These are the top 5 science news stories from Sciencebase this month
- The heat is on for thermal imaging – The heat is on – Designer and thermal photographer Joseph Giacomin of Brunel University contacted me about his book – Seeing the World Through 21st Century Eyes. “The book,” he told me, “provides a visual journey through the world around us through the medium of thermal photography, hopefully stimulating questions about both the effect of man’s activity on the environment and the nature of our perceptual relationship with the environment.”
- Wi-Fi by LED light – Forget Fanny by Gaslight…an LED light went on for German physicist Harald Haas who suggests that we could utilise LED lightbulbs as an alternative route for connecting to the Internet without disrupting the use of those LEDs for simple illumination.
- A tale of Tamiflu – Tamiflu (Roche) and Relenza (GSK) have been the drugs of choice to treat flu patients with severe complications like pneumonia. Governments all over the world bought and stored the drugs to be prepared. But, apparently, the data proving the efficacy of these drugs are weak!
- Lunar solstice eclipse – If you're in the UK, you're going to have to be up early and have a clear view of the horizon to catch sight of the lunar eclipse on the Winter Solstice. Well, I'd love to, but the fog and ice this morning? Even an ubergeek like me ain't getting out of bed at 6am for that…sorry.
- Sunlight exposure and vitamin D advice – Several newspapers have reported on new advice for sun exposure and vitamin D. Vitamin D is necessary to absorb calcium and form healthy bones. However, too much sun also raises the risk of skin cancer. Several large UK health organisations have made a joint statement about how much sun exposure would boost health without putting people at risk of its damaging effects.