Issue 2: Running Out of Steam by {react}

Contents i ii 1 2 3 4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 17 18 19-20 21 22 23-24 25 26 27 28

Contents, Get Involved! Editorial, Our Theme, The Team {Profile} Science Hero: Dr Kary Mullis PCR Nobel Prize by Sadaf Atarod {News} News by Claire Tweedy {Issue Theme} Running out of steam: and what else? by Carla Washbourne {Issue Theme} Running out of steam: project management by Elspeth K Ritchie {NCL Research} Community-led total sanitation by Ruth Kennedy-Walker {NCL Research} How can we prevent the fear of falling? by Emad Ahmed {NCL Research} Digging the dirt by Carla Washbourne {NCL Collaboration} A life in energy by Holly Peacock {Central Feature} Sustaining our campus {Issue Theme} Sustaining disposal in the (bio) pharmaceutical industry by Matthew Molloy {Issue Theme} The emergence of fuel poverty by Louise Tanner {Issue Theme} The gap by Alice Johnson {Issue Theme} Biomimicry: it’s only natural by Thomas Lundy {Opinion Piece} Equality in British science by Reuben Kirkham {Student Stories} Nature’s giant: the sei whale by Simon Laing {Science:fiction} The Lorax: Sustainability for all ages by Alison Peel {NCL Uni Science} Science students take to the streets! by Street {Science} Team {Puzzle Page} Magic tap-a-drink game by Dr Maths, Cartoon by Martha Snow {NCL Uni Science} The British Science Festival: get ready! by Alice Madgwick {Listings}

Get Involved! {react} magazine gives students the opportunity to explore science communication, and we want to make your voices heard. Scientist or not, if you’re interested we’ve got several different ways for you to get stuck in. Prior experience is not necessary! Budding science writer? We want our content to be interesting, contemporary and accessible to all who care to read it. Contributing to {react} is not about writing technical 1000 word reports; we are looking for imaginative and insightful articles, from longer features and interviews to reviews and opinion pieces. You can write for our print issues, next published in May 2013, or help to create bespoke content for our website. If you would like to get more involved in editing the magazine, or are a budding writer but don’t feel ready to submit your own articles quite yet, you can apply to be on our editorial team.

Get in touch by email: info@reactmagazine.co.uk Determined Doodler? {react} magazine isn’t just about the writing. We pride ourselves on being strongly design-led (we hope a quick flick through will demonstrate this!) and we don’t want to look like your average science magazine. {react} relies on student artists, designers, and layout editors to help bring our stories to life. You don’t need loads of experience, just an interest in the project and a willingness to learn on the job!

Get in touch by email: john@reactmagazine.co.uk Printed on a termly basis, the magazine will be distributed on campus and available to local schools, sixth form colleges, and in public venues across the city. Our online content will be updated throughout the year, so there is always plenty to do.

Editorial It may only be issue two, but we’re already getting set for the end. No, not of {react}, but the end of the world (pg. 3). We would keep writing about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the vacuum of space. You could say we’re STEM-powered. It’s not just us. First up is Kary Mullis, Nobel Prize winner for his improvements to PCR (pg. 1). For someone much closer to home, {react} drops in on Alf Smith down at CPI’s Durham facilities to find out more about his work in sustainable energy (pg 11-12). On the way, look out for any sei whales as Newcastle’s marine mammologists are ready to check them out at the drop of a hat (pg. 22). Whichever direction you go, you’re bound to pass one of the pharmaceutical manufacturers that made their home in Tyneside. Next time you pick up a 12p pack of aspirin, take a moment to marvel at how much money has gone into getting that active ingredient from chewed up willow bark to everyday commodity (pg. 15-16). But nature is still providing plenty of inspiration to scientists today, including plants leaves as energy cells for electricity (pg. 19-20).

Some might say we’re powering ahead because we’re afraid of falling, a fear {react} discusses with Dr. Steve Parry (pg. 7-8). Others say that we should sit back and enjoy the Truffula trees (pg. 23-24) or take a nice walk around campus and enjoy Newcastle University’s work to become more environmentally friendly (pg. 13-14). Perhaps we should have a little mathematical fun picking a drink (pg. 26) then reminisce on how we got science game in the first place (pg. 9-10). But it’s difficult to relax when the world is filled with so many issues, from inequality in academia (pg. 21) to people simply unable to stay warm (pg. 17). Yet as we learned from community-led sanitation work in India (pg. 5-6), change has to start at home. So we’re helping others as best we can: by taking science to the people! With so many opportunities from the Newcastle Street Science Team (pg. 25) to the up-coming British Science Festival (pg. 27) and many more in-between (pg. 28), we may need to seriously reconsider our schedules (pg. 4). We wouldn’t want to end up running on fumes!

Our Theme ‘Sustainability’ has become one of those

words that means all things to all people. A critical topic for contemporary discussion, ensuring we live our lives in a way which will not jeopardise the wellbeing of future generations, the word itself has unfortunately become a by-line for

wishy-washy ‘green’ thinking. In this issue our writers have addressed sustainability in their own academic fields: giving us fascinating, personal and amazingly varied takes on how science keeps our modern world running.

The Team EDITORS: Elspeth K. Ritchie, Carla-Leanne Washbourne DEPUTY EDITORS: Gesa Junge, Stephen John Shackleton SUB EDITORS: Jamie Auxillos, Adam Field, Lindsay Gill, Alice Johnson, Holly Peacock, Michael Savage, Anawat Tarr, Matthew Molloy NEWS EDITOR: Clare Tweedy CREATIVE DIRECTOR: John Dawson

DESIGN: Roots & Wings ILLUSTRATORS: Hannah Scully, Robyn Nevison, Gesa Junge, Martha Snow NEW MEDIA EDITOR: Elizabeth Lewis BUSINESS: Scott Pygall SPECIAL THANKS: Ian Wylie and Dan Howarth (Jesmond Local), Dr Maths, Newcastle University Sustainability Team

NOTES: Cover by Hannah Scully and Roots & Wings References for all articles in this magazine are available online at reactmagazine.co.uk Creative Commons description @ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en_GB

Profile Science Hero: Dr Kary Mullis PCR Nobel Prize by Sadaf Atarod Kary Mullis is a controversial figure not just in biology, but climate change, HIV research, and astrology. Here’s a piece based on how Mullis sees himself. ‘Pzzzzt’ and it was then that I knew the Amazon

at Cetus Corporation, a biotechnology company. Throughout the book he expresses his views from AIDS to global warming and ecological science. He stresses the fact that the scientists should be responsible individuals, and critical of what is presented in media. Strangely, Nature and Science both turned down his paper on the PCR technique, which he finally managed to have published in “Methods in Enzymology”. Little did the publishers of the high impact journals know that what they had rejected would change the direction of future research and benefit the human race.

courier had delivered my most anticipated book of 2012: “Dancing Naked in the Mind Field”. It is the autobiography of Dr Kary Mullis, a forgotten American scientist who invented the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique in 1983.

Up until now I had not been able to find this book in any of the well known book stores or even the library. I am not quite sure why he has been missed out from the red carpet of science media, but even biologists have failed to remember him. Maybe it is because he doesn’t fit the typical mould of a scientist: with a geeky, introvert and serious personality. However, almost every biological scientist has used, is using, or will use his invention: the PCR technique. In brief, the PCR technique amplifies a single strand of DNA from any organism, thereby letting scientists decode the genetic matter which is the ‘king’ of our biological existence. PCR has revolutionized scientific research and discovery, and is now critical for forensic science and anthropology. Overall, the technique has altered the way diseases are classified, diagnosed and treated. On 13 October 1993, Kary Mullis was fortunate enough to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry during his lifetime for his invention of PCR. It is through reading his book that you get to know him, not as a nerdy science geek, but as an individual who is curious, critical, and open to new ideas. In the simplest sense, he is a born science lover. This attribute is reflected well from his early days of experimentation with electricity and shooting frogs into the air with his friends, as they made their own shuttles at the age of eight. In his own words, PCR would have never been invented if he had actually known how it worked. It was an accidental invention to aid his experiments

* Illustration by Hannah Scully

His autobiography is not about misery, but his journey in life as a scientist. It is strange how books like “Fifty Shades of Grey” sell so many copies in just a few days, while the autobiographies of individuals pivotal to the advancement of science hardly get re-published. It would be ideal if, as individuals on the roller coaster of science and discovery, we recognised the scientists who have been critical to the advancement of present techniques. Science players such as Kary Mullis are usually left in the shadows or buried in science textbooks, even though their struggles and achievements can be exemplary to those embarking on the same path.

News by Clare Tweedy

Hairy Bikers’ Diet Success “How to Love Food and Lose Weight” is the newest BBC show from Si King and David Myers, better known as the Hairy Bikers. Their quest to transform their love of food into a healthy eating program was helped along by two experts from Newcastle University. Over six months, the Hairy Bikers each managed to shed three stone with the help of an expert in metabolism and nutrition.

As revealed in their show, the Hairy Bikers were found to consume 3,500 calories a day. This had led to high body mass percentiles, fears of Type 2 diabetes and other health problems that will no doubt have occupied the Bikers’ minds. Not only did they lose weight by the end of the show, but their blood pressure also dropped as a result of the efforts by the team at Newcastle University.

Science on the Streets This new initiative saw a team of Newcastle University students take to the streets of the city in December to actively engage the public in science. A range of live demonstrations involving children and adults alike included activities such as balloon kebabs and soda bottle vortexes. Such demonstrations not only aim to engage and educate the public, but offer the chance of practicing science communication first-hand to those studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.

The act of science busking is hoped to be seen around the city throughout 2013, culminating in the arrival of the British Science Festival in September. The Festival, which will not only greatly benefit the public but also local schools and colleges, carries the theme of ‘making waves’. Cutting-edge research, discoveries and inventions all fall under this category – and what better way to highlight this than by taking to the streets to communicate it to the wider population.

Sight Returned to Blind Mice In a recent study at Oxford University, vision was returned to mice suffering from blindness. One injection of light-sensing cells into the eye was enough to form a new retina within just two weeks. Light-sensing cells, or photoreceptors, are commonly lost in a disease called retinitis pigmentosa which leads to blindness. It is estimated that around 1 in 4000 people currently suffer from the disease, and retinal transplants are often used as treatment. This research, however, eliminates the need for a

transplant and allows the retina to be recreated from scratch by just one injection instead. Not only did the injection restore vision to the mice, but their pupils were also found to react accordingly to light. Despite the injection being deemed safe as a result of these studies in mice, further studies need to be carried out to ensure that visual information is still being correctly processed by the brain. Regardless, the technique shows great promise for those currently suffering retinitis pigmentosa.

Underground Antarctic Lake to be Explored Hidden beneath a sheet of ice at least two miles thick, Lake Ellsworth will soon be explored for the first time. The lake in western Antarctica is thought to have been buried under the ice around half a million years ago. Despite the lack of sunlight reaching the sub-glacial world, it is expected that microbes will be found in the waters, and these will provide information on how life can survive in extreme conditions. The lake itself is estimated to be around the size of Lake Windermere. The project, which is estimated to cost around £8 million, will soon begin by drilling down through

the ice. The ice will be melted with water heated to 90°C, and a sampling machine passed down into the lake. Years of planning have gone into the mere six days the project is expected to take, but the results are expected to be analysed much more quickly. The first attempt to carry out the project took place on Christmas Day, but the mission was soon postponed following an issue with the drilling water recovery system. It is hoped that the team, including Dr. Neil Ross from Newcastle University, will recommence their efforts soon.

Issue Theme Running out of Steam: But What Else? by Carla Washbourne I attended a bizarre talk at last year’s British Science Festival. It was part of a surreal art-science event dubbed ‘The End of the World Party’ and essentially proposed that humans really shouldn’t be worrying so much about climate change, because our current behaviour makes it likely that another global crisis will scupper our efforts at survival before the worst effects of global warming are felt. Obviously this is an intentionally provocative

viewpoint, and one which should be considered within the context of the show it was part of, but it still succeeds in making you think. Humanity is currently faced with a large number of existential challenges: climate change is frequently cited as the biggest and baddest of all, and there should be no detracting from the potential it has to affect our lives in significant and unprecedented ways. However, are there related global issues which are being eclipsed by this imperceivably large challenge, threats which it would be in our interest to address in their own right alongside climate change? The following paragraphs contain just a few that are worthy of further thought. Availability of water is perhaps one of the most familiar contemporary sustainability challenges, but the potential scale of water scarcity in the near future is immense. According to the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme, “90% of the 3 billion people to be added to the population by 2050 may be in regions already experiencing water stress and with no sustainable access to drinking water”. This is a cause for great concern not only due to the immediate effects this presents to health and wellbeing of humans and their supporting environments, but the potential this has to translate to emergency situations involving mass migration and even conflict. Food scarcity is often seen as an issue for the developing world alone, however the provision of food for a growing world population, geographically diverse and with differing demands in resource type and quantity, is a complex

* Illustration by Hannah Scully

challenge with the potential to affect us all. This issue ties in strongly to water availability, a requirement for growing crops and raising animals, and to soil stability and condition which depends upon aspects of the way in which the land is cultivated and the availability and appropriate application of nutrients and fertilisers, another limited resource. Biodiversity loss is an enormous issue across the globe. It is predicted that species are disappearing at up to 1,000 times faster than ‘normal’: up to 1 in 4 mammals, 1 in 3 amphibians, 1 in 3 corals and 1 in 8 birds are now at risk of extinction. Some experts claim that we are in the middle of a mass extinction event, and one that humans have instigated through changing land use, habitat destruction, introduction of non-native species, and unsustainable use of animal and plant resources. In reducing biodiversity we are changing the environment around us, directly affecting its ability to support us, and generally treading a very dangerous path. By no means should this be read as a tale of woe, but a warning to be more holistic in our thinking. When something runs out on this scale we cannot always find an easy substitute. It would be wise to consider the sustainability challenges that face our society together, as part of a wider connected system, and to engineer technical and social solutions which address not just one part of the problem but get to its very core.

Issue Theme Running out of Steam: Project Management by Elspeth K. Ritchie There is a strange switch halfway through a project from “I have all the time in the world” to “How I am going to get this done in time?” The project may be a year-long module; it could be the entirety of a research degree. It is a terrifying moment – the wind is taken out of your sails. It is even worse if you feel stuck in the doldrums when it happens. But this is also a perfect time to switch from sailing metaphors to locomotive ones and to start building steam to see that project through.

questioning your conclusions, this falls under “being alive” time. To prevent becoming stereotype #2 and possible burn out, you need to include “being alive” time.

Project management and its buddy time management may not be the sexiest things to consider when carrying out research, that would be all the exciting ground-breaking discoveries you’re making (maybe). The problem is scientists and engineers, whether student or professional, need schedules to keep our natural curiosity in check. Placing a leash on your scientific instincts doesn’t mean curbing them; it means putting basic guidance in place to give you space to breathe.

Once you understand where your energy is going, you can construct a master schedule. Be realistic. Include time for short breaks throughout the day. If you absolutely need at least one night out each week, make sure to include the next day’s recovery. Leave free time in for spontaneity and your sanity.

There is a simple tool to help you keep a balance: a master schedule. Your schedule includes more than the 9-5 you might consider your working day. It stretches across all 24 hours to include part-time work, social activities, and lie-ins. Take some time to properly work out how you spend your week; be brutally honest. Were those two hours of “working in office” actually spent on Facebook? What percentage of your time is spent recovering from mid-week nights out? This is all steam escaping from a leaky schedule.

Once you have a schedule, follow it. If you get the balance right, you’ll have plenty of power to go full steam ahead.

Breathing space is the most important part of research. Unlike your equipment, you are not a machine built for one purpose. You are a living, breathing, human being, capable of an unbelievable variety of things. Make time to breathe, to do what those machines cannot: turn data into information. This is the time to analyse, to write up, to plan, and above all else, to think.

Have a Plan There are two major stereotypes of students – those that do absolutely nothing then complain about poor grades and those that study to the exclusion of all else. To prevent becoming stereotype #1, remember that “breathing space” is not “coffee with friends at the Union” time. It is true a group coffee can be a way to introduce new insights. But unless you are having a proper discussion with note-taking to remember important details and arguments

NCL Research Community-Led Total Sanitation by Ruth Kennedy-Walker “Can Community-Led Total Sanitation be a sustainable approach to improving access to sanitation?” - Lessons learned from a field trip to India Since 1990, 251 million people in India have gained access to improved sanitation. Improved sanitation means simply having access to a facility “that ensures the hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact”. However, 815 million people still lack access, with 626 million having no access to sanitation provision at all and resorting to open defecation. In urban localities the situation is challenged by issues related to planning and providing basic infrastructure in areas with rapid population increase and complex social, economic, political, institutional and infrastructural dynamics.

Asia, though little is known to date about its sustainability in these environments. In February 2012, I was invited to evaluate the implementation of CLTS in an urbanised location. The site was Nanded-Waghala, a city in the south-eastern part of Maharashtra with an urban population of around 550,564. A 2011 City Sanitation Plan for Nanded had identified current sanitation and solid waste management within Nanded as extremely poor with most of the sewage treatment plants non-functional and 21% of the population practicing open defecation. Two Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), Feedback Foundation and Knowledge Links, were commissioned by the Nanded municipality to implement CLTS as a novel way of improving the sanitation situation and using more citizen-led methods to drive change.

A variety of planning approaches are used in this field. One approach that has seen rapid uptake is Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). CLTS is a participatory approach developed in rural India in 1999 that aims to change community members’ behaviour with regards to sanitation and promote ‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF) communities. It encourages communities to fund and build their own sanitation infrastructure instead of accessing external subsidies, making them feel empowered by change. CLTS has been applied widely in rural settings throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is regarded as successful for its ability to improve community awareness of sanitation issues, facilitating the transition to an ODF community and the journey to improved sanitation. However, questions have been raised as to how successful it is in facilitating sustained behaviour change and providing communities with the capacity and support to ensure the full transition of access to improved sanitation for life. More recently, CLTS has been introduced in some urbanised localities throughout Africa and

* Photos by Ruth Kennedy-Walker

My first visit consisted of conducting a range of interviews with participants from households, municipalities, NGOs, politicians and engineers to gain an understanding of what CLTS had brought to the city. We found that a great deal had been achieved by the CLTS process in a year with communities having become empowered to change their sanitation behaviour and to tackle the issue of solid waste management by cleaning, sorting, composting and recycling their waste. The CLTS process had to be adapted in Nanded as working in an urban environment requires a different process than that used in rural settings.

In particular, the process included solid waste management and not just human excreta. There was more focus on engaging with institutional stakeholders as well as the households and on empowering people to make demands on those responsible for providing improved sanitation access rather than building hardware solutions. As an outcome of our visit, we were asked to evaluate our work; as part of this we made recommendations for the future, in particular addressing how the sustainability of the process could be improved. We found that there was a

members still keeping their environment clean and trying to keep up better open defecation habits. Communities told us the main reasons why the majority of CLTS activities had not been sustained: • They required the support of the municipality and CLTS fieldworkers to keep them on track. • Seasonality issues, such as flooding, made certain activities more difficult to undertake. • Inadequate length of implementation to ensure sustained behaviour change. • Political influences from imminent political elections caused CLTS advocates and community leaders to be unable to continue to address CLTS activities. • With the sudden retraction of fieldworkers and lack of supportive mechanisms for CLTS, people lacked the knowledge and capacity to carry on with activities.

• Some communities felt they lacked the voice to make changes.

need for more research into the marketability and demand for organic solid waste products (compost) being produced by post-triggered communities and also a need for the process to become more citizen-led rather than top-down (municipal/NGO) led to ensure behaviour change continue for the future. In April 2012, we were informed that the Municipal Commissioner (the main advocate for CLTS) was transferred to a new post, which had led to the work of both NGO’s implementing CLTS in Nanded to cease. In light of these changes, a second visit was made to Nanded in October 2012 to analyse any changes that had occurred and to assess the impact the withdrawal of key CLTS implementers and advocates had on the progress previously seen. During our second visit we spent more time in the field and re-interviewed many of the stakeholders seen during our earlier visit along with more community members.

The work in Nanded highlighted that the CLTS process had very much been facilitator-led rather than community-led. Once the advocates and NGO facilitators had moved on, the behaviour change seen during our first visit did not continue. A similar problem is seen in rural implementation of CLTS when advocates move on the desired behaviour stops. In an urban environment such as Nanded, there is a requirement to ensure that there is political and institutional will and support to ensure implementation will be successful. As seen in the Nanded case study, when the stakeholders move on, activities stop. Overall, lessons learned from Nanded show that the right balance between facilitator-led and communityled initiatives needs to be made so that sustained behaviour change can happen and so that the community are provided with enough support and capacity to continue their journey to full access to improved sanitation and solid waste management.

Since our first visit much of the previous successful behaviour changes and activity at the community level had stopped. Some communities stated that not all activities had ceased with some

NCL Research How Can We Prevent the Fear of Falling? by Emad Ahmed It is known that in both society and our care services there is a lack of opportunity for older people to engage in light physical activity, but what is not mentioned is that many elderly people are afraid of falling down and hurting themselves. Although this explanation sounds very simple, the reasons behind this problem are very complex and reveal a national need of improving our understanding and delivery of care for the elderly. Research shows that falling can be one of the major causes of disability and even death in people aged 65 and over. Many of us know someone or of someone who has badly injured themselves by falling down. However, what we do not think about are the long-term effects of such events, and the descent into dependency and care some people face when they become limited in their mobility as a result of falling.

A Newcastle University-led research group is looking into how cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be implemented in resolving this huge yet unmentioned problem. Previous studies have only looked into trying to make older people more physically active and not studied the underlying psychological causes, such as fear of falling.

The resulting fear of falling can lead to a loss of independence and to the voluntary (or sometimes involuntary, e.g. by family, friends and care workers) reduction in the amount of physical activity in which a person engages. With the elderly population increasing due to longer life expectancies across the globe, not resolving this growing problem could place an enormous burden on the younger population and our health and care services.

Dr. Steve Parry

What is cognitive behavioural therapy? CBT is a method of treatment which involves patients describing their problems, for example anxiety. Trained professionals can then help patients manage these problems and offer practical solutions and guidance. CBT differs from psychotherapy and other forms of treatments because it looks at the current problems at hand, rather than previous issues.

* Photo by Emad Ahmed

We interviewed the project leader Dr Steve Parry (see insert on page 7) of Newcastle University about his upcoming study: {react}: Why is fear not seen in a medical, diagnostic light? Dr Parry: In terms of fear of falling, it’s bound up with anxiety and isn’t really accurate for what it’s describing. So yes, people are frightened of falling, but they’re also anxious. There’s a lot of depression bound up in it, and those three interplay with each other in an unpleasant fashion. {react}: What can be the result of this fear? Dr Parry: There are varying degrees, but most [older patients] are at the end of the spectrum where they limit their activities. They don’t go out and avoid too much physical activity. The old saying is, “If you don’t use it, you lose it”. So your muscles weaken, for example quadriceps and leg muscles, and shrink, and you become increasingly unsteady and paradoxically more likely to fall through limiting your activity {react}: There have been very few psychological studies in this area. Why do you think that is? Dr Parry: A few years ago there was a realisation that if you don’t fund this kind of research, you’re not going to help people in the long run. So there’s a big health-economic dimension to it, too. Fear of falling has only been commonly described in the last twenty years or so, and people are still understanding it. {react}: Why do you think younger people don’t fear falling as much? Why is there such a big difference? Dr Parry: There is some epidemiological work showing that around 20% of people over the age of 40 have some degree of fear of falling. Balance, confidence in doing different activities, your own psychological state, and those sort of promoting factors work in younger people as well. What younger people have much more than older people is physical wellness. So your ability to stand upright and be balanced is much, much greater when you’re young, and that’s one of the key factors. {react}: How is your approach of CBT in this treatment different? Dr Parry: One of the twists is we’re using healthcare assistants rather than trained psychologists and psychotherapists. Training them to deliver this type of therapy, and why that’s important is the health service is exceptionally cash-strapped. If you can train healthcare assistants to do this, you have a third the cost of a clinical psychologist. {react}: What have you been able to learn so far in these early stages developing your study? Dr Parry: Some of the interesting work that’s come out [of] developing the CBT intervention, and some of the qualitative work my colleagues have been doing, is showing that there are very distinct problems associated with fear of falling; that it’s not just an umbrella “fear of falling” condition. But what we’re finding is that there are very distinct sub-types and they have a very key influence in how you try and tackle [the condition]. It’s all bound up in the patient’s sense of self-identity, their strategies for coping, and the promoting factors that are making them have more fear in falling. So there is quite an interesting sub-study we have going on examining what fear of falling actually is, because how can you treat something if you’re not terribly sure of what’s causing it? {react}: What would make you consider this project a success? What are the long-term goals? Dr Parry: The health service has to deliver treatments that are shown to work. In the long-term, I would love to be able to see is this kind of programme being rolled out across the NHS, to improve the health and wellbeing of older people by tackling their fear of falling, and stopping their spiral into dependency.

NCL Research Digging The Dirt by Carla Washbourne Some of my earliest memories are of messing about in the garden as a child, digging up surprisingly large areas of my parent’s beloved flowerbeds in search of magical lands, Roman coins, dinosaur bones and other supremely unlikely quarries. Quite often my sister and I would just dig for the sake of it, making ‘gardens’ out of the shiny pebbles that we would find in our clayey Cambridgeshire earth, marvelling at the multitude of tiny creatures that we discovered on our exploratory voyages and carefully excavating the root systems of our long-suffering plants. Perhaps we were just very strange children, but it seems like a lot of people had similar experiences. What ties all of these stories together? Soil. You probably don’t really think about soil all that much now. Unless, like me, you are one of the feckless individuals who have chosen to study this oft overlooked but critical component of the earth system, you’d probably be forgiven for this. Soils aren’t particularly glamorous. They are a tough-sell when trying to excite the uninitiated, being devoid of the flashes and bangs, universe-scale thrills, or (so you may think) any immediate personal relevance. Soils really could be seen as the ‘strong and silent’ type, rarely deemed newsworthy, but indispensably important to the function of many life sustaining processes at the earth’s surface. Researchers throughout Newcastle University are striving to understand the deeper workings of the soil system, from the perspectives of agriculture, biology, geosciences and many other disciplines. We will investigate a few of these projects whilst considering some of soils key properties and how these affect our lives. It can take up to 500 years for 1cm of topsoil to form. To a geologist this is quite rapid, but most of us would have to concur that this is quite a long time. Whilst soil is essentially a renewable resource, it forms through complex processes

over very long time periods from weathered mineral grains, bits of organic matter, water, and, of course, air. The presence of this ‘epidermis’ on the earth’s surface is important for allowing the population of the land by most forms of plant life. Soil provides the physical anchoring substrate for plant growth, but also the medium for water and nutrient supply into the plant’s root system. Newcastle University researchers are studying the ways in which nutrients are cycled through the soil system, analysing a wide range of properties from the weathering rates of minerals which ultimately form the nutrient supplies for plant growth, to the transport and fate of the carbon compounds which reach the soil system via living and dead plant and animal matter. Understanding these processes is critical in determining how plants, soils and water interact and can give us valuable information about the part that these play in the wider earth system. Life in and above the soil is multifarious. Soil supports large quantities of micro and macro fauna, with the more visible being the worms, leatherjackets (crane fly larvae) and beetles which my sister and I took such delight in. Many more organisms make their homes in soils, including fungi and an enormous diversity of microscopic life. The British Society of Soil Science recently produced a great selection of resources extolling the virtues of soils, and their “Life in Earth” pamphlet assures the reader that “one teaspoon of good earth holds more creatures than there are people on the whole earth!” Who says soils aren’t interesting now? One of the heroes of this little world is the earthworm, which helps to speed up soil formation processes with their burrowing and assist in breaking down dead organic matter, contributing hugely to the creation and maintenance of soil structure. Charles Darwin was a big fan, and workers at research units who study this beastie are still some of my favourite, unsung science heroes. Considering the potential for exploitation a need for preservation is a key contemporary issue in our interaction with the soils system. One of the most obvious places to see soil in action in the UK is in agricultural settings, something which was only too apparent in the fields of East Anglia where I grew up. Almost all of our major food, fibre and energy

crops are grown in soils across the world, irrigated and treated with fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, and lots of other things besides, to nurture strong and rapid plant growth. This dependence on soil for our basic livelihood requires an understanding of the sustainability of these processes and the need for more knowledge about how we might be adversely affecting the soils that we cultivate. The Palace Leas plots on the Newcastle University farm site at Cockle Park are a fascinating example both of how soils behave under different agricultural regimes and of sheer academic persistence as this experiment has been running since 1896. This sort of work aims to determine the effects of our agricultural practises on soil systems in the long term, avoiding any unforeseen damage and allowing for sustainable maintenance plans to be created. Contemporary environmental pressures and the unconventional approaches to soil science that these drive are key to maintaining a productive relationship with this resource. The role of soil in the regulation of the global carbon cycle is a major area of contemporary study, and according to Imperial College Soils Research Unit, “it is estimated that there are 15 gigatonnes (15 thousand million) of carbon in the world’s soils – three times more than in all vegetation and forests”. Understanding and increasing the ability of soils to store carbon is the main area of study for the Engineering Soils for Carbon Capture (ENGSCC) group based in Civil Engineering and Geosciences. As well as encouraging the retention of organic carbon, this group looks at the potential for enhancing carbon storage in soils through the promotion of mineral reactions which help to capture carbon dioxide from the air, storing it in stable forms. It is hoped that innovative thinking of this kind will help to provide us with useful tools for addressing future environmental issues. A final word of advice: think back to how much fun you had as a child. Go out there, get your hands dirty, and while you’re doing it, have a think about all the work that little layer of lovely soil does for you.

* Illustration by Robyn Nevison

NCL Uni Collaboration A Life In Energy by Holly Peacock The career of a renewable energy scientist in the North East What is the first thing that comes to mind when I mention Sedgefield? Tony Blair, quaint rural charm? Most likely you have never heard of Sedgefield at all. For those who have not, it is a small town just south of Durham. It is also a hub of technology that will make possible the sort of inventions previously confined to episodes of Inspector Gadget. The technology being developed by the government-funded research and development centre CPI in Sedgefield will make possible products such as bendable phone screens, printable flexible solar panels, and lighting almost as thin as paper. One of the scientists helping to make these happen is Alf Smith.

about, high volume solar cell production, there is no reason that the North East could not be a centre for that, with some of the industries that are already here, such as packing and printing, which are similar.” Since Smith’s role involves transforming laboratory science into ‘real world’ applications, it may well be Smith we have to thank when we see ultra thin, bendable solar modules starting to appear in the world around us. It is for this reason I am surprised to discover that he considers himself no environmentalist, holds the ‘ivory tower’ view of academic science in contempt, and did not even mean to become a physicist.

Smith is currently working on two Europeanfunded research and development projects concerned with tackling some of the obstacles preventing printable electronics from reaching some mass market applications. One of the main obstacles is the sensitivity of flexible electronics applications to water. In fact, flexible solar modules made using organic components are so sensitive to water damage that even if they were the size of a football pitch, they could only tolerate coming into contact with a litre of water over the course of a month. An Organic LED of the same size could only tolerate a teaspoon of water over the same period. Developing barriers that are able to protect these applications from the sort of weather conditions we are all too familiar with in the North East is certainly a challenge. Smith describes how the industrial heritage of the North East makes it an excellent base for this technology because the old printing industry could adapt to print electronics, such as printed solar modules. “For the industries that we are talking

* Images courtesy of the Centre of Process Innovation www.uk-cpi.com

CPI Building, County Durham I meet Smith in CPI’s National Centre for Printable Electronics to find out about the scientific background that lead him into the world of thin film solar cells, and into the North East. Talking quietly at first, he tells me that he originally planned to become a mathematician, but converted to physics when he realised that “pure mathematics bored the hell out of me […] my driving interest is to bring science into the real, industrial world, to make something of it […] rather than the ivory tower view.”

There is a glass coating company somewhere in central Europe that ought to be grateful for that driving interest. After their €20 Million vacuum machine mysteriously stopped working one Friday morning, “I was working on another project in the UK when I got the distress call ‘Can you come and help us?’” Shortly after flying in, Smith identified the culprit as being a contaminant added to the coating used to prevent the vacuum from rusting. Had this addition been reported, he explains, the problem may not have occurred because the affect this material can have on vacuums is widely known. I can not help thinking that his use of the term ‘widely’ here is a bit optimistic. “[The vacuum] was 100 meters long, 5 meters wide and had to be cleaned from top to bottom to remove this contaminant. It took forever.” Smith cites this as the event that installed his virtues of caution and diligence. “Always think about every step, always think of the consequences.” He repeats this several times; it is clearly his mantra.

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Always think about every step; always think of the consequences

After spending the 1970s at The University of Nottingham studying for a PhD, Smith secured his first job in the nuclear fuels industry which was “work under [the] Official Secrets Act to quite a high level of security”. Not exactly one’s average graduate job, although Smith’s dry tone suggests he isn’t really aware of this. “I didn’t find it hard

not to talk about it, I don’t think anyone would have been interested […] unless they were some sort of foreign agent, and I didn’t meet many of those. […] I can’t say that I am anti-nuclear. I’m not, but I certainly released that alternative energy production would be useful in the future.” He is quite insistent that his subsequent move to solar power research at BP’s central research laboratories was not an ideological one. “It sounds as though I am an environmentalist or something, but it is not the case […] it was just a more interesting scientific job […] the idea of thin film solar power has always appealed to me as a means of mass production for energy generation […] I also like the idea that the technology could be run in the UK […] so I am sort of pro-UK in a way. [I aim to] develop new industries where [the UK] can take a part, rather than always saying that we are too expensive as a base for production, which I don’t really believe we are […] but that is something that I am trying to fix.” Up until this point, Smith’s relaxed, chatty manner and cynical humour could easily have lulled an unwary recipient into assuming he had long ago traded his ideals and ambitions for an easy life. The sudden enthusiasm that grips him now, as he talks about his hopes for the thin film solar industry reveals that, far from trading in his ideals, they are driving him. Considering the success with which he has fulfilled his ambitions so far, technology in the United Kingdom is about to get very interesting.

Alf Smith

Issue Theme Sustaining Disposal in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry by Matthew Molloy Millions of medicines are prescribed and taken each day. Each of these medications is subject to strict regulatory controls as a result of the thalidomide tragedy in 1952. All new medications must prove to be safe before they can be used in the clinic. How to discover a new drug… So you want to give your hand to developing a new drug? The first choice you will have to make is what is going to be your target. A target can be any molecular or cellular structure that has a function in the body. Now you have decided on your target, you’ll need to get hold of a large, and I mean really big set of compounds, from either chemicals or bugs, to screen against. This is known as high throughput screening. What you are looking for is something that changes your target, but doesn’t change other things that are unrelated to your target. This could take a while, so I would pop the kettle on (but not in the lab!).

How to develop your new drug… Wow fantastic! You’ve had a successful hit. You’ve got your novel chemical, let us call it “Compound X”, and it successfully changes your target. You can now take this compound forward for development and start to progress patent protection. Though I would also continue to screen the remaining chemicals that you have left, as, not to put a downer on things, but success rates

for drug development are not that great; only 9% of drugs that start phase I clinical trials make it to market. Firstly you may need to do some pre-clinical studies. These are required check that the compound is not toxic to mammalian reproduction, and work out how much is safe to give patients in clinical trials. Following you pre-clinical studies, you can move on to the clinical trials. So you’ve still got a product after phase III clinical trials? It’s time to show the regulators and get market approval. This is when the regulator looks over all of you data on the drug and the manufacturing processes. 80% of the time a licence to market the drug is granted. This whole process is very time consuming and costly however and can take 8 years or longer depending on the number of people willing to volunteer for the trials.

But what about biopharmaceuticals and Novel Therapies? Biopharmaceuticals are therapeutic products that are manufactured on an industrial scale through biological processes. The first example of this was a synthetic human insulin, developed and manufactured by Genetech and Eli Lilly. Insulin is required to regulate the amount of sugar in blood and people who suffer diabetes may require injections of insulin as they cannot make enough of it themselves. Synthetic insulin is made by putting the gene to make insulin into a bacteria and then allowing this to grow and produce insulin. The insulin is then harvested, purified and packaged to be given to patients.

Clinical Trials Table Phase Phase I

What is involved? Given to healthy people to determine safe dosage limits and major side effects Phase II Effective? More people are given the drug to see if it actually works Phase III Side Get more data on how effective the drug is and what the side effects are Effects?

Goal Safety

How many? < 100 people

Success 63%

100-300 people

33%

1000-3000 people

55%

taken from a source and either modified or just cultured into a larger number of cells before then can be transplanted into the patient. This is traditionally done in flasks by skilled scientists in very clean rooms. For a cell therapy to treat several hundreds or even thousands of patients, it would become very expensive and time consuming to make all of the treatments by hand. Also cells are typically micrometers across; that is around a tenth of the width of a human hair (not visible without a microscope). It is also very important that batches of cells, as with all medicines, are kept separate throughout manufacture until they are administered to the patient, and bugs and viruses are kept out of the batch too.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are another biopharmaceutical product that are used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancers. They work by having binding sites with characteristics that allow them to only bind to specific antigens. They are made by injecting a mouse with a particular antigen. This stimulates the mouse to produce the antibodies to fight the antigen. The antibody forming cells are the taken from the mouse and fused to a tissue tumour cell to form a new cell called a hybridoma. These are then allowed to grow and multiply resulting in a large number of cells with identical antibody molecules.

Binding Site

The use of disposable manufacturing equipment in biopharmaceutical manufacturing is a new concept. Rather than using sterilised glass flasks, stainless steel reactors, and other equipment all connected together with kilometres of sterilised stainless steel pipes in a multi-storey building, disposable plant makes use of bags and plastics that are connected by meters of flexible, single use, sterile pipes. All of this equipment is used once and then disposed of. This allows for the manufacturing site to be a lot more flexible as equipment can be moved around when needed and processes can be changed very quickly. As single use equipment is sterile, this also removes the large quantities of chemicals and water that is needed to clean the equipment. This means, these newer biopharmaceutical technologies can be manufactured more cheaply and in small enough quantities to allow medicines for a small group of people to be manufactured. Disposable manufacturing equipment can therefore be more sustainable manufacturing route than traditional equipment.

Antigens

mAb

Cell therapies are a new technology type of biopharmaceuticals that has come from regenerative medicine. It has the potential to treat diseases that are currently untreatable with conventional medicines. There are two main types of cell therapy. Autologous cell therapy is where cells are taken from the patient, processed, and then put back into the same patient. Allogeneic cell therapy is where cells are taken from a donor, processed, and then transplanted into multiple patients. In both cases, living cells need to be

Drug Development Process DRUG DEVELOPMENT

PHASE 1

PHASE 3

PHASE 2

REGISTRATION

Total Cost

PRECLINICAL

6.5

Years

Compounds Remaining

* Graph by Gesa Junge Diagram by Matthew Molloy

Issue Theme The Emergence of Fuel Poverty by Louise Tanner Fuel poverty broadly refers to the inability to afford adequate warmth at home. Prior to the 1970s, western fuel poverty was regarded as an aspect of general deprivation. It gained prominence as a distinct social issue at the time of the world energy crisis in 1973, which led to severe oil shortages and sharp fuel price increases in the West, impacting on the ability of households to afford adequate home heating. In 1991, Oxford University graduate, Dr Brenda

Boardman, published her book “Fuel Poverty”, based on her doctoral research. This distinguished between general poverty, caused by low income, and fuel poverty, which is additionally driven by high energy prices and thermally inefficient housing. Based on data from the 1988 Family Expenditure Survey, Boardman defined fuel poverty as the situation where a household needs to spend more than 10% of its income after tax on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime*. Fuel poverty has subsequently been associated with a range of adverse health and social outcomes, including cold-related mortality and illness, educational under-attainment and social exclusion.

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The initial target on fuel poverty was not met...

In 2001, under a Labour government, the UK became the first to develop an official Fuel Poverty Strategy. This aimed to eradicate fuel poverty in vulnerable households** by 2010 and in all UK households by 2016, based on Boardman’s definition of fuel poverty. It was intended that this strategy would be implemented through tackling the root causes of fuel poverty, in addition to negotiating with energy suppliers. In this case, tackling the root causes of fuel poverty involved: increasing financial support and providing nonrepayable home energy efficiency improvement grants (e.g. via the ‘Warm Front Scheme’) to low income and vulnerable households.

* A household is considered to have a satisfactory heating regime when the temperature of the main living area is maintained at 21°C and other occupied rooms at 18°C, based on World Health Organization recommendations.

The initial target on fuel poverty was not met, partly due to increased energy prices from 2004/05 and reduced household incomes associated with the current recession. A recent review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy, commissioned by the current government, concluded that poor implementation of policies arising from the strategy also contributed to missed targets. Based on the conclusions of a second review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy, the UK government has proposed a new ‘relative’ definition of fuel poverty. In this definition households would be considered fuel poor if their income falls below the official poverty threshold as a result of above average home fuel expenditures, which will be based on household composition and size. The government argues this would enable them to target interventions more effectively. However, campaign groups claim this change would class many households to be out of fuel poverty without improving their circumstances. The UK coalition government is also replacing the Warm Front Scheme with a new ‘Green Deal’, whereby all UK households are eligible to receive home energy efficiency improvements, which are financed through their energy bills. Widespread uptake of this scheme would also reduce CO2 emissions from energy inefficient housing, helping the government to meet international climate change targets. However, it is argued that this transition is likely to have a negative impact on the health and well-being of individuals from low income households, as it will involve the removal of direct funding opportunities for householders to address fuel poverty. Despite criticisms of the UK’s approach to tackling fuel poverty, it is one of only a small number of countries to have developed an official definition and legislative framework to address the issue. Given likely future increases in energy prices associated with fossil fuel depletion, a greater consideration of fuel poverty may help protect health and well-being of western populations in the future.

** Vulnerable households are those containing children, older people or persons with a disability or long term illness.

Issue Theme The Gap by Alice Johnson There has always been a clear divide between science and society, and how we bridge that gap is constantly under discussion. Even now, scientists find it difficult to convey their data in a way that excites interest without being overcomplicated or misleading. Why does the gap matter? There are many reasons why I believe that scientists should make the effort to keep the gap between science and society to a minimum. Many people believe that science is best left to the experts, but I am of the opinion that it concerns everyone. Not only does the public directly benefit from science, but they also contribute to it. This particular article will focus on fundraising for scientific research. Unfortunately, science research is often limited due to lack of money and it is important to keep funding constant if fair experiments are to be carried out. Apart from grants, a large quantity of research money comes from the public. Therefore, it is essential that society is kept informed and interested and that we maintain a certain level of trust.

The afore-mentioned faults and mistakes ultimately lead to the question “How do we bridge the gap between science and society?” There is no simple answer. Methods include breaking down information into more digestible fragments, investing in outreach programmes and blogging about science online to incorporate a larger audience. I believe that all of these methods are working, even if the changes are gradual. Nevertheless, couldn’t we help to speed things up a little? Can’t we stop to think about the consequences of our actions? Society isn’t stupid, surely we can gain their trust without having to embellish scientific data to catch their attention? We are capable of representing data fairly and thus bridging the gap between science and society. After all, we are scientists.

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How do we bridge the gap between science and society?

one-off text. In reality, the donator then receives a series of phone calls and a bombardment of texts/emails attempting to coax more money from them. In addition to the harassment, most people are aware that chuggers get paid and receive commission for every donation they initiate. Consequently, a large portion of society are apprehensive at the prospect of being accosted by these chuggers and thus their use to raise money for research science may be considered detrimental.

The regrettable truth is that the majority of people find science boring or confusing, and numerous mistakes are made to amplify these impressions. The mistakes include past events such as the MMR scare in 1998; numerous articles that have drawn illogical conclusions from science experiments; cosmetics companies that make false claims in the name of science; research charities that use chuggers to raise money. The latter example refers to the use of chuggers (paid charity fundraisers) to persuade members of the public to donate, usually by sending an apparently * Illustration by Hannah Scully

Issue Theme Biomimicry: It's Only Natural by Thomas Lundy

Only they’re not actually ours. Whether we realise it or not, mankind has been stealing credit from a prolific designer: nature. Roughly 3.8 billion years of unrelenting, trial-and-death experimentation has led to what could in many cases, be called the perfect system. If you were to name an energy source, in most instances there would be an organism which makes use of it more efficiently than our technology. Studying the movement of electricity between cells in the human body, for example, has allowed us to shrink electronic circuitry size further still.

We may not have known that we were taking inspiration from nature in the past, but we definitely know now. The field of biomimicry, imitating nature when solving human problems in order to emulate its success, is quickly growing. Architects, designers and manufactures all take elements of nature into consideration and so does the field of sustainable energy. Engineers save a lot of time by cutting out the middleman and letting nature do the hard work. Many ideas simultaneously appear both cutting edge and blatantly obvious, as although the technology is impressive, the answer has been right in front of us. Take for instance the method of converting solar energy into a stored form using a device called the ‘artificial leaf’. The first practical version of this was constructed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and emulates the process of photosynthesis performed by plants. No bigger than a playing card and made from inexpensive materials, the ‘leaf’ (a solar cell) can be left to float in water, where it uses energy from the sun to split the water into its separate elements, oxygen and hydrogen. These are subsequently stored in a fuel

cell for use when producing electricity. Requiring no wires or equipment and 10 times more efficient than the real thing, the artificial leaf is a promising piece of technology. Photosynthesis has been fueling life on this planet for billions of years, it’s only natural we follow suit. Solar is not the only energy source being enhanced by biomimicry. Over 200,000 wind turbines operate worldwide and for decades it was widely accepted that smooth, leading edges and ridged, trailing edges were the most efficient blade design for turbines. Once again nature contained a superior solution The Humpback whale possesses bumps or ‘tubercles’ on the leading (or wrong) side of its fins and yet, is one of the most elegant swimmers in the sea. Dr. Frank Fish (his real name), a biomechanics specialist, first noticed this characteristic on a model of a Humpback whale but could not comprehend its logic, as it completely contradicted all understanding of fluid dynamics. It led him to research the whales’ hydrodynamics further and it’s now widely accepted that tubercles on the leading edge of blades and fins greatly reduces drag. This understanding has since been adopted by WhalePower, a company which develop wind turbines inspired by the large cetacean’s bumps. Their turbines move 25% more air than conventional turbines whilst using 20% less energy, yet another example of how much we can learn from observing our planet’s wildlife.

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The field of biomimicry, imitating nature when solving human problems in order to emulate its success, is growing quickly

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The Earth’s natural resources are depleting. Coal stocks are too low. Petrol prices are too high. Humanity has heard it all and has, in fact, produced some increasingly impressive solutions; we utilise the Earth’s own heat, use the power of the world’s oceans and even harness the energy of the Sun. There’s no doubt that we can be extremely proud of our innovations…

Unsurprisingly, nature’s influence doesn’t stop at the turbine’s blades. Taking inspiration from the way a school of fish arrange themselves to reduce drag and increase energy efficiency, research institutions such as CalTech seek to maximise the amount of energy produced by wind farms in the same area of space. Turbines arranged in a pattern similar to that of a fish school have provided a

10-fold increase in efficiency compared to the standard square layout. The marine world seems to be a popular place for bioengineers to seek inspiration, even marine plants, such as kelp, have been found to possess features which can be applied to energy production. The long fronds of kelp, which can extend many feet up from their seabed-embedded holdfasts (roots), are often exposed to the turbulence of coastal waters. The fronds’ multiple gas-filled bladders keep them upright and buoyant and allow them to calmly bob in the ocean waves and currents. One company, BioPower Systems, aspires to emulate the gentle movement of kelp with its BioWave system. This consists of a float (like the kelp’s gas bladders) attached to a flexible stem (the frond), which bobs and sways in the ocean current, converting this kinetic energy into electricity. Subsea cables can deliver this power to shore, where it would be incorporated into the national electrical grid.

Although nature may not provide every answer, such innovations can only be beneficial to a world striving for a sustainable way of living. The more nature provides the inspiration, the further we seem to develop.

Whilst it is tremendously important we find and develop efficient and sustainable energy sources, it’s utilisation must also be developed. The efficient use of energy is as much of a goal as its efficient production. In 2005 Mercedes-Benz released the Bionic Car, which was designed to mimic the body shape of the boxfish in order to improve the car’s aerodynamics. This increased the fuel economy of the vehicle, to an impressive 70 miles per gallon. The aero/hydrodynamics of fish is something which is being drawn upon more and more. Naval architects are attempting to emulate the aerodynamic qualities of shark skin: consisting of ridged scales that reduce the amount of water friction exerted against the animal. Applying this design as a material for coating ships will help to increase both speed and fuel economy.

* Illustration by Robyn Nevison

Opinion Piece Equality in British Science by Reuben Kirkham At least publicly, all British Universities promote the values of equality; however statistics on gender, and disability equality, paint a different picture. In science, women are several times less likely to gain professorships compared to male colleagues, and disabled graduates are over six times less likely to obtain employment in an academic position than able graduates.

The inclusion of women in science has been a topical issue for the last 20 years with the scientific community shamed into action by both the statistical picture, and the Freeman affair. Professor Gordon Freeman, a Professor of Physics, published in what was then the most prestigious journal, a strongly sexist criticism, with the article and the lackluster response evolving into an international scandal. There has been a hive of activity supposedly aimed at rectifying this state of affairs. The flagship scheme for the sciences is Athena Swan, where departments self-assess their policies and practices and identify issues that could undermine equal opportunities for women. Bronze awards are offered to departments who think about making changes, Silver are for those who actually make some progress and Gold awards (only possessed by two British departments) are effectively for full compliance with the Equality Act. What is boasted as being cutting edge in the promotion of equality is little more than rewarding failure,

whilst effectively enabling opponents of equality to advance alternative ‘theories’, such as women being ‘disinterested’ in science. Unlike for women’s equality, there is no widely recognized imperative for inclusion of those with disabilities, nor any substantive activity aimed at alleviating the current exclusion that occurs. Moreover, the need for including disabled people is more of a fundamental concern. Diagnostic criteria determined by medical scientists establish the rights and treatment of individual groups of disabled people, including in law. At the same time, the assistive technologies that end up being practically available – many of them revolutionary – depend upon what research is conducted, and by whom. Despite this, the Medical Research Council has a public policy of deliberately excluding them from decision making, whereas the other major funders have no coherent policy at all. In practice, inclusion is a matter of charity on the part of a University. As an internal legal report by one Russell Group University highlighted, academics in that institution could fail to abide by equality legislation with “no real consequence”, and frequently did so, often deliberately. Selection processes are particularly concerning, where existing academics decide who they would like to have in accord with their ‘opinions’, without any accountability, using the euphemism of ‘academic merit’ as justification. A Russell Group postgraduate admissions tutor maintained a public blog explaining that he circumvented official recruitment processes. He achieved this by phoning ‘colleagues’ to help him decide whether or not to appoint a given candidate, claiming this was usual practice in his discipline. These examples underscore the fact that equality is currently optional in academia. Sadly, it is only by effective enforcement that equality in academia would likely come about, given the failure of the current voluntary system. In an era where public funders of research now feel it’s appropriate to give 20% of funding on the basis of ‘commercial impact’, perhaps they could also fund research upon the department’s performance in equality too.

Student Stories Nature's Giant: The Sei Whale by Simon Laing On a quiet Wednesday in September, I sat down for lunch and waited for Dr. Per Berggren, marine mammalogist at Newcastle University. I had been working with him as a research assistant on marine mammal survey work off Blyth. Unusually, he was a little late today. “Sorry for the delay,” he said as he arrived. “A juvenile sei whale has stranded at Druridge Bay, and I have just been on the phone to the Institute of Zoology. They are travelling up from London right now to perform the necropsy and have invited us to assist.” This was a rare opportunity and a real privilege for a marine mammalogist. This was only the sixth recorded stranding of a sei whale in the UK in twenty years, even more unusual here on the east coast as sei whales usually show a preference for deeper, offshore waters. Together with Dan Gordon, Keeper of Biology

at the Hancock Museum, we travelled north to Druridge Bay and were met by the British Divers’ Marine Life Rescue on arrival. They had been with the whale since it stranded. “It’s a juvenile female, approximately eight meters long,” they told us. This network of local scuba divers are experts in refloating stranded marine mammals, but given its state of health, this particular animal had been considered unlikely to survive refloating attempts and euthanised by a local veterinarian. The first step in the necropsy was opening the body cavity. Removal of the skin and rib cage required great strength. Scalpels were useless, so large chefs knives were used for the incisions and bolt cutters for removal of the rib cage. Whales have a thick, very smooth skin which is specially adapted to help them glide through the water. Below this you normally find a thick layer of blubber, a special type of insulting fat which allows

the animal to maintain a core body temperature of 37°C even in cold water. This animal’s blubber was only 5-6 cm thick which is very thin. Her emaciated state indicated she had not been feeding properly for quite some time and malnutrition looked to be a major contributing factor to this animal stranding. Once exposed, the animal’s internal organs were arranged much as in any mammal. Steam rose from the body cavity as even the thin layer of blubber found on this animal had preserved much of its body heat. The lungs, heart, liver and digestive tract looked healthy, though clearly she had not been feeding as the stomach only contained two small pieces of plastic. Whales can be found starved to death as a result of litter ingestion as it often accumulates in their stomachs, though not in this case. As the light started to fade on Druridge Bay it became clear the in situ work must conclude and so tissue samples were taken for laboratory analysis. The pectoral and dorsal fins were taken for the permanent collection at the Hancock Museum as well as a sample of the animal’s baleen, specialised plates in the mouth used to filter small crustaceans and fish (e.g. krill) from seawater as they swim. The rest of the animal was eventually incinerated as the powerful veterinary drugs that had been used for euthanisation represented a potential biohazard. So what caused the animal to strand? “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Berggren remarked the following day. She was in an unfamiliar area and had clearly had not been eating properly. This gradually made her weaker and start metabolising blubber and muscle tissue. This coupled with a severe storm earlier in the week had left her weak and disorientated. Although this was certainly a very sad end for this magnificent animal, the tissue samples collected and the additions to the museum collection will aid both scientists and the public as we strive for a greater understanding of these wonderful animals and how we can conserve them in the future.

* Photo by Simon Laing

Science: Fiction The Lorax: Sustainability for all ages by Alison Peel Green Propaganda

A Paradise Lost

It is over 40 years since Theodore Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss, wrote his tale of environmental ruin, “The Lorax”, and yet its message still resonates today. The book is after all, and by Seuss’s own admission, “propaganda” for a more sustainable future.

“The Lorax” tells the tale of a beautiful world destroyed by unregulated and unsustainable industry. This industry is embodied by the Onceler, a greedy capitalist obsessed with ‘biggering’ himself and, of course, his money. Fortunately, he has an adversary in the form of the Lorax—a short, brown creature with a very impressive moustache, who, in his own words, “speaks for the trees”. It is the Once-ler who narrates the story, explaining how he arrived many years before in the land of the Truffula Trees. Immediately sensing a money-making opportunity, he sets about knitting ‘Thneeds’ (a multi-purpose garment which, interestingly, closely resembles a onesie) from the tufty foliage of the Truffulas. His business rapidly expands, and he begins to cut down Truffula trees at an alarming rate, much to the horror of the Lorax. These trees, it transpires, are absolutely key to the area’s ecosystem. The more trees the Once-ler fells, the more of the land’s delightful animal species are forced to leave. First is the bear-like Bar-ba-loots, who can only eat fruit from the Truffula trees. Then the Swomee-Swans, who appear to have developed asthma from all the ‘smogulous smoke’ pumped out by the Onceler’s factories. And finally the Humming-Fish whose pond is filled with toxic ‘Gluppity-Glupp’ and ‘Schloppity-Schlopp’, nasty by-products of Thneed production. The Lorax stands up for the animals and insists that the deforestation stop. However, the Once-ler has been blinded by his own greed and disregards the Lorax’s warnings. It is only once the last Truffula tree has been felled that he realises what he has done. What was once a paradise has become a desolate, smog-ridden wasteland. Even worse, in creating this dystopia he has exhausted the area’s raw materials, thus putting himself out of business. In an element of realism rarely seen in children’s books, the hero cannot save the day—having failed to rescue his beloved trees, the Lorax is mysteriously lifted away through the smog,

* Illustrations by Hannah Scully

defeated. Many years later, as the Once-ler reflects on his tale, he realises that there is still a tiny opportunity to rebuild the Truffula ecosystem. He passes the last Truffula seed on to a small boy, with the words “Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Real Truffula Trees Although “The Lorax” was written for children, it deals with some complex environmental issues in a way that anybody can understand. It illustrates the way in which different species depend on each other in an ecosystem, as well as the corrosive effects of uncontrolled industrial growth. “The Lorax” was published in 1971, shortly after the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental awareness had been on the increase throughout the 1960s and during this time, the forestry industry in the Pacific Northwest was experiencing some bad press—there was concern over the health of redwood forests, which were being extensively logged, and the species which depended on them, for example the Northern Spotted Owl, whose decline became the centre of great controversy in later years. Clearly Seuss felt strongly about the issues represented in his book, and four decades on, his tale continues to draw close parallels with modernday ecology. Instead of factories, road traffic emits vast quantities of ‘smogulous smoke’—in spring 2012 London’s air pollution was at a record high. In contrast, water pollution in the western world has improved vastly in the last 40 years, yet the health risks associated with unsanitary and polluted water still plague developing countries.

greenhouse effect will continue to get worse, threatening to destroy ecosystems on a much larger scale than deforestation alone.

Whose Responsibility? In placing the responsibility of reinstating the

Truffula trees on a small boy, Seuss implies that the task of fixing the planet must be passed on to the younger generation, our generation. I would certainly agree - as a generation it will be our task to maintain our natural resources and protect the species whose homes are endangered. If we neglect to do this it will soon be too late. So what’s the solution? I’m sure the Lorax would argue that we ought to stop cutting down trees and running factories altogether. It would be fair to say that, in this respect, the story’s morality is rather black and white—it certainly wouldn’t be economically viable to shut down industry altogether. Of course, the Lorax has the advantage that he lives in a tree trunk and doesn’t wear clothes. He can also fly independently, significantly reducing his carbon footprint. What is really needed, and I’m sure the Lorax would agree, is sustainable management of our resources, particularly forests. Industry needs to be regulated and green targets need to be met. But more importantly, we must learn from the Once-ler’s mistakes on an individual level. ‘Think global, act local’ is a phrase that has been uttered time and time again, but its message remains imperative to protecting our planet. Greed has the potential to ruin the planet ecologically, as well as in many other ways, and it is the small actions of ordinary people which will make the real difference.

Whilst there have been great efforts to slow deforestation, the main theme of The Lorax, huge areas are still cleared every year. In some countries, such as China, the amount of imported wood is still increasing, and worryingly, a significant proportion is illegally logged. This is particularly troubling as it is, of course, completely unregulated. There is no way of knowing the extent of illicit deforestation, and some authorities turn a blind eye. Just like the Lorax’s, our trees support a vast number of other species—70% of land animals and plants live in forests. Deforestation is destroying habitats on an almost daily basis. The loss of forests also contributes to the great environmental problem of our age, global warming. Without trees to absorb carbon dioxide, the

NCL Uni Science Science Students Take to the Streets! by Street {Science} Team A group of Newcastle University students are taking to the streets to show the city all that is exciting about science and engineering. This project is called Street Science, but what is it all about? We went to the source and found out all the facts.

OK, but why? There are very few ways to explore science casually and this is what we hope to do. We also hope people might have a go at one of our demonstrations and be tempted to explore science further, and maybe come along to the British Science Festival in September or read {react} magazine! Oh you do flatter us. And what is in it for you? There is a common misconception that scientists are not good at conveying scientific ideas. We are out to prove them wrong, we are great communicators and really passionate about our subjects. Becoming Street Scientists will also help us to be even better at explaining current scientific theories in the future.

What is Street Science? Street Science is like busking. The aim is to entertain people on the streets of Newcastle and Gateshead, but replace the instruments with science experiments! That sounds dangerous. Has anyone informed the Health and Safety Executive? Not necessary! We are definitely not ‘Braniac: Science Abuse’ and we have left the Caesium and the bathtub in the lab. These are experiments that you can do with household objects. There is actually a quite amazing the range of scientific phenomena that can be demonstrated with everyday objects. Do you have an example? We can demonstrate the properties and characteristics of sound waves with two loops of string, a coat hanger, a fork, or a spoon. It’s a very interesting way to explain the phenomenon.

* Photos by Newcastle University/Street {Science} Team

When and where can I see Street Science in action? We can be found around the main shopping areas of Newcastle City Centre most weekends. You can usually find us at big festivals and events in the regions. You will probably see us before we see you as we all wear bright red jackets and bobble hats, although we are thinking of getting cool visors for the summer. If you follow us on twitter @NUStreetScience we will usually be tweeting during our performances and we announce all of our dates and locations on there too!

Puzzle Page Magic Tap-a-drink Card by Doctor Maths Cartoon by Martha Snow Cosmopolitan

Peach Schnapps

Gin and Tonic

Magic Tap-a-drink Game

Brown Ale

Comic Strip!

Whisky

Red Wine

Cider

Rum and Coke

Pop

White Wine

Beer

Modern Mind Reading Here’s something for next time you’re cooling

off in the bar, whether it’s at the Union or down at Head of Steam. All you need is your copy of {react} and a willing volunteer.

By popular demand we have filled the second issue of {react} with even more delicious morsels to help our readers to look and think about science in different ways. Martha Snow, a student in Spanish and Portuguese at Newcastle University, has very kindly created our very first {react} comic strip! Ever wanted to design your own snowflake? Well you’re in good academic company! This little taster is our homage to the Newcastle Science Comic project, which is looking to bring together researchers and graphic artists to produce some truly beautiful pieces of educational graphic art loveliness in the lead up to the British Science Festival in September 2013. You can find out more about this project at: http://newcastlesciencecomic.blogspot.co.uk/

1. Have your volunteer pick a drink off the card. Now instead of them telling you with their voice, they’re going to tell you with their mind. 2. Get them to spell it out in their head. Tap every other dot anti-clockwise for each letter, starting with your finger on the top dot (“12”). Hint: Make sure you tap slowly enough for the volunteer to get through the spelling without mistakes. 3. On the last letter, the volunteer says “Stop.” Your finger should be on their drink choice! Here’s another way to use it if you don’t know what you want to drink. Think of a number between 1 and 14. Count it off the using same tapping method and see what you end up with!

About Magic Tap-a-drink Recommended by Dr Math (Steve Humble),

the original Magic Tap-A-Drink Card was created by Martin Gardner as a give-away card in 1940 (we updated the drinks a bit). If that wet your whistle, you’ll be happy to know you can find more mathematical puzzles and tricks through Dr Math’s website at (www.drmaths.co.uk).

NCL Uni Science The British Science Festival: Get Ready! by Alice Madgwick This September, the British Science Festival, Europe’s largest and longest running science event, is coming to Newcastle. Each year the Festival draws over 350 of the UK’s top scientists from across the country and all areas of science. Through debates, workshops, talks, quizzes,

buskers, and comedy shows, scientists hope to demonstrate that science is relevant to everyone, every day. As well as cutting edge lectures and celebrity speakers, the British Science Festival will also include interactive weekend events for families, lectures and debates for all ages, and a dedicated schools programme. Members of the public will be given the opportunity to question scientists about their research, much of which will have been generated in the North East. It is even possible to enjoy the festival from home with an online highlights show that gives a rundown of the best bits of each day. Stephen John Shackleton, a second year undergraduate studying maths and chemistry, visited the British Science Festival in Aberdeen last year. He believes “The Festival is an important stimulus for generating discussion across society as a whole, especially with young people who are the future of scientific advancement.”

“

...we have so much innovation and history to showcase

innovation and history to showcase” said Michael Mather, a third year medical student. The Festival will run from the 7th-12th September, but if that is too far away then get involved now by entering this Twitter competition.

witter Competition British Science Festival: Get Ready! How to Enter: Using Twitter, finish this sentence:

‘By 2099 I hope science has...’ Make sure you add the hashtag #ideastakeflight so we can see your responses. The best entries will win a pair of tickets to an event of your choice at the British Science Festival.

Deadline: Friday 19th April 2013 If you do not have a twitter account you can send your tweet to a.j.madgwick@ncl.ac.uk. We will simply post the entry; you must create the tweet yourself. Remember the limit for a tweet is 140 characters. NOTE The dates of the Festival (7th – 12th September) means that it will take place just ahead of the new academic year in 2013. Make sure you don’t miss out and head back to Newcastle early to take part in all the fun!

The majority of events will be taking place right on the Newcastle University campus with many others events hosted in venues across the city. This is the 7th time the Festival has come to Newcastle, and it is more appropriate than ever as Newcastle develops its status as a Science City. A status that helps increase scientific development and raise awareness of the city’s scientific potential worldwide. “I am excited about the British Science Festival coming to Newcastle because we have so much

For more details visit: ideastakeflight.org

Listings WHAT

WHEN

WHERE

22 Jan 13 - 19 May 13

Do Try This at Home

LSC

13 Feb 13 - 06 May 13

Forces!

LSC

13 Feb 13 - 21 Apr 13

Mechanicals

LSC

01 Mar 13

Glaciers Around Mt. Everest: The debris-covered glaciers of Khumbu

GNM

Behind the Scenes Tours of the Natural Science Stores

GNM

02 Mar 13 06 Mar 13 08 Mar 13 09 Mar 13 12 Mar 13 13 Mar 13 14 Mar 13 14 Mar 13 14 Mar 13 15 Mar 13

The Biology of Homosexuality

John Gould: The story of the Bird-Man and how the Victorians discovered the natural world

GNM

Red Kite Ramble

GNM

A Soldier’s Life

Making Women Feel Better With a Bit of Egg

Climate Changed Cities: Exploring the urban politics of climate response

Gender and the Popular Memory of the Second World War

North East Wildlife Photography Awards

GNM

Britain’s National Vegetation Classification: The characteristic plant communities of North East England

GNM

19 Mar 13

Helen Keen: Robot Woman of Tomorrow

LSC

19 Mar 13 19 Mar 13 22 Mar 13 26 Mar 13

SciScreen: Time Code

TSC

Electricity

Our Changing Landscapes: opportunity or threat for birds?

John Henry Holmes (1857-1935): the life and legacy of a Tyneside electrical pioneer

Chocolate Workshops

LSC

Hidden in the Franks Casket

GNM

30 Mar 13 - 31 Mar 13 03 Apr 13 16 Apr 13

Taking a Look at Social Attention: Insights from the broader autism phenotype

Mini Series in Food and Nutrition

LSC

18 Apr 13 - 25 May 13

The Tony Sarma Mini-Vetrinary School

LSC

25 Apr 13

A Promise to Malala – Children’s Literature and Education for All

25 Apr 13 27 Apr 13 - 28 Apr 13

SciScreen: The Dish

TSC

Maker Faire

LSC

02 May 13 14 May 13 25 May 13 - 03 Nov 13

Universes

Three Tales from the Biomedical Frontier

Age of the Dinosaur

LSC

16 Apr 13 - 28 May 13

Event

LSC = Life Science Centre

Exhibit

GNM = Great North Museum (Hancock)

Lecture

NU = Newcastle University DM = Discovery Museum TSC = Tyneside Cinema