The University of Cambridge rang in its 800th anniversary with church bells and a light show on Saturday the 17th. The light show, created by projection artist Ross Ashton, included specially commissioned illustrations of Cambridge alumni Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton by Roald Dahl’s illustrator, Quentin Blake. Above, a graying Darwin ponders the tree of life, whose branches recapitulate the origins of the species. Other images evoked the scientific, musical, and debaucherous achievements of 800 years of Cambridge students and alumni.
See all the photos at Science Magazine’s new Darwin blog [html].
Cameron Hummels in his observatory, 2009. Photo: Lucas Laursen.
The telescope room atop Pupin Hall at Columbia University offers a stunning view of the night sky and the New York City skyline. Astronomy Ph.D. candidate Cameron Hummels even considered moving his desk and computer up to the rooftop shed before concluding that his computer would not last long without heat or air conditioning. As much as Hummels would like to be near the telescopes all the time, the discoveries he wants to make also require computers, and there’s a lot at stake: “I love the fact that I could potentially make a difference,” he says, “in how we identify the underlying principles of nature.”
Kirsten Timmons was navigating a frozen overpass one night when a passing car skidded out of control and slammed into her vehicle. As her car came to a stop, Timmons’s head probably snapped around its own axis, decelerating sharply when it struck the seat-belt holder next to her. Continue reading Duct Tape for the Brain→
LONDON–When scientists move into new laboratory buildings, their universities often proclaim the event with a ribbon cutting and champagne. Yet when the first mice arrived at the University of Oxford’s new animal research facility last week, officials waited to make the announcement until a press conference here today. Rather than enthusiastically providing details about the building’s inhabitants–animals and researchers included–Oxford officials spent much of the media encounter declining to answer questions and asking that names of those involved with the building not be used. Continue reading Oxford Cagey About New Animal Labs→
Journalist covering global development by way of science and technology.
