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Oxford Science Magazine 4th Edition Hilary Term 2010 Contents

orial...... 2 Edit ws...... 3 Ne Killer Tits...... 5...6 k By Lightning...... Struc

Size Matters...... 7

Choosing Children...... 9

The Las t Piece of the Puzzle.....11 Just F orget About ...... 12 Star Gazing fr om the Spir A Br es...... 13 oken R elationship?...... 15 Müß es Sein?...... 17

Modern Da

Sci-Phi. y Ne wt ons...... 19 ...... 20 Beauty is in t

The P he Br oe Embr ain of t try of Pi...... 23 acing Em he Beholder 350 Y Artwork checklist ear pat Ask A Lectur ...... 21 PREFLIGHT s of Blue Skiesh...... 26 Preflight check done y...... 25 Riddler’ DOCUMENT Correct size Correct file name er London. Business. s Diges ...... 27 Full bleed (if required)

COLOUR Correct Pantone/CMYK t...... 28 Set up asMasters. spot/CMYK Unused colours deleted

TYPE Correct Basedfonts in the City of London, the heart of global business, We offer 18 full-time and Kerning part-time specialist Masters SpellcheckCass has been called the best located business school in Europe. Double spaces programmes in the areas of: Bang! Science Magazine, Hilary Term 2010 IMAGES Our accredited portfolio of specialist Masters not only combines world-class • Finance Hi-res theory with hands-on learning, but utilises our links with international industry • Quantitative finance CMYK Editors - Nicola Davis and Thomas Lewton None largerleaders than 125% and policymakers to ensure our graduates are placed at the cutting edge • Actuarial sciences of global business. • Real estate Creative Directors - Leila Battison and Holly Rouse-Sweeney Editorial Team - Neil Dewar, Bryony Frost, Alya Hazell, Chloe McIvor, Matthew Robinson Once the Cassabove Businesshas been checked School’s students and graduates come from over 100 countries • Insurance PACKAGE • Shipping Creative Team - Genevieve Edwards, Max Gordon-Brown, Mark Ho, Anna Pouncey, Louisa Stoppard Artworkworldwide packaged to FINAL and artwork have folder access to a 26,000-strong alumni network. This provides - Sean McMahon File labelledall thoseAW who study at Cass with a truly global experience and access to an • Energy Creative Advisor Hi-res PDF invaluable network of business contacts throughout their career. • Supply chain • Management Published by Oxford Student Publications Limited Chairman - Robert Murtagh Find out more by attending one of our regular information sessions. Business Managers - Mike Teckman, Tabassum Rasheed Contact us on +44 (0)20 7040 8600 to book your place or visit: Technology Consultant -Adam Hadley Finance Managers - Joshua Sanger, Jack Power www.cass.city.ac.uk/masters Directors - Josephine Livingstone, Derek Tan, Phoebe Arnold, Theo Brainin, Nick Coxon, James Kennard, Pippa Lamb, Harry Thompson i

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FINAL ARTwORK COLOUR IMAGES SIGN OFF Correct brand colours Hi-res CMYK/Spot/Mono CMYK/mono Preflight check done None above 125% TYPE DOCUMENT Correct fonts PACKAGE Correct size Kerning checked Final artwork folder Correct file name Spellchecked File labelled ‘AW’ Bleed (if required) Double spaces Hi-res PDF created Editorial Develop A New Side hether it’s a first kiss or a synaptic Wbridge in the brain, connections are vital to life on all levels. We have always sought unifying principles behind such con- nections in an attempt to better understand the world around us: on the most funda- mental level, physicists have for millennia been piecing together the forces of nature in the search for a ‘Theory of Everything’.

Creating order out of chaos has revolution- ised the way we view the world and our place in it, while also allowing us to manipu- late our surroundings and even ourselves. Yet a breakdown often occurs across the most vital connection of all: that between scientists and the public.

Articulate, engaging communication of scientific research is needed to share the wealth of inspirational scientific discoveries with the public. But more than this, it is vi- tal in avoiding misconceptions that can ob- struct the progress of innovative scientific ideas. Advances in reproductive technolo- gies have already caused alarm but, on the flip-side of the coin, with guided restrictions they have the potential to change many people’s lives for the better.

Often influenced by these public percep- tions, politicians must restore their trust and commitment to science as it comes to play an increasingly important role in the political challenges of today. Faced with short-term financial difficulties, politicians must respect the ability of science to produce huge, unex- Become one of the pected benefits in the long-term and direct funding accordingly— it is the unforeseen discoveries of open ended research that of- ten have the greatest impact both socially many faces of Bang! and economically. Likewise, across the whole scientific spec- We are seeking talented applicants for the trum, it is the surprises which cause us to review existing paradigms and make the roles of greatest advances in our understanding of Editor, Creative Director, Web Nature. The discovery of bat-eating birds sheds new light on the nature vs nurture Designer, Artist and Writer debate; while it is literal sparks of lightning that have changed our understanding of the To apply, email process of evolution. [email protected] You’ll find all these ideas and many more by monday 8th week in this issue of Bang!. It is the moment of il- lumination from a novel discovery or the re- alisation of a hidden connection that makes science so exciting and we hope to share this with you.

Thomas Lewton and Nicola Davis 1 Art: Louisa Stoppard 2 Editors. News Golden ratio discovered in of some atoms can be reversed by up is limited to ‘modern’ society. Moreo- could all change with a simple and cheap refridgeration will now benefi t. “You could Quantum World the process of quantum tunnelling. ver, the reddish pigments found were a new method of producing vaccines that even picture someone with a backpack subtle blend of iron minerals suggesting are stable even at tropical temperatures. taking vaccine doses on a bike into re- “You might expect to see random that a particular ‘look’ mote villages,” said Dr Cottingham. complex form of mathematical sym- fl uctuations of the spins at this criti- was desired, Oxford University researchers demon- metry linked to string theory has been A cal point, but what we uncovered calling into strated that the Hypodermic Rehydration Some things are set in glimpsed in the laboratory for the fi rst time, was a remarkable structure in the Injection System (HydRIS), patented by as published recently in the journal Science. resonances of the magnetic spins Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies, success- stone indicating a perfectly harmoni- fully enables storage of two diff erent virus- The patterns, observed by Oxford Univer- ous state,” explained Radu Col- based vaccines for six months at 45 °C alaeontologists at Oxford Uni- sity researchers, were the same as those dea leader of the team at Oxford. with no degradation. What’s more, the vac- Pversity have found evidence of in the 248–dimensional mathematical cines could be kept for over a year at 37 °C, pre-Cambrian animal locomotion in object E8. The extra dimensions refer to The pattern of spin alignments removing the need for fridges or freezers. fossilised trails, providing crucial in- mathematical degrees of freedom rather matched that of the golden ratio, sights into evolutionary processes. than everyday spatial dimensions. E8 also occurring throughout nature in, for exam- HydRIS works by suspending the ac- appears in string theory, a contender for ple, the swirl of a snail shell. The golden ra- tive virus of the vaccine in a thick sugary The fossil record is packed with informa- a ‘Theory of Everything’ which aims to tio is also a characteristic signature of E8. syrup, like a fl y stuck in amber. No longer tion from the Cambrian period (542-488 unify the incompatible theories of gen- bombarded by surrounding molecules, the million years ago), a time which saw an eral relativity and quantum mechanics. However, scientists have stressed that al- to strengthen the overall struc- virus avoids degradation. Key to the meth- explosion of animal life, however fos- though E8 does show up in string theory cal- ture against breakage— a fea- od’s success is the use of a membrane sils from the earlier Ediacaran period “The patterns were the same as culations, observing the symmetry in mag- ture also found in Tokyo’s railway. for eff ective drying of the sugar solution. (630-542 million years ago) are rare. those in the 248–dimensional netic crystal experiments does not provide mathematical object E8.” any direct evidence for string theory itself. “Remarkably, what we have found is that “The beauty of this approach is that a sim- All previously recorded Edicaran fossils a simple organism such as a slime mould, ple plastic cartridge, containing the mem- have resembled fern-like or disc-shaped They observed the exotic states by ap- Simple slime mould mimics which makes all decisions ‘locally’ without question the assump- brane with vaccine dried on, can be placed organisms which were likely to have been any reference to an overall blueprint, can anchored to the sea fl oor. But the new fi nd- plying a strong magnetic fi eld to crystals Tokyo’s railway tion that Neanderthals were unintelligent. on the end of a syringe,” explains Dr Matt of cobalt niobate at near absolute zero build networks which match the perform- Cottingham, lead author of the paper pub- ings from Newfoundland, Canada, suggest temperatures. The cobalt atoms, which ance of planned manmade networks.”, said Research leader, Prof João Zilhão, has lished in Science Translational Medicine. that pre-Cambrian life was much more di- act like tiny bar magnets, can point ei- ears of planning goes into producing Dr Mark Fricker, an author of the paper. been quick to point out the signifi cance of “Pushing a liquid solution from the syringe verse. The trails are the fi rst to show that ther ‘up’ or ‘down’— a property known Yeff icient, resilient rail networks, yet it this: “There’s absolutely no scientifi c justifi - over the membrane would then release Ediacaran organisms could exert muscu- as ‘spin’. At such low temperatures the seems a simple slime mould may be able Fricker hopes to harness the simple set of cation to consider Neanderthals as the brut- the vaccine and inject it into the patient.” lar control as they move, overturning pre- atoms all align in the same direction but, to do the job a whole lot quicker. Despite rules apparently employed by the mould ish halfwits they have been portrayed as in vious theories that early organisms more by applying a magnetic fi eld, the direction having no central control over what it builds, in creating this self-organising behaviour. popular culture— which has also, to a cer- Usual methods of vaccine stabilisation in- closely resembled fungi than animals. the slime mould Physarum polycephalum “There could be applications ranging from tain extent, infl uenced scientifi c thinking”. volve freeze drying to avoid the formation was able to produce a network remarkably understanding how tumours plug into of damaging ice crystals, but this aggres- Little is known of the organism re- similar to Tokyo’s existing railway. our blood supply, to building the high- “There’s absolutely no scientifi c sive technique can result in vaccine dam- sponsible for the fossils, but simi-

performance, resilient mobile communi- justifi cation to consider age itself. In HydRIS, natural evaporation larities to sea anemone trails Oxford University researchers suggest that they were soft-bodied crea- cations networks of tomorrow”, he said. Neanderthals as brutish halfwits.” avoids this and, what’s more, the sugar used oat fl akes to represent sticks to the virus surface taking on the tures with muscles and collagen tissue the locations of cities in potentially allowing locomotion across the Beauty and the Beast This is not the fi rst time that such ar- shape preserving function of liquid water. the Tokyo region, plac- sea fl oor by some form of muscular ‘foot’. ing the slime mould tefacts have been associated with Ne- anderthals: bone tools at Châtelperron The team have high hopes for combin- in the centre. As it esearchers at Oxford University’s Signifi cantly these discoveries help to in France have previously been exca- ing this stabilising method with novel spread out, the RRadiocarbon Accelerator Unit have close a gap in the evolutionary chain; Dar- vated, but as they were dated between vaccines currently in development. slime mould grad- been using state-of-the-art techniques win himself was puzzled and concerned 40,000 and 45,000 years old, it was “We believe that it’s very likely that we ually refi ned its to reveal that Neanderthals were just by the lack of fossil data from the pre- possible that they were made by mod- could stabilise other existing live vi- pattern of tun- as image conscious as we are today. Cambrian world. These new links are vital ern humans. These latest fi nds in Spain ruses such as measles, mumps, rubella nels, strength- to our understanding of how we developed add support to the view that these tools and yellow fever”, said Dr Cottingham. ening those with Investigations at two Neanderthal sites from primitive life into complex beings. in Spain have unearthed marine shells were in fact made by Neanderthals. greatest fl ow Immunisation against these killer dis- bearing pigments, such as the yellow of material. eases is key to survival in the develop- iron mineral natrojarosite, which were After a day, the Stable vaccines cut the ing world. Not only will the reduced cost commonly used as cosmetics in ancient links between cold chain of immunisation allow wider vaccine dis- cultures. Further, the presence of perfora- oat fl akes tribution, but there is also less chance tions in some of the shells strongly sug- formed the he cold chain, ensuring vaccines are of a child being given an ineff ective vac- gests that they were worn as pendants. shortest pos- refrigerated all the way from manufac- cine because of temperature damage. T sible connecting turer to patient, is one of the costliest fac- What’s more, areas previously too Radiocarbon dating of the fi nds has network. Further, tors in immunising the developing world. far from the beaten track for deliv- placed them at around 50,000 years old— the slime mould The temperature must be kept between ery of stable vaccines or lacking a lo- around 10 millennia before modern man included extra re- two and eight degrees Celcius, or the cal supply of electricity necessary for appeared in Europe— contradicting the Words: Nicola Davis and Thomas Lewton dundant connections fragile live virus loses its potency. But this view that the use of jewellery and make Art: Leila Battison 3 4 Killer Tits Struck by Lightning The grisly feeding habits of our feathered friends Accelerated evolution in bacteria he fluffy reputation of one of the- na However, when provided with adequate t is a muggy day in Southern Califor- from other cells without being a These were ex- Ttion’s favourite birds, the Great Tit has food by the researchers, the bats were left Inia, where dark clouds hang heavy descendent of the donor cell. A tracted from been shattered forever. A recent paper in almost completely undisturbed, suggest- in the afternoon sky. Tinting the sum- small fraction of all known bacterial strains soil sam- the journal Biology Letters has brought to ing that this has become a mechanism of mery landscape in shades of grey, are able to transform by actively gathering ples collected light startling new evidence of these birds, survival, rather than a lifestyle change for they descend, oppressively low, as free DNA from the environment. Under near the spa whose food of choice was commonly the tits. if about to swal- low the open fields. laboratory conditions, however, scientists town of Mon- thought to be caterpillars, attacking and The scene is set for a crackling flash can artificially confer the ability to take in trond, France, eating pipistrelle bats. The study, con- Experts have observed glimpses of this of lightning, suddenly bursting naked DNA to many more strains. A fre- and subjected ducted in the Istállós-kői-cave, among the behaviour for over ten years, well past from its airy source quently used method is electroporation, to the electro- Bükk Mountains of north-eastern Hunga- the life expectancy of any Great Tit. like a furious reminder where electrical pulses temporarily create transformation ry, was prompted by mysterious findings So, nature or nurture: are of Zeus himself. Hitting the pores in the bacterial membrane through procedures of bat carcasses in Poland and Sweden, all tits born killers, their ground, it zaps some harm- which extracellular DNA from the sur- with strik- and has revealed this same behaviour blood-thirsty instinct less soil bacteria and trans- rounding medium enters the cell. This is ing success. three years in succession. leading them straight to forms them into a massively where natural lightning hits the scene of Two strains the sound of bats, or is virulent human pathogen. In evolutionary considerations. of the ge- Loose, large flocks of Great Tits were this behaviour passed no time it moves on to threaten nus Pseu- known to shadow the mouth of the cave on down through the the lives of thousands; no anti- A lightning discharge will deliver electric domonas were found which in the punishing Hungarain winters. Péter generations? The biotic treatment available, pan- current to the ground in the area sur- showed no natural competence Estók of the Max-Planck Institute for Orni- latter theory of ic, chaos, apocalypse… rounding the impact point. The research for transformation, but when light- thology, Germany, had seen glimpses of cultural team in Lyon argued that this may create ning struck, picked up DNA at an even this extraordinary behaviour here before, Sounds like appropriate conditions for electrotransfor- higher frequency than the E. coli strain. and so along with fellow ornitholo- transmission some horror mation of the soil bacteria with DNA from Pseudomonas are found to be fast grow- gists Bjorn Siemers and is also seen in the scenario crafted dead cells of the different bacterial strains ing and capable of adapting to a wide Sándor Zsebők set out song-learning behaviour of by a science fic- present. range of environmental conditions. to find answers to this ap- some male birds and is in mirrored our tion screenwriter? It Therefore they might have been favoured parently bizarre behavioural mu- own language learning behaviour (if your is check out season “In no time it moves on under the given experimental condi- tation. The birds were observed flying into parents are French, you learn to speak three of the Canadian tions, thus masking the presence of an crevices in the cave and snatching their French). In the case of the Blue Tit, this program Regenesis to tothreaten the lives of even broader range of electrotransform- furry victims, still sleepy from hibernation learnt behaviour comes in the form of see how a team of sci- thousands; no antibiotic able bacterial strains in the soil samples. all the more cunning when you consider milk-bottle opening, pecking through the entists is confronted with treatment available, panic, Nonetheless, even with only two easi- that most bats retreat to narrow crevices top to slurp the cream. It only takes one Similar behaviour has been observed just such a microbial at- ly identifiable strains in hand, the actual high up in the wall and cave ceiling and so innovative little bird of the closely related even in animals as innocuous and inno- tack. Yet a lot of the story chaos, apocalypse…” number of bacterial candidates for elec- aren’t readily visible. Gruesome sightings Great Tit family to realise there is a tasty cent looking as sheep and deer— discov- is actually science. In 2001 trotransformation in a natural lightning indicate that the victims were eaten alive, source offood to be had pecking off the ered to catch birds such as grouse and a French research group In order to investigate the validity of these strike was estimated to be more than 6 eventually killed by savage pecks culmi- heads of bats instead raising whole gen- seabird chicks, sometimes eating them developed a system to suggestions, biologists’ all time favour- x1016 per m3 of soil. nating in beheading an injury which has erations of tits to be killers. whole. Again, it is theorised that this only simulate lightning strikes ite bacteria, E. coli, was seeded onto become the bloody trademark of a Great- occurs in areas where their usual grassy in their lab at the Insti- sterilised soil samples and presented with For the Pseudomonas strains a single Tit-kill. But since this demonstrates that “Gruesome sightings fare cannot provide them with enough es- tut National des Sci- DNA carrying a set of three appealing lightning strike can create appropriate antibiotic resistance markers. The whole the feeding of the feathered terrors on indicate that the victims sential minerals. ences Appliquées electrical conditions for electrotransfor- the pint-sized pipistrelles was no chance in Lyon. They set-up was connected to a high-voltage mation in up to 50 m3 of soil, while France event, how did the Great Tits know where were eaten alive.” However, before you start to feel too sorry went on to dem- generator to induce a current impulse alone is hit by ca. 106 lightning storms to find them? for these appealing little bats, a look at onstrate in Petri very similar to natural lightning. The abil- per year. This is rather a lot of potential And yet it does not some of its larger cousins quickly turns the dish-sized soil ity of a significant number of colonies to for bacterial evolution in all sorts of direc- To address this question, biologists re- seem plausible that tables. Other recent studies have revealed microcosms how these grow on antibiotic media showed that tions. Considering this, a retreat to some corded the sounds of awakening bats, birds as far apart that the night sky, previously thought to be naturally occurring events might several cells had successfully taken up hermetically sealed panic room with a bot- and played them back to the nearby as Sweden, Poland devoid of large aerial hunters (by both bi- indeed drive bacterial evolution. the plasmid DNA. Comparison to control tle of disinfectant could be wise. A better birds. Most showed a clear inter- and Hungry, could ologist and bird alike), is actually patrolled samples treated the same way but lack- option might be a stroll to the next pub for est in the sounds, flying up to be teaching each by giant noctules. Their diet: migratory It is known that some bacteria, re- ing electrical encouragement proved that a beer and some deep thoughts on how a the speakers to investigate. other how to hunt. songbirds. sponding to the need to frequently the driving force for transformation really full potential is not always exploited. Thus it appears that the Clearly these birds adapt to new environmental con- had been the simulated lightning strike. birds were alerted by are instinctively curi- The bat, for centuries a symbol of blood ditions, do not simply rely on accidental the calls of awaken- ous enough to inves- and deception, has become both the point mutations for genetic change. They The question was now whether the lab- ing bats, which they tigate unfamiliar situa- hunter and the hunted. This ironic reversal can also perform ‘horizontal gene trans- oratory findings would apply equally to Words: Nele Dieckmann seem to have tions and objects. This of fate demonstrates how much remains fer’, which allows them to pick up DNA naturally grown bacterial communities. Art: Leila Battison learnt to as- natural curiosity comple- to be discovered about how behavioural sociate with ments learnt behaviour in traits evolve and the true extent to the role a potential their battle to survive. genes play. m e a l .

Words: Anna Friedler 5 Art: Genevieve Edwards 6 Size is Everything Exploring the new generation of big physics experiments t 9:48pm on the 29th November 2009, these experimental colossi tell us about Even more important have been advances last computer project is better known as carried an £8 million price tag (though Aa new world record was set. Deep be- the state of physics at the start of the in computing and communications tech- the World Wide Web. Our current physi- would still have saved money overall). neath the Franco-Swiss border, a proton 21st century? And what hurdles and op- nology. The LHC is expected to produce cal theories are an excellent description Even without financial punishment, the beam circulating inside the super-cooled portunities lie ahead for such projects? some 15 petabytes of data each year of reality under normal circumstances, but embarrassment of going back on one’s confines of the Large Hadron Collider (enough to fill 1.7 million dual-layer CDs), we know that there is still progress to be international agreements makes many (LHC) reached an energy of 1.05 tril- ‘‘Experiments must either be which needs to be stored, processed, and made. That means that experiments must governments loath to quit such projects. lion electron-volts, beating the previous powerful enough to create farmed out to over 8,000 physicists world- do one of two things: either be powerful This means that when funding cuts (2001) FermiLab record of 0.98 TeV. Just wide. The network of distributed comput- enough to create abnormal conditions, come rolling round, those areas of phys- a few hours later, both of the LHC’s pro- abnormal conditions, or ing resources tasked with handling this or be sensitive enough to detect the in- ics which aren’t involved in such projects ton beams were doing a full 27 km lap of sensitive enough to detect the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid creasingly subtle evidence at the frontier risk being hit disproportionately hard the LHC in just 1/11,000th of a second subtle evidence.’’ relies upon existing internet technologies of physics (see boxed text on the Japa- since so much funding is already tied up. and this is just the warm-up. When things to parcel out the work between more than nese Super-Kamiokande Observatory). get going again in the spring, the beams 170 computing centres (encompassing In practice, many need to do both: in Despite the potential for sapping funds will be brought up to 3.5 TeV each. And A part of the reason for building such around 100,000 computer processors). At addition to its power, the LHC is a phe- from smaller, national projects, these then they’ll be smashed into each other. machines is simple: it’s because we can. the same time, it’s pushing those technol- nomenally sensitive detection tool. Not physics megaprojects are vital to continu- However, these are vast undertakings, and ogies forward, building a ‘parallel internet’ all technology is purely research-focused ing scientific progress. Without behemoths This is big stuff, the culmination of - dec the tools needed for this scale of construc- from dedicated fibre-optic cables and new either: the experimental nuclear fusion re- such as the LHC, physics will struggle to ades of engineering, political debate, tion are still being pioneered. Certain tech- routing protocols. actor ITER will, if successful, potentially test the theories currently competing and financial juggling. But in all the- cla nologies are necessary platforms for more open the way to clean, abundant power. for the Standard Model’s slipping mour about the LHC, it’s easy to miss ambitious projects; space-based meg- However, there is also an increasing need crown. And the big guys are good the wider context: that the LHC, far from aprojects such as the Hubble telescope for such experiments. Indeed, the required “What do these experimental with crowds too, after all, do- being a lone titan, is only one of a series or the International Space Station could technology is often developed in response colossi tell us about the state ing something grand and au- of physics ‘megaprojects’ of staggering not be built or maintained without the pre- to the experimenters’ needs: look at the dacious is glamorous in a dimensions (and with budgets to match). exisiting technological know-how to reli- Grid, or even CERN (The European Or- of physics at the start of the way most physics How did these come about? What do ably send objects and people into space. ganization for Nuclear Research) who’s 21st century?” research, sadly, isn’t. Nevertheless, Big Physics isn’t without its Vital statistics: the Large Hadron Vital Statistics: Super-Kamiokande Vital Statistics: ITER problems. Such large-scale experiments Like it or not, Collider (LHC) (Super-K) often require large-scale investment, and Big Physics is (as with megaprojects in other fields), are here to stay. Size: 27km in circumference Size: 41m tall, with 50,000 tonnes of water Size: 30m tall and a weight of 21,000 kg frequently subject to delays and cost over- Place:Straddling the Franco-Swiss border Place:1km below Hida, Japan Place:Caradache, France runs. ITER was originally billed at €5 bil- Cost: £5600 million Cost: £70 million Cost: £10 000 million lion, but is now looking at double that; the LHC’s start date has been slipping con- The newest and best-known of the phys- We can only detect physical objects Scientists have long coveted hydrogen sistently for a couple of years; and the pro- ics megaprojects, the Large Hadron Col- through their interactions either with us fusion (the nuclear reaction which drives posed Superconducting Super Collider’s lider is one of the biggest, most expen- directly or via some machinery. The less the Sun) as a power source. It produces estimated cost quadrupled from $3 billion sive, and most ambitious scientific project inclined a particle is to make its presence no waste products, cannot spiral into dan- to $12 billion in just six years, causing its ever undertaken. It is the largest particle known to the matter around it, the harder gerous chain reactions, and yields vast untimely cull by the American govern- accelerator in the world, capable of recre- it will be to find it in the first place, or to amounts of energy from relatively small ment (though not before $2 billion worth ating the conditions which prevailed in the make confident statements about its prop- quantities of hydrogen, found in plentiful of hole had been dug in the Texan desert). Universe just moments after the Big Bang. erties. The neutrino is just such a recluse: supply in water. electrically neutral and nearly massless, it International collaboration is vital for these In its subterranean belly, magnetic fields sleets through ordinary matter at almost To investigate such possibilities, scientists projects, but keeping everyone around the some 275,000 times stronger than the the speed of light. have designed ITER (the original name  table happy can be a challenging task if Earth’s (created by ultracold supercon- the International Thermonuclear Experi- squabbles break out over the distribution of ducting magnets) will accelerate protons To have any chance of seeing these mental Reactor was deemed too fright- costs, jobs and contracts. If anyone does to within a whisker of the speed of light. elusive characters we need a lot of very ening, and so the acronym now officially pull out, major budgeting headaches can The debris from colliding these protons dense matter (to increase the chance of stands for nothing at all). Once completed, be created as seen in November 2007, with each other will be picked up by one an interaction) and very sensitive detec- it will seek to generate a 150 million °C su- when the United Kingdom announced its of six detectors, and passed to labs world- tors. Just such an experimental set up is per-hot plasma of hydrogen isotopes so withdrawal from the Gemini Observatory wide for analysis. buried deep beneath Japan’s west coast. hot, in fact, that the nuclei can overcome project based in Chile. After protests, it their mutually repulsive electric charges re-entered the project in February 2008, A big goal for the LHC is a sighting of the Trillions of neutrinos pass through Super- and fuse into helium. In the process, they but announced in December 2009 that ‘Higgs boson’, the particle hypothesised Kamiokande’s underground water tank spit out high-energy neutrons which can it would be ending its involvement when as part of the mechanism for endowing every second; a few of these will interact be absorbed by ITER’s walls, thereby gen- its contract expires at the end of 2012. matter with inertia (a propensity to resist with electrons in the water, each causing erating heat. changes of motion). Other aims include a tiny spark of blue light. The water must The Gemini rollercoaster also points out the discovery of extra dimensions and ‘su- be constantly purified to give a clear view If ITER can demonstrate the sustainability a converse problem. To stop participating persymmetric’ particles. to the 11,146 photomultiplier tubes that of fusion reactions, then more plants will nations from pulling out, the agreements watch for these glimmers in the dark. be built to harness and transport the pow- usually come with withdrawal penalties: Words: Neil Dewar 7 er currently locked in the oceans. an early pullout from Gemini would have 86 Art: Lousia Stoppard Choosing Children Exploring ethical dilemmas posed by reproductive technologies n early 2009, a 13 year-old girl sued a manifestation of society’s obsession welfare of the hypothetical child must be of Ithe New York sperm bank Idant Labo- with perfection. His alter-ego in the film, the utmost concern, lest we forget the val- ratories under a product liability law more played by Ethan Hawke, represents the ue of life. Others are concerned that, in el- “It must be remembered commonly associated with faulty car ‘in-valid’— the ‘normal’ man of the 20th evating the status of the unborn child, we that reproduction is brakes and bad wiring. The damaged century. Interestingly, both characters are neglect the needs and personal freedoms goods? The very sperm that was used presented as victims to a society that got of existing human beings. Ethicist Julian not simply the creation to create her. Brittany Donovan was born carried away with genetics; a society that Savulescu suggests that parents should with ‘Fragile X syndrome’, a genetic disor- put greater weight on physical perfection ultimately be allowed to choose what of another human der causing mental impairment that was than human relationships. Without well children they create, but that they should being but also the found to have been inherited from her bio- thought-out legislation, this may represent have the moral obligation to choose those logical father. The judge’s decision to al- our own society in the not too distant fu- children that have the best chance of hap- expression of the ideals low her to go ahead with her lawsuit could ture. Parents are already choosing not to piness. and desires of parents.” open up the floodgates to claims from have children that have a statistical like- other sperm recipients. It seems that so- lihood to suffer from Down’s syndrome, A potent danger in such a choice is the ciety has lost perspective on the meaning severe autism, developmental disorders, possibility of powerful manipulation of po- of genetic material and the ‘right’ to exist. muscular disorders and many more. It is tential human beings, removing the latter’s In 2010, a decade after the completion of likely that the criteria by which an embryo agency in their own future and breeching the Human Genome Project, we must re- is judged to be genetically disadvantaged some unwritten rule of personal autono- think the direction that genomic manipula- will continue to broaden. my. Jodi Picoult’s novel My Sister’s Keep- tion is heading in, particularly with regard er explores just this theme. In the book, to assisted reproductive technologies. At its essence, PGD allows parents to thirteen-year-old Anna sues her parents introduce healthy children into the world for medical emancipation when she is who would otherwise have experienced expected to donate a kidney to her dying “Aspiring to this devalues great suffering in their lives. No doubt this sister. Anna had been created by PGD to the lives of current and fu- sounds like a blessing, but PGD should be the perfect donor for her older sister. force us to think long and hard about what Unlike the genetically-engineered humans Ten years on from the ture disabled or ill people.” it means to suffer from a ‘disorder’ or be in Gattaca, ‘saviour siblings’ like Anna are completion of the Human ‘disabled’ in the eyes of society. Standing not fictional. Most are still too young to be Genome Project our un- tall and powerful on the flip-side of disabil- questioned on their feelings towards their derstanding of the genetic While many scientific technologies are ity is the enhanced human being that soci- mode of conception, but it is very impor- origins of certain disorders, life-changing, some change lives before ety has not yet had to face. Aspiring to this tant that we listen to them as they develop. physical features and even they even begin. Pre-implantation genetic being devalues the lives of current and fu- Their testimonies will provide an invalu- some personality traits is im- diagnosis (PGD) is the process by which ture disabled or ill people, whether or not able contribution to policy-making on the pressive. With this new knowl- cells are taken from embryos created by this is genetic. Yet if we dismiss PGD alto- use of genomic technologies in the future. edge comes new responsibili- in-vitro fertilization and their genetic infor- gether we are knowingly, and some would ties and ethical issues, such as mation (or genome) analysed to test for argue irresponsibly, sanctioning suffering. those outlined here, will need characteristics, usually genetic diseases. So how do we reconcile these conflicts? “Jude Law may truly be the to take priority. Nevertheless, the sequenced genome still holds Only those embryos deemed to have ge- epitome of male beauty.” nomes ‘safe’ from particular disorders are Much of the answer will rest on personal many secrets. After all, few traits transferred back into the woman’s uterus opinion. As a thought experiment, let us can be put down to a single gene to be carried to term. take the example of Sharon Duchesneau In some senses the issues of PGD are not and all complex characteristics are and Candy McCullough, a deaf lesbian new. It seems unfair to argue that a parent dependant on many. Indeed, the func- Since the completion of the first draft of couple who used sperm donated by a should only be allowed to use PGD if they tion of a lot of genes is still unknown, let the human genome in June 2000, the im- friend with hereditary deafness to have a can guarantee the child a good life. Some alone the specific interactions they have provement in our understanding of many deaf baby. Many argued that the parents parents are currently unable to provide with other genes or even how their expres- genetic diseases has been phenomenal. acted irresponsibly, setting unfair limits their children with the best possible life if sion is regulated. With this information it is now possible to on the child’s development. However, faced with economic, social or emotional test for over one hundred genetic condi- the couple took the view that deafness is problems. A poor person would never be The last decade of genomic research has tions using PGD. The technique is prima- not a disability but a difference. The deaf stopped from having a child, nor an autis- revealed that the areas of our genome rily used for couples at risk of passing on a community is large and supportive and tic person, nor, of course, a deaf person. that code for proteins do not tell the whole serious condition (because they are both the couple wanted their child to be a part However, PGD introduces a new dimen- story. There is still much to be learnt about carriers of a recessive disorder, for exam- of that. Indeed, the ability to hear might sion to the debate. It allows parents to ac- the regulatory roles of non-coding DNA ple). However, the potential applications of have been a significant barrier between tively choose to give their child a genetic and about the secrets that ‘junk’ DNA PGD will expand as the human genome is the child and its parents. advantage or disadvantage (according to hold. It is highly unlikely that scientists mined further for the origins of various hu- your viewpoint). It must be remembered will ever be able to isolate specific genes man characteristics. We need to think now The debate thus lies in pitting the repro- that reproduction is not simply the crea- for intelligence, beauty, musical talent or about the ethical issues of selecting traits ductive freedom of parents against the tion of another human being but also the artistic genius, let alone wholly ‘design’ a to essentially design babies. welfare of the future child. Society is divid- expression of the ideals and desires of human being through genetic engineer- ed on this debate. Some religious groups, parents. PGD is now giving parents the ing. But then these sound dangerously Jude Law may truly be the epitome of philosophers and clinicians argue that the unprecedented power to manifest these like famous last words... male beauty. His genetically-modified personal values in their child’s biological Words:Alya Hazell character in the film Gattaca represents 9 make up. 10 Art: Leila Battison The Last Piece of the Puzzle Just Forget About It The rocky history behind the theory of Plate Tectonics Probing the power of memory erasing drugs he similarities between the coastlines continents had drifted through sev- ver done something embarrassing? Curious about the implications of the technologies. A memory that has gone Tof South America and Africa, seem- eral degrees of latitude, undergo- ESo embarrassing you wished you chemical, Dr Andre Fenton, a neurologist cannot be brought back and, as for Doug- ingly fitting together like jigsaw pieces, ing drastic changes in climate. could go back and erase it from time? who studies spatial memory in rats, of- las Quaid, might cause an existential cri- were first noted in 1596 by Abraham Or- Wegener’s concept was not an Maybe you wished you could be like fered his experimental setting for testing. sis. Further, if we delete our memories, we telus, a cartographer. Writing that it is as instant success. Geophysicists Clementine or Joel in Eternal Sunshine of He placed the rats in a circular chamber cannot learn from our mistakes. though the Americas “were torn away from stuck to the land bridge theo- the Spotless Mind, and delete forever the and taught them to avoid certain areas by Europe and Africa… by earthquakes and ry, arguing that the notion of memory of a failed romance. This wish giving their feet tiny electrical shocks. The “Having control of someone’s floods”, his views flew in the face ofthe continents ploughing their isn’t so far fetched, as neuroscience’s rats were able to remember these areas memories is a special kind of prevalent notion of a fixed surface of the way across the earth’s sur- latest bag of tricks, the memory modify- months after the training. However, after ownership, one with the potential Earth, questioning the perfection of God’s face was impossible with- ing technologies (MMTs), is beginning to injecting ZIP into the hippocampus (the for grave misuse.” creation. Nearly 300 years later, scientists out the ocean floor break- demonstrate. part of the brain that regulates memories) such as the geographer Antonio Snider- ing up. Also criticized the rats forgot which areas of the chamber But these concerns may be outweighed by Pellegrini were still trying to reconcile Orte- for his use of circum- But what are memories? Donald Hebb’s were ‘dangerous’. Though the memory the benefits provided by the use of MMTs lus’ observation with the concept of a fixed stantial data, Wegener’s famous axiom “cells that fire together wire was still gone after a few weeks, the rats in ameliorating post-traumatic stress dis- surface, invoking the biblical ‘Great Flood’ theory was ridiculed and together” illustrates that information is were able to establish new memories— order. Fenton and Sacktor have been to explain continental fragmentation. showered with scepticism. stored as changes in synaptic connec- suggesting that only relatively recent ones researching the use of the beta-blocker tions, allowing us to form memories (to were affected by the drug. propranolol for such an application. Pro- A lack of both a convincing mechanism Later, in the quest for oil, refresh your, well, memory of GCSE biol- pranolol blocks adrenaline, the hormone and solid evidence held back support for increased ocean survey- ogy, a synapse is a structure that permits Given these results, it is not difficult to im- that surges when people are shocked or this theory of Catastrophism, however ing led to a remarkable a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical agine a scenario in which we can choose frightened and which is thought to affect- during the 19th Century a radical con- discovery. It appeared signal to another neuron). The stronger which memories to delete and even which sthe brain region that consolidates emo- cept called Uniformitarianism emerged that ocean floors were the synaptic connection, the stronger the memories to replace them with. In fact tional memory. Although it has been mi- offering an appealing alternative. Put not flat but variable, with mountains corresponding memory. this is just the case in the filmTotal Recall. snamed “the amnesia drug”, propranolol forward by geologists James Hutton and and huge ridges over 4 km above Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) does not make people totally forget; it Oxford’s Sir Charles Lyell, this theory the sea floor. Further exploration However, the molecules involved in main- is haunted by a recurring dream about a simply weakens the emotions attached to encompassed the view that the Earth’s revealed that the sediment cover was taining this connection degrade over time journey to Mars. Hoping to find out more memories. In recent human experiments, surface was not a static body at the much thinner than would be expected if and must be replaced; a process involving about this dream he buys a holiday at the use of propranolol has shown some mercy of the elements, but a dynamic it had been accumulating since the Earth several vital proteins. Now imagine that Rekall Inc, a provider of implanted memo- success in relieving the patient of certain system. Crucially, it argued that geologi- was formed. In addition no sediments one of these proteins is deactivated. The that ocean crust was created at ridge ries. But the false memory transplantation fearful responses, helping them to re-inte- cal features formed in the past can be ex- older than 135 million years could be synapse wouldn’t be refreshed and the axes as magma was forced up from the goes terribly wrong and another person- grate normally into society. plained by processes still operating today. found. The concept that the earth’s sur- mantle, while crust was destroyed at memory would be lost. ality surfaces. The reality of the situation face is fixed was once again under fire. oceanic trenches bordering the ocean is constantly questioned: Who is he and Whatever benefits to society MMTs pro- Building upon Uniformitarianism in the Dr Todd Sacktor, a neurologist at the basins. This one elegant theory ex- which version of reality is true? Though vide, we must tread with care. As memo- early 20th century was the German me- State University of New York, discovered “Wegener’s theory was ridiculed plained both the lack of old sea floor the film is set in the year 2084, current ries are interconnected there is no way to teorologist Alfred Wegener. By examining one such molecular maintenance protein: and showered with scepticism.” and the constant size of the Earth de- developments in MMTs suggest this could predict how deleting one memory would the fit of coastlines, rocks types, mountain Protein Kinase Mzeta (PKMzeta). Sacktor spite crustal growth. ‘Sea Floor Spread- become reality far sooner. affect the others. As Dr Daniel Sokol, a belts and fossil ranges, Wegener sug- was then able to produce another Further support for a dynamic ocean floor ing’ finally provided a mechanism by medical ethicist at the University of Lon- gested that a supercontinent ‘Pangea’ (‘all molecule, Zeta Inhibitor Peptide came from palaeomagnetism. Emerging which continental drift could occur. Total Recall draws attention to the don, points out: “Removing bad memories the land’) began to split 200 million years (ZIP), which specifically inhib- in the 1950s, this science examined the ethical dilemmas is not like removing a wart or a mole. It will ago. Daring to contest the view that fos- its PKMzeta without affecting magnetic field preserved in rocks by their The struggle for acceptance of continen- caused by such change our personal identity since who sil matches could be explained by migra- other molecules. minerals, allowing the movement of the tal drift finally reached its conclusion in we are is linked to our memories... it may tion of animals across now submerged continents over time to be mapped. More- 1968 when Jason Morgan and Dan Mc- be beneficial in some cases, but before land bridges, Wegener proposed the over, during the 1960’s, alternate strips of Kenzie independently developed and eradicating memories, we must reflect on theory of ‘Continental Drift’, with the con- rock with opposite magnetic polarity were published the theory of ‘Plate Tecton- the knock-on effects that this will have on tinents gouging their way through a static found on either side of oceanic ridges. The ics’. Building upon the concept of sea individuals, society and our sense of hu- ocean floor. The presence of coal in Brit- mirrored pattern of these strips indicated Ffoor spreading they defined continental manity.” ain and glacial rocks in southern Africa, that the two sides of the ridge are mov- plates as rigid bodies, moving over the South America, and Australia further sup- ing apart from each other; the alternations Earth’s surface by rotation about Euler Though the idea of travelling the Universe ported his theory by suggesting that the in magnetic polarity record the occasional poles. The concentration of seismic ac- with virtual vacation memories may seem reversals of the Earth’s magnetic dipole. tivity along the edges of the proposed exciting, the sheer risk involved may just At the ridge itself, the rock’s magnetic field plates was confirmation of the theory. be too great. Having control of someone’s is always aligned with that of the Earth. memories is a special kind of ownership, Nearly 400 years after Ortelus’ en- one with the potential for grave misuse; Harry Hess, a geologist and US Navy of- lightened notion of a continental jig- you can only imagine the destruction that ficer, realised the significance of saw, the final pieces of the puzzle could be caused by a stressed out Finalist these discoveries. He proposed were in place. The theory of Plate on exam day… Tectonics stands as a triumphant vic- tor in the war of competing paradigms.

Words: Daniel Frost and Nicola Davis Words: Laura Mueller 11 Art: Leila Battison 12 Art: Max Gordon-Brown Capella Star Gazing from the Spires Lynx S

Auriga

Pollux Cancer

Mars Gemini

Aldebran Taurus

Hydra Canis Minor

Betelgeuse Orion Procyon

Monoceros

t was on the cobbled back streets of IBath that astronomer William Herschel was discovered by the Royal Society. With the Earth no Rigel Looking at the moon through a home- Mars longer residing in Position of stars as of made telescope far surpassing the Further evidence of takes a a special place in the technology of the day, Herschel went on celestial movement prominent 9pm, 8th week Universe, the existence to make many profound astronomical came from Herschel’s position high of extra-terrestrial life discoveries— most famously the discovery that many of in our night sky seemed perfectly plausible to existence of Uranus. these pinpoint objects trailing behind Herschel. He even went as far actually consist of two or Pollux, a star with its as to suggest that every other Yet such technology is no prerequisite for Sirius more stars. Orbiting about own claims to extra- each other, these binary planet was inhabited. Noting stargazing. Standing on our own cobbled terrestrial life. Pollux Either way, huge advances in astronomical systems demonstrated for the changing polar caps of Mars North-East corner of Radcliff e Square, was recently found to technology have caused a sudden boom the fi rst time that Newton’s in 1784, Herschel suggested they take a moment to look up. Though Uranus harbour an exoplanet in exoplanet discovery, with new ones law of gravity applied were made of ice or snow and that is rarely visible to the naked eye, a whole (a planet outside of the being found weekly. Far more common outside the solar system. It Mars had an Earth-like environment, host of constellations await your gaze. solar system) named than anyone had imagined, exoplanets was previously thought that fuelling ideas of intelligent life. Polydeuces. Heavier provide support for the existence of life Sirius was used by Queen’s College alum- binaries were mere optical Though a far cry from little green One of the most visible stars in the sky, than Jupiter and bathed in elsewhere in the Universe. one day soon it nus Edmond Halley as a demonstration illusions, but we now know men, scientists today still hope to fi nd Betelgeuse, could one day soon (or at intense heat from its parent star, may even be possible to detect the telltale of the gradual movement of stars in the that up to half of all stars evidence for bacteria-like organisms on least within the next 1000 years) become it is unlikely that Polydeuces harbours signs of life in exoplanet atmospheres. So night sky relative to the Sun— known as have one or more partners. Mars. Excitingly, rock formations indicate a whole lot brighter, violently exploding as life; yet it is plausible a hypothetical moon as you stare in astonishment at the night a star’s ‘proper motion’. Halley revolution- Notable binaries on our that liquid water, vital for life, was once a supernova so that it outshines even the of Polydeuces once provided the right sky take a moment to think about who ised the notion of static stars fi xed onto a map include Rigel, Capella present on the surface and recent moon. For the time being, however, it is conditions. might be looking back. Sirius that wears the crown of brightest ‘crystalline sphere’ in favour of a dynamic and Sirius. missions have found very pure ice close Universe. to the surface across much of the planet. star, appearing on the Southern horizon Words: Thomas Lewton above St Mary’s church. 13 14 Art: Louisa Stoppard A Broken Relationship? The growing need for scientific and political collaboration n late 2009, the scientifi c and politi- bodies is a short sighted approach to Yet this all begs the question of why Even when the science is well under- decisions about the relative merits of de- World Health Organisation launched a I cal worlds collided at the UN’s Cli- tackling long term problems. Scientifi c Johnson did not accept the ACMD’s rec- stood, it is sometimes appropriate for batable scientifi c ideas. Politicians must global eradication campaign in 1967 the mate Change Conference in what was facts are not at the mercy of public opin- ommendations in the fi rst place. This is politicians to use their discretion. At the also be aware of the durable, circumspect scientifi c community worked alongside in- hoped to be the next major step to- ion; their signifi cance should not wax and not fi rst time either: height of the swine fl u pandemic, the nature of science; though the sound- ternational politicians to eradicate a dis- wards combating global warming. wane with the whims of politicians. former home UK government released vast stockpiles bite, quick fi x world of politics gets things ease that killed between 300 and 500 secretary of the antiviral Tamifl u, yet a recent re- done, certain issues, such as climate million in the 20th century. Science and Unfortunately, the climate talks ended with The consequences of this are ex- view had found that Tamifl u was only ef- change, require a longer-term outlook. politics can, and have worked side by a hastily negotiated, non-binding agree- emplifi ed in the recent sacking fective in severe and complicated cases side to tackle issues on the global scale. ment that was founded on a political, of David Nutt, the government’s that were caught very early. The govern- rather than scientifi c, agenda. The USA most senior advisor on the clas- ment still authorised widespread provi- “Science and politics can, and Today we are faced with equally large and and China were the major forces behind sifi cation of drugs and chair- sion of Tamifl u to avoid the public per- have, worked side by side to diff icult challenges and science will play a last minute ‘Copenhagen Accord’ which man of the Advisory Council on ception of a government withholding vital an increasingly important role in tack- ‘recognises’ the scientifi c basis for keep- the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). drugs. Maintaining public confi dence in tackle issues on the global ling them. From climate change and the ing average global temperature rises to Nutt’s dismissal by Home Sec- the government’s handling of the pan- scale.” impending energy crisis to the potential less than 2 oC. However, there were no retary Alan Johnson came fol- demic was crucial, particularly in allaying misuse of genetic technologies, cooper- commitments to cut emissions of green- lowing a paper in which he crit- fears should the crisis have escalated. ation between scientists and politicians house gases and when the Kyoto proto- icised the Government’s drug J a c q u i It certainly isn’t impossible to bridge these is more important than ever. A relation- cols expire in 2012 there will no longer be policy for not following the sci- Smith brushed To make suitable judgements about glo- culture diff erences— the eradication of ship needs to be rebuilt; a relationship a legally binding multinational agreement. ence based advice provided by aside their advice bal warming or health policy a broad per- Smallpox in the 1979 is proof. After the that will prove crucial in mapping our way the ACMD. The media had a fi eld day when reclassifying Cannabis to Class B spective is needed which will often lack through these challenges. reporting Nutt’s criticisms— a favour- in 2008. Recent classifi cation decisions specialist scientifi c knowledge. It is there- “Scientifi c facts are not at the ite being his comparison of the number have been justifi ed in terms of “public fore important that the scientifi c com- of drug deaths caused by ecstasy to the munity is politically active, open- mercy of public opinion.” perception” and what Smith calls “the number of deaths caused by horse rid- need to send out a message”, rather than ing channels of communication ing. It appears this mass media cover- the evidence based policy at the heart of and forming a cooperative age pushed Johnson’s hand: he did not the ACMD. These changes seem to be community with trusted, Looking at the key players at the confer- want Nutt undermining public confi dence focussed on winning votes rather than respected opinions ence perhaps the outcome isn’t such a in drugs policy. Nutt’s departure triggered maintaining a clear cut classifi cation sys- that are listened to. surprise. The UK’s representative, Sec- a mass exodus from the ACMD, resulting tem based on the relative harms of drugs. retary of State for Energy and Climate in a council that was no longer quorate. On the other hand, Change Ed Miliband, left Oxford with a However, often the science is not so clear politicians need to degree in PPE. In fact, he’s on a par with cut. Though man-made global warming be more engaged his political opponents: the Conserva- is generally accepted across virtually the in the science be- tives’ shadow minister, Greg Clark stud- whole scientifi c and political spectrum, hind policies, and in ied economics, while the Liberal Demo- there is still much debate about how much particular must gain an crat spokesman, Simon Hughes, studied must be done and how soon to avert ca- understanding of the law. In fact there is only actually one cabi- tastrophe. Making precise long-term pre- scientifi c meth- net member with a science degree (John dictions about a system as complicated od— it is only Denham, who has a BSc in chemistry). as the Earth’s biosphere is extraordinar- then that they can This lack of MPs’ scientifi c grounding may ily diff icult. Politicians have a diff icult task make informed well have contributed to the disastrous ahead of them, anticipating the likeli- Copenhagen accord but the repercus- hood of a multitude of future outcomes sions extend well beyond the issue of cli- to avoid environmental disaster while mate change. Putting vote-winning policy minimising the damage to the economy. above the hard facts supplied by scientifi c

Words: Gareth Langley Art: Anna Pouncey and 15 16 Louisa Stoppard Müß es Sein? Searching for a Theory of Everything s Albert Einstein lay on his deathbed By 1916, treading along the glorious naÏve attempts to do so baffled even One standard answer is that they are Short of experimental evidence (CERN Ain 1955, he clung to a dream shared path led by Newton, Maxwell et al., Einstein’s last years: an infinite number curled up, simply too small to see. It is is, however, looking for supersymmetry, by some of the visionaries of his time. Einstein unified gravity with space and of uncancellable infinities became the like an ant crawling along a drinking- a cornerstone to String Theory), why, you It was a dream which Einstein held for time, formulating the so-called spe- last great hurdle to a quantum descrip- straw which looks as if it is moving only ask, is there so much effort invested? the last decades of his remarkable life: cial and general theories of Relativ- tion of gravity. in the one dimension of the straw’s Though we should remain optimistically that there should exist a single set of ity. It explained, to great accuracy, the length. However, upon closer inspec- sceptical as physicists, as mathemati- equations, a single principle, which de- behaviour of the cosmos at a macro- Enter String Theory. By the 1980s, the- tion, we would see that the ant can also cians, the answer is clear: the theory is scribes the fundamental laws of Nature. cosmic scale: the motion of stars and oretical and mathematical physicists loop around the tiny circular cross-sec- beautiful. Aesthetics aside, history has This ‘Theory of Everything’ (TOE) is not galaxies, the expansion of space and stumbled on an apparent way out. It tion, and would consequently detect taught us a peculiar and awe-inspiring as outlandish as it might first seem. By the passage of eons. By mid-twentieth constituted a paradigm shift in the un- two more dimensions. So, how small characteristic of theoretical physics: theo- 1698, Isaac Newton had realised that century, the proponents of Quantum derstanding of the world, just as Quan- are these six curled-up dimensions? ries with mathematical elegance tend to the same equations governed both the Mechanics, (Bohr, Heisenberg, and tum Mechanics’ interpretation of the be correct. When Maxwell added a term fall of an apple and the motion of the Schrödinger, amongst others), had wave-like nature of fundamental parti- “String theory has to make his equations look symmetric, he planets; thus the unified theory of gravi- unified the cosmos at a microscopic cles had before it. The theory proposed did so purely out of the need for beauty. tation was born. Further, by 1879, James scale: the constituents of the atoms, that the problem of infinities in quantum revolutionised pure That term was measured within a decade. Clerk Maxwell had established that the the interactions of the elementary par- gravity was because we had inherently mathematics.” When Dirac predicted the existence of the same equations dictated the properties ticles and the inevitable uncertainties assumed (and had done so since New- positron, he did so for the sake of mak- of electricity and magnetism; giving rise of wave-particle duality. This Quantum ton) that elementary particles were ing his equation more elegant. The posi- to the unified theory of ‘Electromagnet- description of a handful of indivisible point-like. What is the essential size Indeed, how big is the string? It surely tron (the antiparticle of the electron) was ism’. elementary particles, such as the pho- of the photon? Even the practitioners must be much smaller than the atom- detected shortly afterwards. Examples of ton and the electron, unifies Maxwell’s of Quantum Theory would have an- ic scale, or any scale we have so far this compulsion for mathematical struc- This spirit of ‘unification’ is the triumph of electromagnetism with the sub-atomic swered: zero. However, it is precisely probed, because we have not yet seen ture in a theory predating the experimen- scientific reductionism and is the inspira- forces, comprising the so-called Stand- this innocent assumption which caused particles manifesting as strings. This tal verification abound; though we need tion for theoretical physics. That observ- ard Mode— which is verified to extraor- the untameable infinities: by allowing question simultaneously invigorates not take Dirac’s rather extreme viewpoint able Nature could be explained by an dinary accuracy. The experimental interactions at a single point in space- and daunts us: it represents a con- that “it is more important to have beauty underlying structure, and that this struc- search for the last piece of this crown- time, energy was allowed to be con- ceptual break-through, and an experi- in one’s equations than to have them fit ture is mathematically comprehensible, ing achievement, the Higgs Boson, is a centrated at zero volume. As we recall mental nightmare. The universe has experiment”. is what Einstein called the “most incom- key purpose for the Large Hadron Col- from our childhood lessons, division by a natural length scale, the so-called prehensible thing about the universe”. In lider at CERN, the European Organisa- zero is problematic! Planck Length, at which the strengths And the theory does indeed possess this ultimate quest for a TOE humanity tion for Nuclear Research. of gravity and quantum forces become mathematical beauty! A brain-child of the has done well. Smear the point out. Extending a point, comparable. This provides us with a geometrisation of nature, in an almost un- an object of zero-dimension, gives a natural length-scale for the string. The precedented manner, String Theory has “A brain-child of the one-dimensional object, a line, which downside, however, is that this length is revolutionised pure mathematics. It has geometrisation of nature.” could be either closed into a loop or some 16 orders of magnitude smaller solved problems which bemused geom- open like a segment. This line is the su- than anything we have yet observed, eters, it has inspired new perspectives perstring, the fundamental constituent and far smaller than anything we are on algebra and number theory, and it has Humanity had reduced the funda- of everything, an indivisiable entity in likely to ever directly measure. given physical insight to the most abstruse mental laws of Nature into two sets of its truest sense. With this single gener- and pure branches of mathematics. This equations, from which all phenomena alization, the infinities were cured and The theoretical picture is neverthe- musical dialogue between physicists and is a piece of 21st century mathematics can, in principle, be derived: that of a consistent quantum theory of gravity less clear: we have tiny superstrings mathematicians over the last few decades which accidentally fell into the 20th Einstein-Hilbert for gravity (characteris- emerged. Indeed all particles, all forces of Planckian size vibrating in ten-di- could only be compared to the Golden century.” Now, in this new century, we ing the macrocosmos), and that of the and interactions, and in fact, space- mensions, six of which are curled up Ages when Newton conceived of calculus hope that clever experimentalists will Standard-Model (describing the mi- time itself became different vibrational to about the same magnitude. The ge- for classical mechanics, when Einstein find some ingenious, indirect way of crocosmos). It is only natural that the modes of the string. All of reality is ometry and topology of how these di- breathed life into Riemann’s geometry, or measuring stringy effects and that the marriage of these two, each of which reduced to a cosmic string symphony, mensions are curled up determine the when abstract algebra and formulations of theory will continue to blossom. As a can be written compactly in a few lines, resonating harmoniously to give the physical observables of our large-scale quantum theory danced their inseparable field of mathematics, it has already would be the answer, the TOE. Sadly, rhythms of space, time, and matter. four-dimensional Universe. There has duet. been an increasingly successful theme justified itself, and we shall expect it to So, are we done? Do we then have of geometrisation of fundamental phys- flourish as a field of physics. the ultimate TOE? Is the response to ics over the past century. This builds “The unification theory of Einstein’s dream or Newton’s Principia upon Einstein’s realisation that gravity superstrings only works in Ludwig van Beethoven wrote the cryp- this inevitable musical leitmotif? Not is the result of the geometrical proper- tic words, “Müß es Sein?” – “Must it be quite yet. The unification theory of su- ties of the space-time continuum, as ten dimensions of space- so?” - on top of his last string quartet. It perstrings only works in ten dimensions well as C.N. Yang’s insight that the time...” is our wish that, to the divinely beauti- of space-time, rather than our familiar quantum world of the Standard Model ful theme of our cosmic string quartet, four dimensions (three of space and is described by a field of geometry where reality manifests as the sublime one of time). On the one hand, this is known as bundles and manifolds. The Indeed, as Edward Witten, the torch-bear- melody trembling on superstrings, our interesting: it is the first time a scientific geometrical nature of String Theory er of String Theory and only physicist to response would be a resounding “Es theory has predicted the dimensional- would stand as the pinnacle of this tra- ever have the distinction of winning the müß Sein” - “It must be so.” ity of space-time. On the other hand, dition. Indeed, as Plato said, “God is a Fields Medal, wisely said: “String Theory Words: Yang-Hui He where did the six extra dimensions go? geometer.” Art: Holly Rouse-Sweeney 17 18 Modern Day Newtons Sci Phi How today’s scientific high-fliers have made it to the top The philosophical conundrums posed by sci-fi films sk anyone to name a scientist and h, sci-fi – favoured genre of nerds standard problem in determining what it film follows Schwarzenegger as he plays A you’ll probably get a few predictable Aeverywhere. But what you may not is reasonable to believe, and Descartes’ a pilot who discovers he’s been cloned answers: Einstein, Newton, Darwin. But have realised, in the midst of all the own response— “I think therefore I am”— against his will, and that the clone has how many would be able to name a liv- blue-skinned aliens and questionably has become one of the most instantly taken up residence in his house. Many ing, researching scientist? In August under-vowelled proper names, is that recognisable philosophical maxims. gunfights later, he discovers – gasp – that 2009 a survey found that 65% of Ameri- sci-fi is an unusually good genre for doing he is the clone. More gunfights follow, cans couldn’t, and a further 18% got it philosophy with. Freed from technological before he packs off so as not to get in the wrong. constraints, authors can ask questions The Terminator (1984): Time Travel way of his original’s family life. that go to the heart of what we think Scientific research has exploded since about the world and realise characters A question that has vexed critics for years: Putting aside the film’s other failings, it Newton’s day, making it tough to stand who push the boundaries of what we joyously overwrought cyborg-based does a decent job of exploring what being out from the crowd. Does the key to en- understand being human to be. And then thriller, or cunning thought experiment a clone would be like— namely, that it during fame lie in engaging in the world they can have a space war! What’s not to explore the causal intricacies of would feel just like being the original. Is, of business and exploiting the media to love? time travel? Whether time travel is then, the Arnie-clone the same person frenzy? We take a look at some of the conceptually or physically possible has as the Arnie who was around until he world’s most renowned scientists to see Craig Venter been a philosophical question for many got cloned? The film certainly thinks how they have made it to the top. The Matrix (1999): the Sceptical years, and much intellectual energy has not: ‘real’ Arnie gets the wife, the kids Hypothesis been expended on examining the various and the house, while ‘fake’ Arnie goes Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Craig Venter is the founder of Celera ways to avoid paradox. But the debate to Argentina. But this conclusion seems Genomics, the company who led the “Have you ever had a dream... that you has heated up in recent years with the problematic if we consider the scenario private attempt to sequence the human were so sure was real? What if you were provision of a (sort of) plausible physical in which the original had been destroyed Listed by Newsweek as one of the most genome, causing controversy along the unable to wake from that dream? How mechanism for time travel. in the cloning process. Given someone prominent scientists to watch in the 21st way. Venter left Celera in 2002, and be- would you tell the difference between the who looks like Arnie, thinks like Arnie, has century, chances are that you have al- Paul Krugman gan conducting research in synthetic ge- dream world and the real world?” “Whether time travel is Arnie’s memories and believes himself to ready come across Ramachandran’s nomics. conceptually or physically be Arnie, the easiest thing is to say that work. He studies the kind of disease that Wise words from Morpheus there, as he possible has been a philosophical he is Arnie. the entertainment industry loves: neuro- As Paul Krugman put it in a speech in The first success in this field was the cre- follows in an epistemological tradition question for many years.” logical syndromes. In these a small part 2007, economically speaking “we live ation of a synthetic chromosome which going back some 300 years to the founder Cases of cloning are difficult to deal with of modern Western philosophy: René in common-sense terms. If you were told of the brain does not work as it should, in interesting times”. It was in 1979 generates bacteria-killing viruses. Venter Certain solutions of the Einstein field Descartes. In his Meditations on First you were going to be cloned, and that causing the patient to experience bizarre that Krugman invented the academic and his team designed small overlapping equations (the equations that relate matter Philosophy (1641), Descartes considers one clone was going to be tortured and symptoms such as phantom limbs. field of studying currency crises, and sections of DNA, stitched them together, distributions to the shape of space-time) the idea that “some evil demon of the the other showered with gifts, what should to quote the man himself “business has and inserted them into E. coli bacteria. permit the existence of ‘closed time-like utmost power and cunning has employed you feel: apprehensive or overjoyed? Or This phenomenon occurs when a person been good”. Now a prominent blogger The synthetic chromosome then ‘booted curves’. These are paths in space-time all his energies to deceive me”, by feeding both? Or neither? has had a limb amputated, yet still vividly for the economist, Krugman is best up’ producing the virus and in doing so, which you could follow, ageing all the time, him false illusions of what the world is feels its presence, commonly resulting known for his development of ‘New killed the E. coli. until you found yourself back at the same Trade Theory’, for which he won a No- like. Whether the demon is doing this so in excruciating pain. Ramachandran re- place and time that you started. Words: Neil Dewar alised that the key to understanding this bel prize in 2008. Venter believes that his work has many as to harvest Descartes’ bioenergy isn’t made clear. Nevertheless, the sceptical Art : Mark Ho pain was visual feedback. Patients with applications, most notably in the produc- Whether such solutions actually describe hypothesis is a phantom limb pain often had the limb Before Krugman, economists believed tion of organisms that absorb carbon di- the Universe is still up for debate and many paralysed prior to amputation; every that countries traded because of their oxide to slow climate change. However, argue that time travel is just inherently time the patient tried to move the limb differences: tropical countries exported he has been branded as an “opportunis- paradoxical. Consider The Terminator’s they saw that they had failed. The brain bananas, rich countries exported ma- tic maniac” for never paying much heed own paradox: John sends Kyle back in ‘learns’ that the limb is paralysed and chinery. Krugman was unhappy with to ethical issues and working on contro- time, who knocks up Sarah, who gives painful, and this carries over even after this theory— it didn’t explain why, for versial and potentially dangerous enter- birth to John, who sends Kyle back in time, amputation. example, Japan was so far ahead in the prises. A maverick of science, Venter who knocks up Sarah, who...well, you get automobile industry, or why an industry was the first person to have his DNA se- the point. Similarly, what would happen if So if visual cues cause the pain, could might be concentrated in a specific lo- quence analysed, something which oth- you went back in time and prevented your they cease it? Ramachandran created a cation. Krugman suggested that tiny, ers felt had severe moral implications. own existence (or do like Terminator 2 ‘mirror box’ to test his theory: the patient almost accidental advantages became and prevent the nuclear war)? places their real limb into one compart- significant, and dictated the pattern of Words: Bryony Frost ment, and the phantom limb into the oth- trade. His favourite example is that of Art: Holly Rouse-Sweeney Despite his important contributions to the er. A mirror between the compartments a teenager in Georgia in 1895 making field, Arnold Schwarzenegger is sorely gives the impression that there is a real a tufted bedspread. One thing led to absent from the scientific literature. limb in place of the phantom limb so that another, and now the carpet industry when the patient moves their limb they in the US is concentrated in Georgia. see and feel the phantom move. Ram- It doesn’t seem that radical now, but it The 6th Day (2000): Personal Identity achandran gave the mirror box to his first completely revolutionised the way we patient, who had suffered ten years of view our economy. Another Arnie classic here (the man agony. Two weeks later his phantom limb obviously loves his metaphysics). The had ‘disappeared’.

19 20 Beauty Lies in the Brain of the Beholder Painting a new picture of the artistic world hy can a painting provoke emotion? was true of the motor cortex. This finding Thus a caricature, although not in propor- the Mona Lisa may smile because of the WWhat is the secret of the Mona Lisa’s is reasonable when you consider that ap- “By combining the responses tion with reality, will elicit a faster, stronger composition of your retina, but who was smile? What makes Mondrian’s use of line she, and why did Leonardo da Vinci feel pearances are judged on a continuous of many individuals, neurolo- response by ‘deliberate hyperbole’ to em- “The use of so compelling? With advances in neurol- scale. However, since fMRI studies are phasise the features we use to determine the need to paint her? Does knowing that ogy, scientists claim that they hold the key not really delicate enough to show brain gists believe they can expose a somebody’s identity. In his period of ana- Monet had cataracts detract from the bril- ambiguous or slightly to unlocking the secrets of art, beauty and function on a neuron-to-neuron basis, ‘hidden grammar’ inherent to all lytic Cubism, Pablo Picasso touched upon liance of his later work? Neuroaesthet- unfinished artwork even to define what makes artistic genius. neurologists suggest that important parts artistry...” this aspect of brain function in his use of ics is still in its early stages, with broad Semir Zeki, Professor of Neurobiology at of the response remain hidden. Thus, flat colour, multiple perspectives and ex- sweeping statements hitting the press has also been shown UCL, explains that this fusion of ethereal there may still be specific neurons or ar- ing) fire in the premotor cortex. This causes aggeration. These techniques gathered that, as of yet, have little evidence to back to be appealing to the artistry and grounded science (which he eas that respond exclusively to beauty. mimicking of the actions and sensations of the essential and strongest characteristics them up; there is a danger of distortion by terms “neuroaesthetics”) is very logical: the artistic subject, building an empathetic of objects and subjects into his art, giv- oversimplification of complex principles. brain...” because human activity and experience, Despite the uncertainty surround- link between the art and the beholder that ing a cognitive impression more forceful Just as scepticism should be employed if including art, is a product of the workings ing the physiological response contributes to the aesthetic experience. than would be created by the real image an artist were to diagnose your ailments, of the brain, they are also naturally subject to beauty, it is impor- itself. Conversely, the use of ambiguous or remember that current discoveries are as to the restrictions and laws of neurology. tant to note that But although these studies touch slightly unfinished artwork appeals to the yet conjectures, and should be treated as great insights upon what the brain’s response brain by presenting a puzzle that the view- such. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied Using this principle, scientists are employ- to beauty is, and can tell us er can solve; it also allows the impression that art and neurology are extensively ing imaging techniques to discover which what we naturally judge of the final image to be adjusted to- sat linked, with art being an externalisa- areas of the brain respond to beauty, what to be pleasing, it does isfy the individual’s preferences or ideals. tion and expression of our inner factors affect this and how the workings not offer an expla- selves, and neurology a study of our visual system impact the way that nation why. Neu- Perhaps unsurprisingly, it seems that of the intrinsic mechanisms we interpret the world. By combining the rologists think many discoveries found by neurologists through which we function. responses of many individuals, neurolo- that the answer have been employed by artists all along. gists believe they can expose a ‘hidden may lie in the Since the creator is subject to the same grammar’ inherent to all artistry. This may mechanisms neurological responses as the beholder, be used to explain the phenomenon of that we use it follows that an artist will subconscious- aesthetic appreciation and explain why, to view, ly produce work which incorporates at since the primitive etchings of cavemen, learn from, least some of these universally appealing humans have been drawn to both create and make themes. Take for example Mondrian who, and appreciate art. sense of in his search for “the constant truths con- the world, cerning forms”, settled on the straight line. as they play He painted long before it was known that “...many discoveries found an impor- ‘orientation selective cells’, which initiate tant part in perception of form, optimally by neurologists have been impression fire in response to a straight employed by artists all f o r m a t i o n . line. Margaret Livingstone of along.” Harvard has postulated that da Contrary to Vinci, too, exploited the proper- ancient specu- ties of the retina to tease us with In order to understand what beauty is, lation, vision Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile. we need to investigate how we respond is not an ef- When we look at her eyes, to it. Initially, it was thought there might i n t o fortless process. our less accurate peripheral be a certain area of the brain activated o u r When we look at vision draws information from in response to beauty that triggers the a p p r e - a canvas, or indeed the shadows of her cheekbones feeling of reward and appreciation. This ciation of the world, information and we see a smile. Yet, when was tested in recent experiments using art can be from the retina is distilled, our gaze is reverted to her lips functional MRI (fMRI). Neurologists ex- drawn from neu processed and compared, we see an almost expres- posed individuals to different images and rological studies. in order to decode what we see. sionless line, thus making asked them to judge whether or not they One elegant investigation, the emotion of the sitter felt them to be beautiful. The machine using distorted images of Greek classical One important law of the visual system is intriguingly ambiguous. was then able to highlight the areas of sculpture, was able to show preference that of constancy, which allows us to rec- the brain that were especially active as for artwork displaying the ‘golden ratio’ ognise our surroundings. Take for example So, do neurological the decision was being made. The results (1:0.618), and also for symmetry. Since a coffee cup: this will be seen in different models provide real so- were surprising: there are not exclusively the volunteers were deemed to be critical- lights, colours, positions and places, yet lutions? Or do they different areas in which activity provokes ly naïve and results were fairly universal, your brain will immediately recognise it. run the risk of trivi- feelings of aesthetic appreciation or dis- they are indicative of standards that may This is because the brain discards unnec- alising masterpiec- gust. Instead, it is the relative activity of be subconsciously used to appraise the essary ‘noise’ and takes the fundamental es? Yes, Picasso’s use these areas that determine the response. world. Other research has revealed some characteristics which will trigger specific of abstraction echoes the brain’s For example, in the orbitofrontal cortex, mechanisms by which we relate to art; cells to fire off in object recognition. In a perception of object permanence, pleasent images evoked a stronger re- fMRI studies showed that when we regard sense, this distillation of an image down but this theory disregards the strong revo- Words: Anna Pouncey sponse than ugly ones, while the reverse sculptures, mirror neurons (used in learn- to the essentials is the role of an artist. lutionary drive behind his painting. Yes, Art: Louisa Stoppard & 2119 22 Max Gordon-Brown The Poetry of Pi “3 . 1 4 1 5 9 2 6 5 3 5 8 9 7 9 . . .” ow I need a drink, alcoholic of Memorising these lines makes the chal- of electromagnetism and the study of sided polygon inscribing (inside) the circle “Hcourse, after the heavy lectures in- lenge of recalling the first 41 digits of π complex numbers to name but a few. This (see Figure 1). These bounding values of volving quantum mechanics.” significantly easier: in itself raises the question of how one the circumference, along with the known 3.1415926535897932384626433832795 goes about calculating the digits of π? diameter of the circle, were used to calcu- The above is an example of a ‘piem’ or 0288419716 . . . late an upper and lower bound on the val- poem relating to π. The fundamental Early approximations to π have been ues of π (again using π = C/D). The more mathematical constant π is used in all The word ‘Cadaeic’ itself corresponds to found in ancient architecture. The Great sides the polygons have, the more accu- manner of applications: from working out the first seven digits of π with ‘A’- corre Pyramid at Giza was built deliberately with rate the approximation becomes. Indeed, the volume of liquid in your can of coke sponding to 1, ‘B’ to 2, ‘C’ to 3 and so on. a base perimeter of 1760 cubits and a a circle can be thought of as a regular to knowing how thinly to roll your dough Piems are a popular way, for those who height of 280 cubits giving an approximate polygon with infinitely many sides! to make the perfect pizza, π pops up all have the time and patience, to memorise ratio of perimeter to height of 2π. Even the By the time of his death, using a over the place, so it’s often useful to know the digits of π. Chinese graduate student Bible has a claim to an early approxima- polygon with 96 sides (a 96-gon), a few digits. Lu Choa currently holds the Guinness tion to π. The following passage can be Archimedes was able to bound π world record, having recited 67,890 digits found in the book of Kings relating to the between 310/71 and 31/7, accurate to 2 Piems are designed to help the reciter re- of π without mistake. construction of the ‘sea of cast bronze’ in decimal places with an average accurate member the consecutive digits of π: the the temple of Solomon to three decimal places. number of letters within each word corre- In ca. 212 BC the Romans, under sponds to the digits of π in order (a ten “Who needs an infinity of “And he made a molten sea of ten cubits the command of General letter word is used whenever the digit zero from brim to brim ... and a line of thirty cu- occurs). A slightly longer attempt, the ‘Ca- monkeys bits did compass it round about.” daeic Cadenza’ is a beautiful example of when you have π?” constrained writing whose words, in order, This estimate of π=3 is, however, notably “Do not disturb correspond to the first 3834 digits of π. As worse than other available estimates at the my circles.” if writing to the digits of π were not restric- Reciting the digits of π is almost as much time. Other primitive fractional approxima- tion enough, the Cadenza’s author, Mike a task of endurance as it is of memory: tions to π include the well known 22/7 (ac- Keith, also attemps to mimic portions of the 67, 890th digit Choa recalled com- curate to 2 decimal places) and the less Marcus Claudius Mar- famous literary works such as Edgar Al- ing over 24 hours after the first. However well known 333/106 (accurate to 4 decimal cellus, finally conquered lan Poe’s The Raven and Jabberwocky by there is more to this intriguing constant places). In stark contrast to these earlier Archimedes’ home town of Lewis Carroll. The first lines read: than the challenge of recall; π has been estimates, Fabrice Bellard, a French com- Syracuse, on the island of found by mathematicians and scientists in puter programmer, recently calculated π Sicily (then part of the Greek empire), after “One. A Poem. A Raven. the equations that govern the fundamen- to almost 2.7 trillion (2,700,000,000,000) a two year siege. According to Plutarch, a Midnights so dreary, tired and weary, tal dynamics of the Universe. Heisenberg digits using only his desktop computer, as Roman soldier came across Archimedes Silently pondering volumes extolling uses π in his uncertainty principle relating opposed to the supercomputers that had contemplating a mathematical diagram he all by-now obsolete lore. to Quantum Mechanics; Einstein in his been employed to find previous record had drawn in the sand. The soldier com- field equations of General Relativity;- Ke It is often During my rather long nap− the numbers of digits. manded Archimedes to accompany him to pler in his third law of planetary motion. meet General Marcellus, but Archimedes said that a mon- Crested Macaques weirdest tap! There are many other applications of π Empirically, π can be approximated by was so enthralled with his work that he key hitting keys at their entire literary con- An ominous vibrating sound in diverse fields such as probabil- drawing a large circle, measuring its cir- simply replied “Do not disturb my circles”. random for an infinitely long tribution over a month-long ex- disturbing my chamber’s ity theory, the cumference, C, and diameter, D, and di- The Roman soldier was so enraged with time will surely type a given text, such as periment was five pages of text consisting antedoor. p hy s - viding the former by the latter (using the Archimedes that he is alleged to have the complete works of Shakespeare (of largely of the letter ‘S’). The infinite mon- ‘This’, I whis- ics formula π = C/D ). To get more and more killed him on the spot. course when the experiment was attempt- keys theorem, as it is known, is of course pered quietly, accuracy we have to draw bigger and big- ed with six Celebes a metaphor for an infinitely long sequence ‘I ignore’.” ger circles and we quickly run into practi- of randomly generated letters. Equivalent- cal difficulties, not only with drawing the ly we could extend the idea of piems to circles but with measuring them to the sequences of digits that represented the necessary degree of accuracy. length of every word in the English lan- guage (two digits instead of one would al- low us to represent all words of length up to 100 letters). If π could be shown to be “Even the Bible has an truly random, we would surely be able to early approximation to π.” find a piem that corresponded to the com- plete works of Shakespeare, or any other text you can think of. Who needs an infin- ity of monkeys when you have π? Another more pragmatic attempt, attrib- !"#$%&'()'*%+,"-&.&/'".&0)'1&230#42/5',&60#42/'02.'4+30#42/'"2/+%"7"2#'02.'+"%+$-/+%"7"2#' uted to Archimedes and known as the Figure0'+"%+8&9':,&'-4%&'/".&/'3,&';48<#42/',0=&'3,&'3"#,3&%'3,&'74$2./'42'3,&';&%"-&3&%'4>'3,& 1: Archimedes’ idea: pentagons, hexagons and octagons inscribing and circum' - ‘method of exhaustion’, focuses on bound- scribing+"%+8&'02.'3,&'7&33&%'3,&'0;;%46"-03"42'34' a circle. The more sides the polygons!9 have the tighter the bounds on the perim- ing the value of π between two approxi- eter of the circle and the better the approximation to π. mations. He calculated the perimeter of a regular n−sided polygon circumscribing Words: Christian Yates (outside) the circle and that of a similar n− 23 24 Art: Anna Pouncey Embracing Empathy 350 Years of Blue Skies The mysterious science of the mouth The colourful history and continuing importance of the Royal Society

It is often said that the fi rst kiss is a make What’s more, Gallup found that women his year the Royal Society celebrates In retrospect, the huge social and Society’s current funding policy. Realising or break situation, a view which appears tend to be attracted to partners with dif- Tits 350th anniversary alongside the economic impact of such research the potential of unrestricted research they to extend beyond teenage neuroses. Sci- ferent immune system proteins than their 400th anniversary of Wadham College. is blindingly obvious, but it is often fund University Research Fellows for up to entifi c research suggests that there may own— a natural screening mechanism Independent though they may seem, unapparent at the outset: Faraday’s work ten years at a time, providing the freedom be a good evolutionary reason for this which leads to the creation of healthier the links between these two admirable in electromagnetic induction led to the to take investigative risks without the fear pivotal peck. It turns out that children. It seems women are able to sub- institutions run deep: the roots of the commercial production of electricity— but of funding reprisals. Last year’s Fellows kissing communicates a consciously detect these body proteins Society were planted in Wadham’s only sixty years later. It is the unforeseen worked on projects ranging from the whole host of sensory during a passionate kiss and this can in- gardens by erstwhile warden Dr John potential of unlikely ideas that most search for life on Mars to predicting the information (smells, stantly aff ect the attraction they feel. Wilkins and his experimental science often leads to great scientifi c discoveries evolution of the infl uenza virus. tastes, sound and club. both in terms of fi nancial payback and tactile signals) contribution to knowledge. More than this, the Society understands that aff ect a cou- “...that fi rst kiss is truly as Wilkins’ group of ‘amateur’ gentleman the need for ‘blue skies’ research in ple’s experience special as everyone believes.” scientists (including notables such as Today this message seems to be lost on breeding tomorrow’s scientists. Young of each other and Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren) government off icials who last October people with the imagination and talent to ultimately deter- invented fl ying contraptions, transparent announced that from 2012 a quarter of make great scientifi c discoveries will not mines their level of The study further revealed that there are beehives and rainbow machines much all research proposals would be judged put in the hard work required to grasp a mutual attraction. three distinct brain systems involved in to the amusement of College guests. on their potential “economic and social technically diff icult subject because it is mate choice and reproduction: sex drive, Oxford became the setting for the new impact”— an impossibility if history is useful, but because it inspires them. In a survey of romantic love, and attachment. Sex drive experimental philosophy, rejecting anything to go by. more than a thou- initiates seeking partners, romantic love Aristotelian theoretical science in favour In today’s society there is an increasing sand college stu- causes commitment, and attachment Francis Bacon’s recent empirical methods. dependence of social and political issues dents by Gordon “..fl ying contraptions, helps us last long enough to have a child. Meeting in coff ee shops that still stand on science. As a result, it is vital that the Gallup, Professor of Psy- Kissing has evolved to stimulate all three today, they would discuss their latest transparent beehives and public are able make informed decisions chology at the University of of these systems. Since kissing can easily scientifi c research— from the nature of air rainbow machines..” through an understanding of this science Albany, it was found that 59% determine the early success or failure of a to the practicalities of Wilkins’ proposed and the methodology from which it arose. of men and 66% of women re- budding relationship, that fi rst kiss is truly fl ight to the moon in a wooden ‘chariot’ This misunderstanding of the scientifi c The Society plays an important role in this ported that their attraction ended as special as everyone believes. propelled by gunpowder, feather wings method was also inherent in a speech education, engaging individuals through after the fi rst kiss. and springs. at the BA Science Festival by Sir David outreach events and debates. King, Director of Oxford’s Smith School of Who would have believed that yawning students of psychology and engineering. convey emotions and information to each Despite the frivolous and even absurd Enterprise and Environment. He declared In the year of its 350th anniversary the was actually contagious? Always thought Each student was made to wait separately other. Indeed, yawning is a phenomenon nature of some of these proposals and the money spent on the new Large Royal Society continues to promote of as an urban myth, one of those strange in a room, along with an undercover as- observed across the animal kingdom— inventions, Wilkins’ motives were largely Hadron Collider at CERN (The European scientifi c education and facilitate creative, coincidences with no scientifi c basis, this sistant who yawned ten times in as many investigations are currently being under- practical: convinced the moon was Organization for Nuclear Research) would extraordinary research. In doing so, it little-studied fact may really be true. In minutes. The students were then given an taken on higher primates, such as chim- inhabited, Wilkins was determined to set up have been better directed at climate leads the way in fostering science as part most cases, you don’t even need some- “emotional quotient” test where they were panzees. By helping to synchronize group trade links. More mundanely, transparent change and health science. Though the of our culture. one to yawn— you could just read about shown images of eyes and asked what behaviour, contagious yawning may have beehives revealed the mysterious search for the Higgs boson may seem it or even hear someone yawn to set you emotion each one displayed. been an essential instinctive feature in the processes of honey production. It was unjustifi able in the face of widespread off . Recent studies have shown that that development of our species. the suggestion of similarly practical, and epidemic diseases and environmental this ‘epidemic’ is completely unconscious. Interestingly, the results supported the potentially profi table, ventures that led to catastrophes, King’s remark neglected The signals which cause yawning bypass idea of a link between contagious yawn- Charles II fi nancially backing the Society. the unforeseen social and economic the circuitry responsible for conscious be- ing and empathy. There was a signifi cant The founding members, including many impacts’produced at CERN in its quest for haviour, making this an ‘automatically re- diff erence between the psychology and of Wilkins’ group, were confi dent that an understanding of nature’s fundamental leased’ response. engineering students, with the former their research would bring about great particles. scoring higher on the emotional quo- innovations in technology and trade. tient test and yawning more frequently. While at CERN, Oxford alumnus Sir Tim “Apparently, how contagious Less predictably, women, who are Research projects were unregulated, and Berners-Lee created the internet because yawning can be depends on your considered more emotionally sensi- as such, the Society was often criticised of the need for a communication network for wasting time on frivolous and futile capable of supporting such a large scale ‘empathy’ quotient.” tive than men, did not fare any better in the experiment. These results were experiments. Jonathan Swift, author of scientifi c collaboration. Similarly, the strengthened further by brain imag- Gulliver’s Travels, famously parodied the unprecedented size of magnets needed to ing, showing that those parts of the experimental philosophers, describing bend the particle beams at CERN required one member’s fi ctional eight year struggle the development of sophisticated cooling Scientists have connected this phenom- brain associated with empathy were on a “project for extracting sunbeams technology. This is now being applied to enon with the personality of an individual. also associated with yawning, thereby out of cucumbers”. But out of this jumble the development of fusion reactors, likely Apparently, how contagious yawning can establishing a direct correlation be- of curiosity driven investigation came to become an important source of clean be depends on your “empathy” quotient, tween the two. groundbreaking work on geomagnetism, energy. the ability to understand and connect with vital to navigation, and the creation of the emotional state of others. The exact reason for this link is un- novel materials, employed in the re- Alongside the history of scientifi c clear but it is possible that contagious building of London following the Great Fire discovery at the Society, the government This theory has been tested experimen- yawning may have helped animals and of 1666. could learn a thing or two from the tally by behavioural scientists at Leeds humans early in evolutionary history to Words: Madhumitia Venkaaramanan Words: Thomas Lewton Art: Genevieve Edwards University where researchers selected 80 25 26 Art: Lousia Stoppard Ask a Lecturer Riddler’s Digest We get Oxford dons to moot on your musings Cerebral amusement for the modern scientist What would happen if I fell into a towards the centre much more strongly Ignoring flapping was the problem. Almost black hole? than your head. Within microseconds, one hundred years later, we now know Tetris revisited your body will be stretched out by this how bumblebees flapping wings work: If you’re determined to do this, it’s going to tidal force into a thin stream of matter. You they independently force the air down- The game of Tetris involves the following Lucky numbers be a one-way trip, so choose your black have been spaghettified; this is the end. wards on each side of the body. This is seven tetrominoes, each made up of four hole carefully. Avoid those in quasars— perhaps no surprise given the width of square blocks: I, O, T, J, L, Z, S. Assum- Students 1, 2, ..., 999 and 1000 have a you will be fried by radiation or relativistic Your mortal remains will crash into the bumblebee bodies, but it is unusual in that ing each square block to have unit area pigeonhole each. Student 1 puts a copy plasma long before you reach the black centre of the black hole within the next it is an extremely inefficient means of lift- and given a 4 × 7 rectangle that is made of Bang! into each pigeonhole (including 40 hole. Head instead for the centre of the second or so. All 10 kilograms that generation. up of such blocks, is it possible to fit one her own). Student 2 comes along and Milky Way, where a black hole three mil- comprise the black hole’s mass are con- tetromino of each kind into the rectangle? empties the pigeonholes of 2, 4, 6, ..., lion times the mass of the Sun lies dark centrated here, in a form that lies beyond However, bumblebees don’t care too much 998 and 1000. Student 3 is concerned and quiet. At a safe distance, you see our understanding. Einstein’s equations about efficiency in their role as collector only with the pigeonholes of 3, 6, 9, ..., from your spacecraft a black patch on the of General Relativity no longer work here; and deliverer of nature’s richest natural 996 and 999. She puts a copy of Bang! sky, about ten million kilometres in radius. we need a theory of quantum gravity, the fuel: nectar. Rather, what matters most is into each empty one of these pigeon- At its edges the light from background creation of which is the job of future physi- the ability to manoeuvre rapidly between holes but empties any pigeonhole that The beetles stars is distorted into arcs and rings. Turn cists. Provided they are sensible enough flowers and carry a large load of nectar already contains a copy. Student 4 fol- off the engines and you begin to acceler- to avoid direct experimentation with black back to the hive. Their independent-wing lows suit, checking out pigeon holes 4, 8, Four beetles, A,B,C and D, are placed on ate inwards: initially you won’t feel any- holes. flight strategy allows them to generate 12, and so on. One by one, students 5, 6, the corners of an a×a square. All beetles thing, being in free-fall. The hole in front Dr Garret Cotter more than enough force for flight while ..., 998 and 999 all drop by and deal with start moving at the same moment and remains dark, but the sky behind remains radically simplifying the control problem. the appropriate pigeon holes until, finally, each walks straight towards the beetle visible. As you cross into the dark region, How can bees fly with such big student 1000 shows up to find (as it turns ahead of them (A walks straight at B, B the friends you leave behind see your im- bodies, yet such little wings? Current research in the Animal Flight out) a copy of Bang! in her pigeonhole, walks straight at C, etc). If all beetles trav- age becoming redder, and fainter, and Group of Oxford University’s Zoology De- which she takes. el at the same speed, how far will each partment is focussed on the variation in moving more and more slowly. However The myth that bumblebees can’t fly be- have travelled by the time they meet? aerodynamic mechanisms across a vast you experience nothing overtly dramatic: cause their wings are too small for their How many of the pigeon- array of different insect flight-designs, you can still see the outside world behind, bodies was started in 1919 by Wilhelm holes now contain a copy and on aerodynamic control in hover-flies, Words: David Seifert but from now on, you can never get back Hoff, head of the German Aircraft Es- of Bang!? hawkmoths, hawks, falcons and eagles. Art: Anna Pouncey out. And you only have about five seconds tablishment during the First World War. Professor Adrian Thomas left to live. Applying the fixed-wing aerodynamics of aeroplane flight, he used data from biolo- When you get to within a few hundred gist Reinhardt Demoll to estimate that the All rights reserved. rights All thousand kilometres of the centre of the bumblebee’s wings would be too small to Art: Anna Pouncey © 2 0 black hole, gravity is strengthening so carry its weight. Accenture. 10 quickly that your feet are being pulled Turning a challenge into a learning curve. Just another day at the office for a high performer.

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