TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Pick for Environment Post Raises Some Eyebrows Michael R. Bloomberg chose a City Hall assistant, Caswell F. Holloway IV, raising the eyebrows of some policy experts. feeds.nytimes.com |
3 Companies to Stop Using a Chemical Chemtura, Albemarle and ICL Industrial Produces reached a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency to stop using a fire retardant in their consumer products. feeds.nytimes.com |
Ban on 'legal highs' in force from today GBL, BZP and chemical sprays now classed as controlled substances after series of high-profile deaths linked to the drugsA ban on a range of so-called legal highs came into force today.The ban covers GBL, BZP and manmade chemicals sprayed on herbal smoking products such as Spice, which are now classed as controlled substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.The crackdown comes after the high-profile case of medical student Hester Stewart, 21, who died in Brighton in April after taking GBL.Her mother, Maryon, said the new rules did not go far enough because GBL had been classified only as a class C illegal drug. "In America, it is schedule A, which is the equivalent of a class A drug here," she said.The home secretary, Alan Johnson, said: "We are sending out a clear message to anyone who is thinking about experimenting with [the drugs], particularly over the festive period, that not only are they putting themselves in danger, they will also be breaking the law."Fifteen anabolic steroids are also to be controlled as class C drugs, alongside two growth promoters.Drugs policyDrugsDrugsLawguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Baby koala treated for slug-gun shots A baby koala is an induced coma on the Sunshine Coast in south-east Queensland after being shot with a slug-gun. abc.net.au |
1001 Inventions Science Museum, London SW7 This small but important show educates and amuses in equal measureThey gave us our number system; built the first university; left us with the names for many of the stars we see at night; formalised the use of zero in mathematics; and provided us with a huge array of words, from giraffe to crimson and from traffic to cheque. For a millennium they chronicled the work of the ancient Greeks, Indians and Chinese while developing their own expertise in surgery, water and wind power, optics, agriculture and other subjects. While Europe shivered in the dark ages, the Arab world kept scholarship alive. Hence the importance of 1001 Inventions, the Science Museum's homage to Muslim science â which turns out to be surprisingly enjoyable.For a start, there are the goodies that curators have been able to move from the vaults to help illustrate the exhibition: a beautifully ornate astrolabe, used to measure the position of stars and planets; an 11th-century alembic used to distil chemicals; and a plate with rows of numbers all adding up to the value of 194. All fascinating stuff.However, there is a more spectacular side to the exhibition, which is aimed, unashamedly, at family audiences. For example, there is a marvellous reconstruction of the great clock designed by al-Jazari. Powered by water, the 16ft high machine marks each half hour with rattling drums and moving serpents.Even more spectacular is the exhibition's astronomy display. In a darkened room, stars shine on a huge screen. Simply by moving a hand, a visitor can then select one of several constellations and move each across the screen until it fits over the correct part of the sky. It sounds easier than it is, but is utterly absorbing fun.In all, this is a quite wonderful little exhibition, filled with surprises. It is easy on the eye but is still dense with information (there are over 100 pages of information deftly secreted around the displays).Exhibitionsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |