Over lunch recently, viruses affecting the brain came up in conversation. And the response I got is the one that seems to be automatic for those of us who took undergraduate biology ‘but what about the blood brain barrier?’. I don’t know if it’s because its alliteration sticks in our minds, or because it’s such… [Read more…]
February 8, 2012
Today’s post is a return to this blog’s pet peeve – the popular misconception I’ve encountered in my work that methane is smelly and causes stinky farts. Thanks to my colleague who sent me this article about a kiwi school girl doing a speech on farts. If you look in the last column you’ll see… [Read more…]
November 28, 2011
I read the good news on the ABC that parents are being encouraged to vaccinate by only getting the government child bonus payment if they’ve had their vaccinations. The following morning I read The Advertiser over breakfast (having been lulled into a sense of science security by Clare Peddie’s return from holidays) and read this… [Read more…]
November 27, 2011
What is it with otherwise intelligent people falling for marketing claims that just because lollies are made from fruit they must be good for you? I had a feeling of déjà vu yesterday at badminton when one of the players was eating new Uncle Tobys Simply Fruit Nibbles with pictures of fruit all over the… [Read more…]
October 29, 2011
I thought this Guardian datablog of mortality statistics was interesting. There are always numbers being thrown around about your risk of dying of xxx disease – you know the sort of thing: 1 in 10 Australians will die from drop bear attacks by the time they’re 40, so reduce your risk by eating less Vegemite,… [Read more…]
October 23, 2011
This deodorant is like an episode of the Gruen Transfer – it’s like they held a competition to see how much marketing nonsense they could fit onto the packaging to convince you to spend money on it. I unfortunately ended up with a free sample of this heinous gobbledygook. It makes you “CALM after shaving”.… [Read more…]
August 29, 2011
Does methane cause smelly farts is clearly a topic of popular interest, since it’s my most common source of hits from Google searches – I used the word fart on the interwebs! Out of curiosity I put ‘methane smelly farts’ in Google to see what else came up (and if I came on the first page… [Read more…]
July 25, 2011
It’s estimated that there are about 1 kg of microbes representing hundreds of species in our guts (New Scientist) and they form an integral part of our body’s function – they influence our immune system and break down food we are not able to digest. We’re now developing the tools, such as ‘metagenomics’, to start to… [Read more…]
March 11, 2012
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