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| From Mozart to black holes, 350 years of the Royal Society Britain's academy of the sciences marks anniversary with online archive including letters from Newton and Captain CookIsaac Newton held a clear glass prism to the sunbeam that penetrated the shutters of his darkened room and watched in awe as the wall of his office danced with all the colours of the rainbow.The 28-year-old physicist at Trinity College, Cambridge, was the first to show that white light is a blend of primary colours, a discovery that explains why grass is green and the sky is blue.His written account of the experiment in 1671 is among the oldest in a collection of scientific milestones described in Letters to the Royal Society, which are made public today to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Britain's academy of science. The documents are released through an online library project called Trailblazing, a name inspired by Newton's famous nod to the work of his predecessors in a note to his rival Robert Hooke: "If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."The letters to the society record the march of science from the earliest blood transfusions, and attempts to capture lightning, to the confirmation of Einstein's theory of relativity, the discovery of DNA and Stephen Hawking's first musings on black holes. The letters reveal a history of failure eclipsed by success, and the maturation of science from a haphazard amateur pursuit to the systematised professionalism of today."At that time the only scientists who were in any sense professionals were astronomers and maybe medical doctors, and of the two, the astronomers were the only ones who probably did more good than harm," said Professor Martin Rees, the astronomer royal and president of the society. "If you look at these records, you can't help but notice the immense range of interests they had. They were motivated by curiosity."There is the letter from the chemist Robert Boyle, asking the physician Richard Lower about the consequences of transfusing blood from one animal into another. Does a dog lose its quirks after transfusion and gain those of the donor? Does blood from a big dog make a small dog grow? Can you safely replace a frog's blood with blood from a calf, and might that change one species into another? The answers were no, no, no and no.That did not stop Lower moving on to human experiments, paying an "addle-brained" man 20 shillings to receive blood from a lamb. There were hopes it might cure the man's mental condition, but when Samuel Pepys, a president of the society, questioned the physician afterwards, Lower noted that his subject was still "a little cracked in the head".A letter from Benjamin Franklin from 1752 dispels the myth that lightning is a supernatural force. He recounts an experiment in Philadelphia that he was lucky to survive, involving a thunderstorm and a kite armed with a long metal spike.Franklin had a keen eye for the appliance of science. On witnessing the Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon flight, the polymath declared such a device might be strapped to one's errand boy, so he could hop over hedges more swiftly as he ran from house to house. Or, Franklin mused, it could carry wine to great altitude and keep it cool.In 1769, the English naturalist Daines Barrington wrote to the society after a barrage of tests confirmed that Mozart was indeed a child genius. Barrington visited the eight-year-old at his parents' home, and asked him to play scores he had never seen and to compose on the spot. "His execution was amazing, considering his little fingers could scarcely reach a 5th on the harpsichord," Barrington wrote on hearing one recital.He vouched for Mozart's age, by confirming birth certificate detail and documenting his behaviour. "Whilst he was playing to me, a favourite cat came in, upon which he immediately left his harpsichord, nor could we bring him back for a considerable time," he wrote. "He would also sometimes run about the room with a stick between his legs by way of horse."After a safe return to Britain aboard HMS Resolution, Captain James Cook wrote to the Royal Society in 1776 to disclose how he saved his crew from scurvy by filling the hold with "sweet-wort", sauerkraut, lemons and vegetables. One sailor died of an unrelated disease. "Two others were unfortunately drowned, and one killed by a fall; so of the whole number with which I set out from England I lost only four," Cook wrote.Scientific progress brought inevitable clashes with scripture. The fossilised remains of elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses in Kirkdale, Yorkshire, were not washed there by a biblical flood, but showed life on Earth had existed for millions of years, noted the Rev William Buckland in 1822.To mark the anniversary, the society is calling leading researchers together to thrash out the biggest issues for modern science. Feeding the world and providing clean, green energy will doubtless feature, as will more basic questions on the nature of ageing and consciousness."Our world is completely transformed through the application of scientific concepts which could not even be conceived of at the time the society was founded," said Rees. "New questions come into focus as old ones are answered. The important thing about science is it's an unending quest."The rise of the 'invisible college'The Royal Society emerged from an "invisible college" of natural philosophers who met in London in the 1640s to discuss the ideas of Francis Bacon. It became a formal society at Gresham College in November 1660 and included prominent names of the time such as architect Christopher Wren, scientist Robert Boyle and John Wilkins, inventor of the metric system.The society held weekly meetings where experiments were described or performed before the audience. In a royal charter of 1663, the group was officially named as The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge.It is the world's oldest scientific academy in continuous existence, with more than 60 Nobel laureates among its 1,400 fellows and foreign members. Since 1967, it has occupied a row of buildings overlooking St James's Park in London.Every year, the society names 44 scientists as fellows in recognition of their scientific achievements.The accolade is the highest a scientist can have, short of a Nobel prize. Existing fellows include neuroscientist Dame Nancy Rothwell, astronomer Jocelyn Bell-Burnell and Cambridge cosmologist Stephen Hawking.PhysicsAstronomyMedical researchNutritionPeople in scienceHeritageWolfgang Amadeus MozartIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Am I too nice to get a girlfriend? The Guardian's Evolutionary Agony Aunt Carole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers' problemsMan up!From Stephen, age 24What can I do to get a girlfriend? I have been in a few two-year relationships, and I've had the occasional date. But I'm the kind of guy that girls don't tend to look at twice when they see me out and about. I'm 5ft 6in (1.7m), small build, and not all that good looking. I am active and hard working, and I've been going to the gym every day for two months to build myself up. But I still don't have much luck! Past girlfriends tell me that I'm too much of a nice guy and I've got to "man up". Carole repliesResearch has shown that taller males have more mating opportunities. But other research has found that when looking for long-term breeding partners physical attractiveness and sexiness is far less important to females than commitment and social skills. I'm guessing you are dating women of a similar age to yourself; past girlfriends may have said you are too nice, but they were not at the settling-down stage in their life. When you get into your thirties women looking for long-term commitment will be attracted to your naturally cooperative personality. Having a "gsoh" (that's "good sense of humour" in Lonely Hearts parlance) is considered to be a desirable social skill, so brush up on your repertoire of jokes and stop worrying!Dunbar, R, (2000) Male mating strategies: a modelling approach. In: P Kappeler (ed), Primate Males, Cambridge University Press, pp 259-268.Dunbar, R, Wayforth, D. (1995) Condition mate choice strategies in humans, evidence from "Lonely Hearts" advertisements. Behaviour 132: 755-779.Single for four years?From Ellie, age 36I'm a 36-year-old female, and have been single for four years. I'm young looking, told I'm attractive most days, have a wide circle of friends and am educated to postgraduate level and in a successful career. I am having little success meeting a suitable man to settle down with however. What could I do to improve my chances? Carole replies:You describe yourself as sociable, solvent, attractive and intelligent. Many highly eligible females, like yourself, find searching for a mate a soulless process. A female chimpanzee leaves her natal group and transfers to other chimp communities for breeding proposes. She will have no family or friends to welcome her and thus on joining the new group she must accept the lowest status and try to build on her lowly position. Maybe in your search for a mate you need to move right away from your wide circle of friends. Join adult education classes or a new sports club, or music group – find a social centre where there will be a wide selection of males and females unknown to you. In this situation you will have to rely on your sexually selected physical and behavioural charms to win over strangers. He can't sleep …From Rosa D, no age givenOur 14-year-old son reports that for the last couple of months he has found it very hard to get to sleep at night. He normally goes to bed around 9.30-10pm in the week as he has to get up early (6.45am) for school. Obviously, I don't want him to get stressed about it as this will only make it worse. Carole replies:As an adolescent, your son is at the transitional stage between childhood and adulthood that is unique to humans. All other apes go from being juveniles to young adults with little time to practise adult-like behaviour before it counts. You will need to be flexible and accommodate his behavioural and physical changes as he continues to develop. Apart from the owl monkey, the higher primates are predominantly diurnal (active during daylight hours) but so-called cathemeral sleep patterns are frequently exhibited. Cathemeral behaviour means that several naps are interspersed with activity over a 24-hour period. Cathemerality can benefit individuals, for example during times of competitive feeding, capture of prey and avoidance of predators. Chimps have been observed to hunt at night, and some humans, perhaps including your son, feel more alert after dusk.Trust your maternal instincts. Get him to talk to you about school: he may have some worries. A few other tips. Primates are highly mobile animals and adapted to walking, leaping and climbing: in other words your son needs daily exercise to tire himself out before sleep. You should also feed him up at suppertime and at bedtime give him a warm milk drink. Tell him no predators are coming and to read his chemistry textbook in bed, which will soon send him to sleep. Tattersall, I, (2008) Avoiding commitment, cathemerality among primates. Biological Rhythm Research, vol 39, issue 3, June, pp 213-228.You can email your questions to Carole by clicking here (they don't have to be about relationships). Please put "Ask Carole" in the subject line.Terms and conditionsPlease say whether you wish to be named in connection with your enquiry and if so by what name. We reserve the right to edit questions. If you mail us a question, you agree that your email may be published on the site.We regret that Carole cannot answer all the mails we receive. We cannot provide urgent advice and suggest that if you need such advice you seek it immediately without waiting for a response from Carole. With regards to legal, medical or financial issues, we recommend seeking the advice of a listed professional. We will not be held liable for any loss, damage or injury you incur as a result of using this site or as a result of any advice given. We will not enter into personal correspondence via email.Carole is UK-based and as such any advice she gives is intended for a UK audience only.EvolutionPsychologyBiologyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
'Bumper year' for botanical finds Almost 300 species - including giant trees and tiny fungi - have been described for the first time by UK botanists in 2009. news.bbc.co.uk |
Managing Disasters With Small Steps Some innovative organizations are involving local people in building or rebuilding infrastructure in developing countries. feeds.nytimes.com |
Anti-obesity drug Reductil banned Sibutramine blamed for increasing patients' chances of suffering a heart attack or strokeOne of the country's most commonly prescribed anti-obesity drugs has been banned across Europe after it was blamed for increasing patients' chances of suffering a heart attack or a stroke.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) ordered doctors across the continent to stop prescribing sibutramine and told pharmacists not to dispense the drug, which is marketed in the UK as Reductil.The watchdog's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) acted after a study of 9,800 patients said the risks of sibutramine outweighed its minimal benefits.About 86,000 people took the drug last year. It is prescribed alongside lifetsyle changes for patients who are classed as clinically obese, because they have a Body Mass Index of at least 30, and also in profoundly overweight people who also have a condition such as type 2 diabetes or abnormal levels of fat in their blood.Users should not worry and should arrange to see their family doctor to be put on an alternative treatment, according to EMA advice last night, which was endorsed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).Dr June Raine, from the MHRA said: "Evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes with this medicine that outweigh the benefits of weight loss, which is modest and may not be sustained in the long term after stopping treatment."Anyone currently using the weight-loss aid should not face any implications for their health if they decided to stop taking it before seeing their GP, Raine added.There has been concern about the safety of sibutramine since it was first licensed for use in the EU in 1999. Initially it was felt that the drug's benefits overrode the risks involved.ObesityDrugsDrugsHealth & wellbeingHealthDenis Campbellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |