Testing for disease 24 hours a day and hidden super talents

Does the time of the day affect how diseases, such as diabetes or cancer, are tested for or treated? Andy and Chris present a prerecorded feature about some research that begins to answer these questions.

Dave, in keeping with a general theme of Musings, tells us all about a very colourful type of hidden 'super power'.

Are you tetrachromatic? What does the world look like to you?

Unfortunately, we can't test on a computer screen for tetracromacy – as the colour can't be replicated by those who can't see it – but we do have some lovely pictures to test for colour blindness. Can you read the number in the image below*?

*Hint: It's the answer to 'Life, the Universe and Everything'.

Why do researchers hate dust?

Following on from our March episode of Musings on the subject of solving the riddle that is the Universe, I once again find myself eating humble pie. Perhaps a better metaphor is biting the dust as researchers on the BICEP2 collaboration, who cautiously announced the discovery of gravitational waves in March, have had to admit the possibility that their findings were nothing but dust. 

All the way back in March the BICEP2 telescope in the South Pole were overjoyed at apparently detecting light from the Big Bang that had tell-tale signs of gravitational waves. These ripples in the cosmic underpants of space-time were apparently signs that the theory of Inflation was a bloody good idea after all and there should be Nobel prizes all round.

The theory of inflation is the idea that in the first instants after the big bang there was a rapid expansion of the entire universe that was faster than the speed of light. Like a shockwave this expansion would have caused the fabric of space and time to ripple out, bending and twisting the light that was finally spat out as the universe spread out. This ‘polarisation’ of the light is what BICEP2 thought it had detected and obviously there were cocktails all round.

Polarisation of light as seen by BICEP2. But does this show gravitational wave – or has dust got in the way?

This discovery would provide a lovely description of why everything is where it is now, sort out our view of particle physics and generally speaking give us the last edge bit in the puzzle of the universe. Unfortunately the universe can also be what some would call ‘a right bastard’.

Something else that can twist or ‘polarise’ light in an interesting way is dust that spread across our galaxy and others a bit like a giant mesh. Originally it was thought that the effects of our Milky Way’s dust on light from the big bang wouldn’t be large enough to cause the results detected by BICEP2. However, new preliminary findings from the Planck telescope that has been patiently scanning the cosmos since 2009, show that the impact of dust in our galaxy might be greater than previously thought. So much so that the gravitational wave findings might be nothing but a big dusty disappointment.

Let us not be dismayed just yet however. If there is one thing this latest news can remind us of, it is that the world of science and technology is an inherently uncertain thing that needs to be treated with care and respect. The minute hardcore science nerds get hold of a potential breakthrough they take to their podcasts and shout out that the world is all figured out now, job done, hooray. This is not the nature of science and it never will be, but by God it can make some exciting headlines.

Hopes remain that the original discovery is still valid and I for one have my fingers crossed. For now at least it is back to crunching numbers, collecting data and arguing over low quality coffee - science at its finest.

For more information and some cracking links around this story head over to Nature for a full scoop with all the trimmings.

Vacuum freezing air!

"What if...." is a great question for scientists to ask.

And I say a cracking – literally – example of this this week. If, like me, you've ever wondered what happen if you put liquid nitrogen in a vacuum then you will simply love the video below. Before you watch it, have a think about what you expect to happen in the video (ignore of this post).

Liquid nitrogen – cold and weird. Vacuum – empty and weird. Combining the two make a great recipe! And what makes this 'what if' question so great is the counter intuitive answer.

What are your 'what if' questions? Got any good videos to share? Tweet them to @Musings Pod.

Build your own window to another world

Our News in Briefs often get overlooked.

They are, well, brief. So I thought I'd expand on one of the stories from our latest episode. Chris told us all about a new type of camera lens, which can be made extremely quickly and cheaply from a polymer solution. Great news for anybody wanting to make a cheap microscope – for example health workers or vets out 'in the field'. 

But a microscope is more than just a lens, there are sample platforms, light sources and focussing dials. What use is making a cheap lens if no one can use it?

Some clever engineers from Stanford University might have just answered this question. And the answer is? Origami!

An origami microscope from engineers in Stanford University.
The paper, published in PLoS ONE, even contained this lovely origami planning sheet.

The authors claim that their origami microscope – called the 'Foldscope' – can be constructed in under 10 minutes, costs less than $1 in parts and can even survive being dropped from a three-storey building!

The designers see the main function of the microscope as being for engaging school children with the 'microworld' – imagine catching a glimpse of a hidden world from a microscope that you printed and built yourself!

The 'Do It Yourself' nature of this microscope reminded me of an experiment that Musings's very own Chris showed Dave and I after we recorded the last episode. Using only a laser pointer, Chris was able to cast a shadow of a drop of water, showing microscopic strands of hair (which might have been yeast colonies). We even saw something moving in the water drop. This was a single bacterium.

Here's a photo that Chris posted on Twitter. You can just about see a bacterium in the bottom left of the image. Cool huh?

Try it yourself. Pass a laser pointer through a drop of water to cast a shadow – you might be amazed by what you see! 

There's something very 'Through The Looking Glass'-ish about peering into the microscopic world that covers our planet, and this 'build it yourself' microscope, published in an open source journal, is an incredible way for scientists to share this world with everybody.

Forgetful mice and supernatural gloves

The plot from Total Recall (the Arnie version, of course) is one step closer to coming true, as a team of scientists appear to have been able to make mice forget past experiences. Dave tells us about these forgetful mice and what it all might mean for science, society and ... penalty shoot outs!

Meanwhile, Chris tells us all about materials inspired by the world around us - can we make materials superior to those found in nature? 

Check out these fantastic all-natural nano-structures!

Sharks appear to be covered with tiny, nano 'teeth'. In this episode of The Musings Pod, Chris explains how this helpes the animals save energy.

A gecko foot holds even more secrets when viewed with a bigger microscope...

.....tiny, sticking hairs.

Would you like to wear some clothing inspired by nature? Not impressed with our #supernaturalsuit suggestions? Well get involved and join the @musingspod discussion on Twitter.

Radio Killed the Optical Illusion

Radio is not a visual medium.

This makes it no less fantastic. I find radio story-telling way more engaging than anything with moving pictures. Sometimes images can distract from a story...

But other times images are needed! Like when the Neural Correlate Society announce their top ten optical illusions of 2014.

How would an optical illusion work without some images? I thought I could use this blog to show off a couple of these illusions because they are eye-strainingly, confusingly, mind-blowingly awesome!

The winner was an animation based on the well-known Ebbinghaus Illusion – you've probably seen this one before, but if not have a look at the image below.



Amazingly, the two orange circles are the same size. It turns out, we perceive an object's size as relative to the objects next to it. Well, things get even crazier if this illusion is animated. 

Pretty impressive – but my favourite illusion has to be The McThatcher Illusion. This is a combination of the Thatcher Illusion and – my personal favourite – the McGurk Effect, in which we literally hear what our eyes are seeing.



Now, I've tried to figure out what is going on in this video. I think that the person is always saying "ba", but if you look at the central dot as the head spins around to nearly upright, an optical illusion make your ears 'think' he's saying "va".

I could be completely wrong about this, but one thing for certain is that it's the most surreal-ly disturbing optical illusion I have ever seen.

Check out some of the other Top Ten Optical Illusions of 2014.

Have you seen any weird optical illusions? Please share them below if you have.

Killers, Cures and a Walk in the Park

Yes the time has finally come! The latest episode of the Musings Podcast is now live!

Andy takes us on an epic journey through the deadly history of one of our greatest weapons against cancer, Dave goes for a walk to get a bit of inspiration, and Chris plays Rock - Paper - Scissors... It's just possible that Andy wins this week.

Check it out now and make sure to stop back here to get some extra details on the stories discussed in the show!

Welcome to Musings from Musings!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather round and welcome to Musings from Musings, the official blog of The Musings Podcast!

If a monthly dose of science, current events and general nonsense just isn't enough then you can keep up to date with the scientific shenanigans of Chris, Dave and Andy right here!

As well as more in depth follow ups of topics covered in the show we'll be throwing down regular tantalising tidbits from the world of science and technology to keep you going until our next installment.

And if THAT isn't enough you can follow us on twitter @MusingsPod for more factual frolicking and inane jabber.

Let the blogging begin! And of course - follow the podcast itself right here: https://soundcloud.com/the-musings-podcast