the effort being put into solving an impeding energy crisis by some of the worlds top minds. And hopefully it wont be too long before we see them being implemented on a wider scale.

APP finally makes the „garbage into gas‟ theory possible

However this is just one front on which scientists are battling the energy crisis, another being the push to develop better ways to harness renewable resources

Jamie Goodier

THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORT

Good transport systems are key to a successful economy; providing us with access to a multitude of services. As the Earth‟s natural resources are quickly dimin-

design; allowing for self-adjustment in the event of undersea earthquakes, for example.

ishing, the push for more energy efficient ways of transport allows for engineers to explore new and different endeavours.

The efficiency of public transport systems is the most important aspect to every commuter. To engineers, it is the way the system operates and is powered. Amongst the busiest in the world is Tokyo‟s subway system, with millions of commuters passing through each station every day. This results in a lot of foot traffic, the energy of which can be harnessed to power the station‟s ticket gates, electric lights and displays. In two of the city‟s stations, 25 square meters of piezoelectric energygenerating flooring tiles in front of the ticket turnstiles have been installed. These tiles are made of layers of rubber sheeting and ceramic which absorb the vibrations of the commuter‟s footsteps and can capture the released energy. The combined energy, which yields about 1,400kW/sec per day, is then stored in capacitors for use in the station‟s hardware.

It is hoped that trans-Atlantic tunnels, using MagLev trains, will soon link New York and London

Space tourism could also lead to faster and more improved ways of transport around the globe.

pend, guide and propel vehicles using strong magnets to

Technologies used to develop reusable space vehicles could establish better transport systems. Skylon, which has been in development for over three decades, is one such example. Manufactured by Reaction Engines Ltd., it

create both lift and thrust. Maglev trains are already in use such as the JR-Maglev at Yamanashi in Japan and the Transrapid 09 at the Emsland Test Facility in Germany.

is labelled as an unpiloted hypersonic aircraft with hybrid engines capable of carrying up to 24 passengers and up to 12 tonnes of cargo. The high speed take off of almost

Using this technology, transport systems are in development for more efficient ways of travelling across the

Mach 0.5 (half the speed of sound) requires a runway that is up to 5.6 kilometres in length. The take off run-

globe. One such example is the Trans-Atlantic tunnel. Although many variations of this concept exist, they all

way is required to be highly reinforced because of the high pressure exerted at such high speeds however; the

build on the technology of magnetic levitation. A TransAtlantic tunnel could take you from London to New

landing runway can be a traditional aircraft runway. Within the Earth‟s atmosphere, Skylon uses SABRE

Maglev trains use magnetic levitation to sus-

York in 54 minutes theoretically in a 3100 mile long tun- (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) which pronel at 5000 mph. Speeds as high as this is only achievable duces speeds of up to Mach 5.4; equivalent to 1615 in a complete vacuum where the drag force of air fricmetres per second. tion would be eliminated. Through the use of nanotechnology, automation and robots, the tunnel could be built surprisingly quickly; the placement of powerful geosensing devices would be paramount in the structure's

The use of SABRE is very environmentally friendly as the the way for space transportation. major emissions consist of just water and nitrogen. This To the daily commuter, quick and easy ways of getting could potentially be a very effective way of transporting

around the capital is vital. Greener ways of travelling are

both cargo and passengers across the globe or even to the International Space Station (ISS).

not exactly at the forefront of many commuters‟ minds, but instead how fast they can get from point A to B. Where petrol fuelled cars are still filling the majority of

Scaled Composites is another amongst many companies who have excelled in the development of space transport systems. Being home to the vehicle that won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize competition, Space-

our roads, electric cars are slowly beginning to edge their advantages over petrol and diesel cars.

Transport for London have made plans to de-

ShipOne, their reputation in this industry is impressive to say the least. SpaceShipOne is a three-place, high-

velop our public transport system such as the introduction of new “hop on, hop off” buses, new trains as well

altitude rocket designed for sub-orbital flights to a 100 km altitude. SpaceShipOne‟s hybrid rocket motor is a

as the Emirates Air Line (a cable car service across the Thames). As well as these new endeavours, projects on

non-toxic, liquid nitrous-oxide/rubber-fuel hybrid pro-

a much larger scale are also taking place. Those such as

pulsion system.

the Trans-Atlantic tunnel which is a massive endeavour,

one which probably won‟t see development plans any On partnership with Virgin Galactic, this vehicle time in the near future, and space transport, which needs to take into account a lot more factors concerning and its successor, SpaceShipTwo, have left impact in the the different environment of microgravity and the diffiaerospace tourism industry. SpaceShipTwo is the protoculty of re-entry in a commercially viable vehicle. type for the world's first commercial manned spaceship, destined to take private astronauts into space and paving

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic hope to be Back on Earth, TfL has announced new transports ferrying passengers into space in spaceships such as these services, such as the reinvention of the „hop-on, hop-off‟ - albeit for a price bus Cheryl Liu

THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY since it was first proposed in 1965. As the chips continue to become more and more dense, howadvance in great leaps and bounds. One field in ever, manufacturing methods may no longer be able which this development has been particularly noto keep up with this growth, so either the trend will ticeable is in computing - nowadays, the average smartphone can comfortably out-perform the desk- be broken, or a new type of processor will be found without the fundamental limitations of today's matetop computers of our youth in every single way. The internet, particularly, has exploded in popular- rials materials - potentially in the fields of quantum ity - in the UK, approximately 85% of the population computing or nanocomputers. Current predictions use the internet on a regular basis, compared with say that Moore's Law will continue to hold true until around 2020, however, and by this point it is just 14% in 1998 [see graph below] - and on the likely that one of the new forms of computing will back of its popularity, technology start-ups have be practical, so we can expect to see the same grown from single-person companies, to multibillion pound corporations. Similarly, the computer trend of increasing power in both desktop comgames industry has grown massively in the last two puters and mobile devices for the immediate fudecades - from humble beginnings in the 70s to an- ture. Whilst the internet is already found in other multi-billion pound industry. But where do the computing, technology and game industries every home, as mobile networks and wireless covseem to be heading? erage grows, eventually high-speed internet access will be possible virtually anywhere in the developed world. As this coverage grows, we'll likely see a Technology move away from physical media such as CDs, DVDs In computing, Moore's Law states that the and Bluray discs, and move into the world of number of transistors on a chip, and hence its procdownload-only media - indeed many indie games, essing power approximately doubles every 18 such as the hugely popular Minecraft, have already months. This law has held true, without exception, taken this approach.

Even in our lifetimes, we've seen technology

increase in popularity - the vast majority of smartphone users will have a small collection of "causal" definite shift towards mobile computing. With games downloaded on their phones - games desmartphones having more processing power than signed to be easy to pick up and play for a short ever, and tablet mini-computers such as the iPad finally gaining mass-market acceptance, the focus of amount of time, rather than for an extended gaming session. The casual gaming market has already been many tech companies is towards mobile apps and helped by the new inputs offered such as touch and the mobile, often touch-based experience. Other devices such as the Wii remote and the Kinect have accelerometer (motion sensing), and we can expect to see the popularity of casual gaming continue to also offered new and unique ways of interacting with computers - and as these technologies evolve soar. and grow, the ways in which we interact with technology will doubtless become further and further away from traditional keyboards and mice, and towards touch, gesture, and eventually voice- and motion-based systems. In the longer-term future we can also expect to see eye-tracking systems used (in fact, they are already used in some limited applications - the main barriers are cost and accuracy, both of which will be reduced with time), and further in the future, devices which can read brain activity directly, using principles similar to medical EEG machines. Who knows, Games such as Tiny Wings show how popular casual gaming has now become - especially on portable maybe we'll finally get to use screens like those in devices "Minority Report"!

Over the last few years, there has been a

Gaming As processing power increases, so too does graphical quality. Modern games are close to being able to create photorealistic images though, our mobile devices and games consoles are still not powerful enough to keep up with modern PCs in terms of quality. The next few generations of console may focus on bridging this gap in performance if they can budget for it, though there will be a heavier focus on making interaction with the consoles natural systems like the Kinect will likely feature in all of the next generation. We will at some point also see a gradual switch from traditional rendering to raytracing, which creates even more natural lighting and shading in games, though the software and hardware are still a fair way off making this a practical solution for games. The mobile gaming market has already seen a huge

In the longer-term future, computer games might also be able to read people's emotions and tension from facial expressions or body language, and adapt in response to make the game experience as fun as possible for the player. Similar technology has already been used in the development of games to improve level design (monitoring heart rate to measure tension, and looking at eye motion to work out where the player's attention is), but it may eventually feature in the final product, allowing the game's difficulty to adjust to how tense the player is at the time, and to focus even more graphics processing power on the areas in which the player's attention is focused.

We can also expect to see games eventually reach the point at which the art, animation, code and display technology are all of such high quality that the results are virtually indistinguishable from real-life - combining this realism with more advanced simulator technology, it should be possible to create an incredibly immersive gaming experience. In conjunction with high-quality, welldeveloped casual games, the future of gaming looks to be great fun! Other Developments

Another important invention likely to become commercially available within the next 25-50

years is likely to be ultra-light and thin materials and electronics - with modern technology it is already possible to create roll-up screens so thin that they can barely be seen side-on. Combining this with super-strong new materials like graphene, and we can expect a generation of electronics that is virtually paper-thin.

Another area in which we should hope to see some improvement is in energy storage - one of the biggest issues facing the growth of modern ecofriendly technology. Currently, batteries are often the limiting factor - batteries are fundamentally bulky and not very energy-dense, which makes them the limiting factor in many applications - they are the reason the average smartphone can barely last a day without needing to be charged, and that fullelectric cars aren't currently viable.

As battery technology improves, however, there will eventually come a point in time at which electric vehicles become a sensible option for nearly all uses, and provided designers are careful, where your smartphone will last longer than a day without running out of power. Other systems, such as hyIt is hoped that within 50 years, new ultra-light materials could be developed to produce ultra-thin, drogen fuel cells or ultracapacitors, might replace the traditional batteries and pave the way for new roll-able screens such as this advances in technology. And whoever invents it will likely become very rich indeed. Charlie Bruce

WHAT ARE THESE EVERYDAY OBJECTS?

These everyday objects have been magnified with an electron microscope...can you guess what they are?

THE FUTURE PROSPECTS OF NANOMEDICINE

A rapidly developing area in medicine is the use of nanoparticles in the diagnostic, surgical and medical treatment of patients. Nanotechnology is used in many applications and processes nowadays, however its applications in medicine are commonly referred to as nanomedicine. Nanomedicine involves nanoscale particles and works at the atomic and molecular level which makes it extremely useful for targeting clinical diseases directly via target cells and specific protein receptors on membranes. Current research is focusing on the potential for nanoparticles to act as drug delivery agents as well as useful imaging techniques which may be used in conjunction with existing techniques like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). These nanoparticles are usually metals or metal oxides such as cadmium, gold or iron oxide.

sary to navigate through hydrophilic- hydrophobic or charged areas of cellular structure. Their effects allow drugs to make it in the cytoplasm of target cells without significant loss of concentration. Consequently, this form of drug delivery is very efficient and localised and has the capabilities of reducing drug dosage significantly.

Nanoparticle drug transfer minimises the interference of the drug with other non-target cells reducing side effects. Notably, this technique does still result in more subtle drug side-effects and some questions have been raised about possible toxicity accumulation due to the nanoparticles.

Drug delivery

Drug molecules are needed in tissues of the body where they will do most good. This factor is extremely important to the overall therapeutic effectiveness of the drug. Drugs target specific cells which have unique identifiable glycoprotein or glycolipid receptors. Normally, the drug molecule must overcome many barriers and defence mechanisms in the body to penetrate into the cytoplasm Nanoparticle (purple) involved in a drug delivery of the cells they are having an effect upon. Such barmechanism targeting diseased cell (brown) riers within the body include the immune system, phospholipid bilayer or enzymatic processes which Oncological imaging breakdown or neutralise the functional groups of Another nanoproperty, high surface area to the drug molecule. volume ratio, allows many functional groups to be Nanoparticles increase the precision of drug attached to a nanoparticle, which can seek out and delivery to the point that they become target cell bind to certain tumour cells. Additionally, the small specific. Due to their incredibly small size nanoparti- size of nanoparticles (10 to 100 nanometres), allows cles can be bound and engineered specifically in a them to preferentially accumulate at tumour sites way which bypasses the physical barriers and debecause tumours lack an effective lymphatic drainfence mechanisms of the body, whilst maintaining age system. A high surface-area to volume ratio the functional groups of the drug. The drugâ&#x20AC;&#x;s funccombined with other nanoparticle properties like tional groups are encapsulated by the nanoparticle magnetism or fluorescence are useful in tumour itself. The nanoparticles themselves are specifically identification. tailored with the relevant functional groups neces-

Nanoparticles have the potential to be used in diagnostic cancer tumour location through imaging. Quantum dots are special types of nanoparticle which have quantum confinement properties. Nanoparticles of cadmium selenide (quantum dots) glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. When injected, they seep into cancer tumours. The surgeon can see the glowing tumour, and use it as a guide for more accurate tumour removal.

Other nanoparticles involved in imaging contain iron oxide coated in a peptide external layer engineered to bind to cancerous tumours. Once bound, the tumour can be located and the iron oxide nanoparticleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s magnetic spin property kicks in. MRI works on the principle of residual magnetic spin. The magnetism of the iron oxide attached to cancerous cells thereby massively improves the detection capability, quality and resolution of the MRI scan. This makes the tumour easily recognisable for doctors and provides an invaluable way of monitoring the uncontrollable growth with treatment over time.

transferrin-carrying nanoparticles that have targeted and permeated Ramos cancer cells. Areas of yellow represent the intracellular compartments of the cells where the nanoparticles reside. Areas of red represent compartments without nanoparticles.

Nanomedicine offers the potential for huge

advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of disease in the future. Many governments and pharmaceutical companies are investing greatly in research for nanomedicine development due to its immense potential. Currently, 2.4 billion pounds in nanotechnology R&D is being invested every year. With Nanoparticles in imaging promises sensitive more extensive research needed, nanomedicine and extremely accurate tools for in vitro and in vivo looks set to be the future of modern medicine. diagnostics far beyond the reach of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x;s current equipment. As with any advance in diagnostics, the ultimate goal is to enable physicians to identify a disease as early as possible. Nanomedicine is expected to make diagnosis possible at the cellular and even the sub-cellular level. The reason why nanoparticles have not been incorporated in oncological imaging techniques on humans yet is due to their toxicity. The lack of complete knowledge about how nanoparticles might affect or interfere with the biochemical pathways and processes of the human body is particularly troublesome. Scientists are primarily concerned with toxicity, characterization and exposure pathways. Also the possibility of toxicity accumulating in the body upon repeated exposure to toxic nanoparticles is currently being investigated. Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of gold nanoparticles involved in the location of cancerous Toni Daci tumours.

SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE FUTURE

A gunpowder experiment in 1940 without safety equipment

Hexane combustion in today‟s school labs

A reaction of milk with conc. orange juice – the safety precautions of 2050?

the word “laboratory” comes from the Latin words “laborare” meaning “to work/ toil” and “orare” back at the past. First there was magic. Natural magic. When people made observations of natural meaning “to pray”?) that we have today. Indeed, occurrences (e.g. volcanoes, lightning, snow) thou- the Highgate School motto :“Altiora in Votis” – “Higher things in Prayer” specifically moves away sands of years ago, they used the idea of magic or the actions of various gods or demons to try to ex- from practical matters. plain them. But this wasn‟t very satisfactory, since it Alchemist, who attempted for some 2000 didn‟t encourage any questioning about the reason- years to prepare medicines, universal solvents, and ing behind these phenomena. As more time became the Philosopher‟s Stone, conducted experiments at available for people to contemplate the world this time nevertheless. However, their lack of sigaround them and exchange ideas evolved through nificant progress did not warrant the introduction language, Natural Philosophy developed as a system, of practical alchemy into the school syllabus. which attempted to provide a more logical explanaIt was the great Irish natural scientist tion of Nature. Robert Boyle who first developed a logical system Then came Natural Science and finally Ex- of scientific experimentation, based on the seperimental Science. But that didn‟t happen until the quence: Method, Observations, Conclusion. Using middle of the 17th century. Until that time, natural this approach to all experiments, combined with philosophy was taught as a theoretical subject, with- Boyle‟s definition of an element as “the simplest out experiments. The table of the elements, for kind of substance”, science started to make remarkexample, could easily be learnt off by heart, since it able advances from the middle of the 17th century contained just 4 aspects: Earth, Fire, Air and Water. onwards. So much so, that experimental science Aristotle (384 – 322BC) had developed a coherent started to be taught at universities and schools from body of knowledge which explained all natural phe- the early 18th century onwards. The first professor nomena for the next 1700 years and this was taught of Chemistry was the Hermann Boerhaave (1668as the basis of science at schools and universities. 1738) who was appointed at the University of LeyThis is what the boys at Sir Roger Cholmeley‟s den in Holland in 1718. With the institutionalisaSchool in Highgate would have learnt during their tion of education from this period onwards, scienfirst term here in 1565. That first generation of tific experiments started to be taught in a wide Highgate School pupils would not have had access range of schools and universities. to wonderful laboratories (P.S. Did you know that

To look to the future, it is helpful to look

During the past 3 centuries, this wide scale

rine, which he had achieved 18 years earlier. Bogdanov, who pioneered the technique of blood transfuaccessibility of theory combined with practice has sions as a means of restoring good health and was led to unparalleled progress in the history of the apparently on the path to success with curing his human race. It is entirely apt that this period of own baldness after 11 blood transfusions, died after time is frequently referred to as the “Scientific th Revolution”. We continue to benefit from it on an the 12 transfusion, since the transfused blood was contaminated with malaria and tuberculosis. everyday basis. Skłodowska-Curie died of leukemia, caused by prolonged exposure to radioactivity, which she had disThe following is a list of brilliant people, all covered some 30 years earlier. On the basis of of whom have contributed, through their experithese facts, it is clear that scientific experimentation ments, to our society today: Galileo (1564-1642), is dangerous. Furthermore, several industrial acciCarl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786), Pilatre de dents, eg the Bhopal methyl cyanide incident in Rozier (1754-1785), Humphry Davy (1778-1829), 1984, which has killed at least 20.000 people, in reMichael Faraday (1791-1867), Robert Wilhelm Bun- cent years, have further highlighted the dangers assen (1811-1899), Henri Moissan (1852-1907), Maria sociated with science and technology. Skłodowska Curie (1867-1934), Alexander Bogdanov (1873-1928). In addition to their wonderful It therefore comes as no surprise to know discoveries, from which we benefit to this very day, they shared a common experience: a major accident that legislation has been introduced to limit the while conducting a scientific experiment, which ei- chances of accidents to innocent people in industry ther killed them or left them permanently disabled. and in educational establishments. In the UK this Galileo was partially blinded by looking at the sun took the form of the Health and Safety at Work Act through telescopes which he had invented. Scheele, of 1973. It is this Act, in its most updated form, who tasted all his chemical products (including which controls all aspects of our working lives todeadly hydrogen cyanide, from which he did not day - and no more so than in schools like Highgate. die), eventually succumbed to mercury poisoning. Without any doubt, implementing sensible and wise procedures in school science education has had a benefit to us all. There exists however, a deliPilatre de Rozier ,who lost his teeth in an great cate balance between safeguarding the innocent and explosion which occurred in his mouth while trying to impress friends by blowing aria tonante [thunder stifling scientific creativity. air - a mixture of hydrogen and air] over a candle flame, was killed in the world‟s first ballooning accident (the hydrogen in his balloon caught fire). Humphry Davy, whose motto was: “If in doubt, try it out”, who would smell gases in order to see whether or not they were poisonous (that‟s how he discovered laughing gas – nitrous oxide), and who lost a thumb during the electrolysis of saturated ammonium chloride solution in an attempt to isolate the element ammonium (which doesn‟t exist), killed himself by inhaling too many toxic vapours. Faraday suffered permanent disfigurement of his face when a glass container of liquid chlorine (which he had first obtained) exploded. Bunsen lost his right eye in an explosion caused by cacodyl cyanide – interestingly, he then went on to develop spectroscopy - which requires excellent vision in both eyes – as the most powerful analytical tool for detecting elements.

I believe that future generations of science

students and teachers will be subjected to even more stringent “health and safety” controls than they are today. This will have the inevitable effect of making institutionalized science teaching less exciting from a practical point of view. The human spirit of enquiry is indefatigable, however, and the capacity to think and to gaze in wonder at the extraordinary is quite infinite. Thus, with the constraining of “approved” educational experiments, greater numbers of individuals will continue, in private, their quest for even more knowledge about the workings of the universe. Their experiments will be shared on a greater scale than ever before through the extraordinary medium of the Internet one only has to check what‟s already available on YouTube today. Scientists – both young and old, experienced and inexperienced – will always experiment. Some will die, some will make great Moissan died a few days after collecting the discoveries, as the magic of our universe will Nobel prize for isolating the deadly element fluoforever fascinate and provoke the human mind. Dr. Szydlo

DO YOU WANT TO HELP DEVELOP SCIENCEGATE? It is our aim at Sciencegate to launch an issue each term, each of which we would like to be bulging with an even wider range of subjects from an ever growing variety of writers from pupil and staff. You can get involved by e-mailing Joe Connor (joscon97@highgateschool.org.uk) or Lucas Shelemy (lucshe97@highgateschool.org.uk) with the article you wish to compile - there is an enormous scope in the type of article that can be included e.g. A summary of an interesting scientific topic, a review of a book or exhibition or even possibly publishing any experimental research you have undertaken. With the year coming to a close, and both editors as well as many writers leaving the school, we would love to hear from any Year 12â&#x20AC;&#x;s or Year 11â&#x20AC;&#x;s who want to take up a role in the development of Sciencegate in order to keep it alive. There are also opportunities in publicity and website development.

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