The Institute of Science & Technology The Institute of Science & Technology The Journal The Journal Winter 2011 Winter 2011 Kingfisher House 90 Rockingham Street Sheffield S1 4EB Tel: 0114 276 3197 [email protected] www.istonline.org.uk The Official Journal of The Institute of Science & Technology – The Professional Body for Specialist, Technical and Managerial Staff ISSN 2040-1868 The Journal The Official Publication of the Institute of Science & Technology ISSN 2040-1868 CONTENTS – Winter 2011 Editorial Ian Moulson Acting Chairman’s Report Terry Croft Letters to the Editor Rosina K Nyarko Astrobiology Colin Neve An inside view of a Venezuelan shrimp farm Carlos Conroy Origins, part 2: the general theory of relativity Estelle Asmodelle “My Lunar Estate”: the life of Hannah Jackson-Gwilt Alan Gall Teaching Science Christine Thompson Frog trade link to killer fungus Natural Environment Research Council Students to make ship history Arts & Humanities Research Council How parasites modify plants to attract insects Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council Growing computers Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council HIV study identifies key cellular defence mechanism Medical Research Council Physicists shed light on supernova mystery Science & Technology Facilities Council From the archives Alan Gall Journal puzzle solutions Alan Gall IST new members What is the IST? Cover images credits Front cover bottom left: Image courtesy of NASA Back cover top: Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Back cover middle: Image courtesy of NASA The Journal Page 1 Winter 2011 Editorial Welcome I hope that you enjoy this winter edition of the IST’s Journal. There are some really interesting and informative articles inside. There is a distinctly astronomical feel to this edition but also an excellent article on Shrimp farming. My thanks extend to each and all of the contributors, with again special thanks to Alan Gall for helping me to put this edition together. The Journal is a little late going to print this time, due in part to a very busy time for IST these last few months. There are a number of new IST initiatives, some of which are highlighted inside. Recently, I read a very interesting paper by Will Crouch of the Uehiro Centre in Oxford University’s Philosophy Faculty. Not that I regularly read papers on philosophy research in my spare time, in fact this is definitely a first, but what caught my interest was the suggestion that bankers can save the world - yet I thought that they were doing a pretty good job of screwing it up! Mr Crouch, however, strongly believes that ethically-minded people should really consider a career in banking rather than joining the third sector, and he has backed this up with research. His research suggests that those who seriously want an ethical career should consider maximizing their earnings so that they then have more money to give to charity. You will typically spend 80,000 hours of your life working, so he believes that it’s crucial that ethically-minded people really need to seriously think about their career early on. The careers traditionally considered the most ethical might not actually have the biggest impact. For example, aid workers are usually regarded as doing the most good because they directly benefit people in need. However, those jobs are in high demand, so even if you don’t become that aid worker, there is always someone to take your place. There isn’t a shortage of aid works, what there is a shortage of is ethical bankers. I’m certainly with Mr Crouch on the latter! What’s also not a surprise conclusion in his research is that bankers are generally not ethically minded, and typically donate only a very small proportion of their income. So if an ethically-minded individual were to enter the banking profession and donate a large proportion of their earnings to charity, then they will have made a difference that wouldn’t have happened anyway, unlike the aid worker. The direct benefit that a single aid worker can produce is always going to be limited, whereas the philanthropic banker's donations might indirectly help ten times as many people. Simply put, the typical investment banker will earn more than £6 million over their career and according to the research it costs £300 to save a life by treating tuberculosis in the developing world. So by donating 50% of their income, a banker would save 10,000 lives while still living comfortably on an average income of at least £100,000 a year. The research also highlighted that ‘Professional philanthropy’ is not the only way to pursue a ‘high-impact’ ethical career. Currently, many ethically-minded people feel that they should refuse to take positions of influence, but if they did then they could use them to greatly further their ethical aims. I guess, in a nutshell, he’s saying that in a very cynical world you need to take a very cynical approach to being a good ethically-minded person. Nevertheless, I think that we can see where many examples of non-cynical research careers and technology advances have had a real and major impact too. Just one example is Norman Borlaug, an agricultural researcher who developed short stem disease-resistant wheat, which is estimated to have saved hundreds of millions of people from starvation. Best Wishes for the New Year Ian Moulson Editor The Journal Page 2 Winter 2011 Acting Chairman’s report Terry Croft 2011 has been a significant year for the IST, for the UK technical community generally, and particular for those of us working in the higher education sector (HE). With the effects of the Comprehensive Spending Please note both our current IST website and Review (CSR) biting hard and further cuts the PTSE website are currently being updated so and changes to our working lives through apologies if you have any difficulties in accessing the implementation of many reports and them in the intervening period. recommendations (Browne, Diamond and Wakeham) the IST Executive and I have been Finally I wish to thank John Robinson for his working hard to ensure that the “technician’s voice” continued encouragement and support whilst Acting has been heard. The Technicians Register was Chairman and wish him well for 2012, and I’m sure launched in the autumn through the Science Council with his spirit and determination he will be back in and we have actively engaged with this initiative, his familiar role in the near future. Also to all the believing that this will become a major component in members of the Executive who freely give their time technical career development in the future. HEaTED to the Institute to ensure that you are supported was also relaunched and now has a new home and represented in these difficult economic times, with Myscience at their headquarters in York. This within what appears to be an ever changing working was excellent news and we will continue to strongly environment. Also to Wendy and the team at our support their activities through working in partnership Head Office here in Sheffield, who ensure that the with them going forward. administrative side of the Institute works smoothly and efficiently. With all the changes and developments that will particularly effect technical staff working in HE, now 2012 is a watershed year for many people, and in the future, the chairs and senior officials of particularly for technicians and technologists in all the specialist HE interest groups and HE professional sectors. Therefore can I encourage you to play an bodies met at Durham University to discuss how we active part in the Institute and encourage others all could work together and have one voice. The to also come on board and be part of, and help outcome of these discussions was the formation influence, the changes that will affect our future roles of the National Association of Professional and and careers. So please use our web sites, contact Technical Specialists in Education (PTSE). The our office or email me directly. 2012 is YOUR meeting agreed that their future annual conferences opportunity. If we do not grasp this opportunity for would be combined into one event where all the the technical community we will lose it. issues affecting our groups could be discussed. Please make your voices heard. So a date for your diary is the first annual PTSE Many thanks conference, which will take place in Sheffield on Terry the 4th and 5th July 2012. This will include the IST, UCLAS, EMU, UBMA and NABBS. You can keep up to date with these and other issues, also join the debate, and find out the latest news about the Institute of Science & Technology and our members, through the Linkedin group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Institute-Science- Technology-4226145 The Journal Page 3 Winter 2011 1st Joint Annual Conference in association with the IST Sheffield on the 4th and 5th July 2012 EMU NABBS The Conference of Engineering Managers in The National Association of Biochemistry & Biological Universities (EMU) is a loose association of engineering Superintendents (NABBS) was formed in 1972 to managers in universities throughout provide a forum for University Laboratory Managers the United Kingdom with the following aims: working in departments where Biochemistry teaching and research was carried out. • To foster a corporate spirit across its membership. The aim of the association is to foster the exchange • To enable sharing of best practice. of ideas and information in the field of laboratory • To act as a focus for legitimate and common management and to provide a forum for the discussion of concerns with respect to support to engineering topics of common interest by holding regular meetings.