Poo-powered cars? Algae electricity? Public transport running on kitchen-oil and congealed fat? These are only some of the biofuel alternatives currently being developed!
Many people nowadays walk around with devices tracking their every move. Smartwatches and dedicated fitness trackers allow users to measure many aspects of their daily life and fitness activity.
Aberdeen has grabbed pole position as Scotland’s innovation hotspot, with the resurgent oil and gas sector spearheading research and development (R&D), new research suggests.
It is hoped that recent research into genome editing, which allows scientists to change an organism’s DNA at particular locations in the genome, will lead to the development of new ways to prevent and treat human diseases. However, these also raise ethical questions and concerns.
Inspired perhaps by the Star Trekian line “It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it”, NASA-funded researcher Felisa Wolfe-Simon must have known the hype she’d create when she announced the discovery of a new form of life.
We’ve got X-rays, radio waves and gamma rays, so why not N-rays? Because they don’t actually exist, despite what French scientist René Blondlot would have had you believe.
Another of our researchers once considered to be a pioneering expert in their field before committing career suicide is South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk.
An enquiring mind, a determination to get to the bottom of a problem and a certain confidence in your abilities are all useful traits in a scientist. Astronomical arrogance, less so.
Our next entry in the Scientific Hall of Shame is also one of its least likely. A winner of two Nobel prizes no less, Linus Pauling’s later contributions to the world of healthcare left a lot to be desired.
