All posts by Clare

Interview with a Scientist: Kirsty, Marine Ecologist

Interviews, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We recently interviewed Kirsty, a 2nd year PhD student at Newcastle University. Kirsty has been studying European lobsters and their movements between habitats. She uses statistical models to understand how environmental conditions influence the timing and pattern of lobster movements.

What impact does your research have?phd

It can help us understand the impact of movement patterns on the number of lobsters that we can catch so that we don’t catch too many and they are sustainably managed. Sustainable management ensures that there are enough lobsters for the future, benefiting not only the environment, but also the fishing industry.

What did you do before your PhD?

I studied Zoology at Glasgow University then did a Masters in Forest Ecology at Edinburgh University. Since then I have worked in various Ecology related roles including being a Park Ranger, working in Wildlife Management and assisting research on seabirds and marine renewables.

Why did you chose to do a PhD rather than get a job?

I had worked as a research assistant before and really enjoyed it, I knew I wanted to do more research. By doing a PhD I got to choose the area and lead the research. It’s a great opportunity to devote your time to just one small area of interest and learn some advanced skills. I hope it will help me improve my career and that I will be able to get better research jobs in the future.

How did you decide on your PhD?

I chose the topic because I’m interested in spatial studies. Understanding why animals choose a particular area is really important in making decisions about species conservation and I thought this project would give me the chance to develop lots of transferable skills.

kirtsyWhat advice would you have for someone wanting to study Biology or Zoology at university?

Go to open days and talk to as many people as possible, make sure it’s the right course for you! Speak to people working in the field if you have the chance and get some experience, the RSPB are a good organisation to volunteer for.

What is the best part about being a PhD student and going to university in general?

Meeting different people who are interested in the same things as you and developing your own identity.

What do you plan to do after completing your PhD? 

Id like to stay in academia and keep doing research on spatial ecology.

Has university help you get where you want to be?

Yes, I have learned lots of different skill sets and developed more resilience and motivation.

 

interview-kirsty

Why Perfumes are not the Perfect Christmas Present…

Articles, , , , , ,

Many animals rely heavily on their sense of smell for finding food, getting a whiff of the competition and even sniffing potential mates. You might not often see humans checking the scent of their partners, but scientists have found it does play a subtle role in helping us chose mates – as do perfumes.

All animals are made up of a collection of genes that are inherited from parents, these code for all sorts of things like eye colour and taste buds. All mammals, including us, have a section of genes called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which affects how well your immune system fights diseases. It is also linked to your natural scent.

There have been experiments on mice, mandrills, meerkats and many other animals showing that females tend to mate with males that have a different MHC to their own. This ensures that their offspring have a more varied set of genes and so will likely have a better immune system and survive for longer – which is what every parent wants for their child.

When tested in humans, the usual method is to get a group of men to wear a t-shirt for several days to get it nice and sweaty and smelly. Women will then smell each of the t-shirts and rate the odours in order of which they find the most pleasant. These experiments have consistently found that women tend to prefer the scent of men with MHC genes different to their own.

So what happens when you wear perfume and cover up that lovely natural odour of yours? Two researchers, Wedekind and Milinski wanted to find out. They asked over 100 people to rate a selection of perfumes based on whether they would like to smell like that. They found a correlation between the type of MHC and the scents selected, suggesting that we choose perfumes for ourselves that will enhance our natural odour. However, when asked to rate perfumes based on whether they would like their partner to smell like that, they found no significant link.

It appears that we are great a picking out odours for ourselves, but not so much at selecting the perfect perfume for others. Maybe a gift card would be better this year…

perfume

 

 

#TryThisTuesday: Making Snow

Try This Tuesday, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We’re feeling very festive this Tuesday so we thought it was the perfect time to make snow with science. All you need for this one is some shaving foam and bicarbonate of soda.

image3

Simply mix the bicarbonate of soda and shaving foam together in a bowl until you get a powdery consistency.

image4

Pick it up and have a play – you might notice that your fake snow actually feels cold too. This is due to the reaction between the bicarbonate of soda and the shaving foam. The reaction is endothermic meaning that it requires heat to occur, it takes this from the environment and so decreases the temperature around it.

image6

The Science of Shaving Foam

Do you think shaving foam is a liquid or a solid? It’s actually a colloid. A colloid is a substance which has droplets of one state surrounded by another state. There are lots of different types of colloids with different combinations of states making up the droplets and the surrounding. In the case of shaving foam, the droplets are gas and the surrounding is liquid making it a foam colloid.

colloids1

#TryThisTuesday: Lava Lamp

Try This Tuesday, , , , , ,

This week’s experiment will show you how to create the 1960’s invention – the lava lamp – at home!

You can create your lava lamp in a beaker, a glass or a plastic bottle, whatever you have lying around that you can see through.

  1. Start by filling your container 1/4 full with water and add some food colouring of your choice.20161108_160122
  2. Add oil until its nearly full to the top. Wait a minute or two and the oil should separate out and sit above the water.20161108_160212
  3. Drop in a Alka-Seltzer or any other effervescent (fizzy) tablet and watch the bubbles rise.

The Science

Oil floats on top of water because it is less dense and water molecules stick closely together due to their hydrogen bonds, making it difficult for the oil to mix in.

The tablet is more dense than the oil and the water so sinks directly to the bottom. There it reacts with the water to produce the gas, carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is less dense than both the water and oil so it rises to the top, carrying some water molecules with it, these are the bubbles that you can see. The bits dropping back down are the water molecules sinking again once the gas has escaped.

A real lava lamp uses wax that is heated by a bulb. The hot wax expands, becomes less dense than the water and so rises. When it cools, it shrinks, becomes denser and sinks.

The Science of Fireworks

Articles, , , , , , , , , ,

We all know the history of Bonfire Night, but do you know the science?

The Explosion

All fireworks are essentially a combustion reaction, like fire, that produces light and heat.

Fireworks tend to have a long fuse that burns slowly so you have time to light the fuse and run away before the big bang! The fuse first reaches a compartment containing gunpowder, it ignites this causing the firework to launch into the night. There is a delayed fuse to ignite the next explosion, this heats the “stars”.

The stars in a firework are individual compartments containing a different composition of chemicals, depending on the desired colour and effect of the firework. The stars may even be arranged inside the shell of the firework so that they burst in a certain formation to form a shape.

The Colours

Firework displays always use a range of striking colours, the variety of colours comes from the use of different chemicals. Elements such as barium, copper and lithium burn with a coloured flame and are chosen for use in fireworks due to the bright colours they produce.

fireworks

The Sound

When the chemicals inside the firework’s shell are heated they convert from a solid to a gas. The gas takes up more space than there is available inside the shell so it bursts out creating a loud BANG.

Crackling noises come from fireworks which contain lead. When lead oxide is heated and vapourised, the vapour atoms produce crackling noises.

The whistling sound that you hear when the fireworks shoot up in the air, comes from the firework tube itself, not the chemicals. When the tube is partly empty, it will vibrate the air passing through it, causing a whistle.

How can you write your name with a sparkler?

I’m sure you’ve all held a lit sparkler at some point and twirled it around in the air to see a trail of light lingering in the air for a few seconds. The truth is the light isn’t really still there but your eyes play a trick on your brain to make you think that it is. Image resultOur eyes don’t react as quickly as you might think when our view changes, they usually keep the old view around for a fraction of a second. This is known as visual persistence and it’s what allows us to view a series of still images as movement. The effect is increased in the case of the sparklers due to the very bright light emitted form the sparks contrasting against the dark background. This makes the light appear to last longer.

 

fireworks

#TryThisTuesday: Honeycomb

Try This Tuesday, , , , , , , , , , , ,

honeycomb

Honeycomb or Cinder Toffee not only makes a great Bonfire Night snack, it’s also a fun and quick science experiment! Here’s our simple recipe for the honeycomb reaction:
1. Grease a baking tray with butter and set aside.
2. Mix 100g sugar with 2.5 tablespoons of golden syrup in a pan. Mix the two well before you heat the pan.


3. Gently heat the pan, try not to stir the mixture at this point just let it gently begin to melt.
4. Once you can see the sugar start to melt you can push the sugar around to ensure in melts evenly and doesn’t burn.
5. When all the sugar has melted turn up the heat so the sugar begins to boil and forms an amber coloured caramel
6. Turn off the heat and add one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, beat the mixture quickly as it begins to bubble up to incorporated all the bicarb then tip onto the greased baking tray.


7. Leave to set for 30-60 minutes then enjoy!

The Science

The heat causes the bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3) to break down and release the gas, carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas gets trapped within the sugar, this results in the bubbles in your honeycomb.

honeycomb

Black History Month: 6 Influential Black Scientists

Listicles, , , , , ,

To honour Black History Month, we’ve taken a look at some notable black scientists and what they have achieved in their scientific fields.

1. Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)

The son of a former slave, Benjamin was born in Maryland, USA. In 1753, he produced the first working clock in America, it struck every hour on the hour. Benjamin was also a keen astronomer and worked on calculating lunar and solar eclipses.

2. Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941)

Raised by his mother in South Carolina, USA, Ernest grew up to become an influential biologist. He argued that cells should be studied as a whole under normal conditions, rather than breaking them up and subjecting them to unnatural lab conditions.

3. Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975)

Percy was born in Alabama and went on to study at Harvard University and the University of Vienna in Austria. Percy was an American chemist who focused on researching the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. His work paved the way for the mass production of contraceptive pills and he also worked on large scale synthesis of human hormones, such as testosterone.

 

4. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950)

Charles was the first African American to earn a Doctor of Medical Science degree. During World War II, Charles worked on a revolutionary project called Blood for Britain, he created trucks that stored refrigerated blood that could be transported to soldiers in need. He also set up blood donation centers and ensured all blood was tested and handled correctly. Charles’ work led to the American Red Cross Blood Bank and undoubtedly saved thousands of lives.

5. Maggie Aderin-Pocock (1968)


Born to Nigerian parents, Maggie grew up in London with dyslexia and the ambition of becoming an astronaut. Despite discouraging teachers, she went on to earn a BSc in Physics and a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London. Maggie worked on a project to probe the centre of stars billions of miles away. Maggie is passionate about inspiring young children to pursue careers in science and has presented various BBC science documentaries.

 

6. Mae Jemison (1956)

Mae was the first African American woman to travel in space. She is a keen advocate of science education with a particularly interest in getting more minority students to go into science. Through her own company, the Jemison Group, Mae runs a science camp for children aged 12-16.

 

blackhistorymonth

#TryThisTuesday: Slime!

Try This Tuesday, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

slime

With Halloween coming up, what better time to make some of your very own slime?

It’s super easy and quick to make – you just need to mix water and cornflour! Start with a little bit of both, if it seems too runny you can add more cornflour and if it becomes a solid then add more water.

You can also add food colouring and glitter if you want to add some sparkle to your slime.

The slime should become a consistency that appears to be a liquid but if you hit it or try to stir it quickly it becomes a solid – so which is it?

Liquid or Solid?

Slime isn’t actually a solid or a liquid – it is a non-Newtonian fluid, this is a fluid that changes its properties when a stress or force is applied.

The slime we’ve made is a particular non-Newtonian fluid called oobleck (yes it’s a funny sounding word – that’s because it is derived from a Dr. Seuss book). The particles of cornflour don’t dissolve in the water, they become suspended in the water and repel each other. Mechanical stress, such as stirring quickly provides energy that overwhelms the repulsive forces, causing the particles of cornflour to temporarily stick together. When the stress is removed, the repulsion returns and the slime becomes liquidy again.

More Non-Newtonian Fluids

1. Custard behaves just like oobleck, in fact if you filled an entire swimming pool with custard, you would be able to walk across it!

2. Ketchup is almost the opposite of oobleck – it become thinner and runnier under impact, that’s why it helps to bang the end of a ketchup bottle when you’re struggling the get some out.

3. Whipping cream acts differently when under a constant and prolonged stress, such as whipping. If you whip cream for long enough it will appear to go from liquid to solid as it becomes whipped cream.

4. Honey similarly needs prolonged stress to change it’s properties. When you stir honey, it will become more like a liquid than a solid.

nonnewtonian

World Egg Day: Eggsellent Experiments

Try This Tuesday, , , , , , , , , ,

egg-carton-628x363

Happy world egg day! Here are some cracking eggsperiment that you can at home on this very important day:

Egg in a Bottle

For this experiment you will need a hard boiled egg, an empty plastic bottle, a scrap of paper and a lighter.

Light the paper and drop it into the bottle. After a second place the egg on top of the bottle and observe the results.

The lit paper heats up the air in the bottle, causing it to expand slightly and for some air to escape. The egg creates a seal so more air cannot enter. As the air cools inside the bottle it decreases the pressure and forces the egg into the bottle.

Floating Egg

All you need to try this one is an egg, a glass, water and salt.

Fill you glass half full with tap water and carefully place the egg inside. It should sink. Add some salt until the egg floats. The salt increases the density of the water, when you add enough the egg becomes less dense than the water so floats to the top.

Next dribble spoonfuls of tap water down the side of the glass until it is full. The egg should appear to float in the middle of the glass, it is actually floating on top of the salt water with a layer of fresh water above it.

Hard boiled Spin

Lay a hard boiled egg flat on its side and spin it. Put your finger on it to stop and then let go, nothing remarkably happens there. Try the same with a raw egg and when you let go it will start spinning again on its own accord.

This is all due to momentum. When you spin the eggs you spin their insides too. In the hard boiled egg, the insides are fixed to the shell so it behaves as you would expect. In the raw egg the insides continue to spin after you’ve stopped the shell. When you let go, the momentum of the spinning yolk carries the shell and the whole egg starts spinning again.

 

#TryThisTuesday: Making Plastic from Milk and Vinegar

Try This Tuesday, , , , , , , ,

plastic

Yes – you really can make plastic from just milk and vinegar!

First of all just measure out 120ml of milk (it can be any type, we used semi-skimmed). Either heat your milk in your microwave or in a pan on the hob. It needs to get to around 50 degrees C so 1 or 2 minutes in the microwave should do it.

Next add 2 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar to the hot milk and stir – you should see clumps start to form.

Sieve the mixture to remove the excess liquid. Remove even more liquid with a paper towel or piece of kitchen roll.

You should be left with a clump of plastic which you can mould and shape as you please. It should begin to set in an hour.

image4

The Science

Plastics are polymers meaning they are made up of long chains of repeated molecules (called monomers). The monomer that we have used is called casein and is found in the milk. When the milk is heated the casein molecules unfold. Adding the vinegar causes them to reorganise into a long chain polymer – making it a plastic.

It might look quite different to the plastics you’re used to today but up until the end of World War II in 1945, casein plastics were commonly found.