Dear Seven Billionth Child, You are being born into an unfair world. Health, happiness and fulfilment are possible, but throughout your life you must strive to do one thing: seek equality. My advice is from a political ideology. It is not from an inner moral conviction. It is from cold, hard facts. If you are … Continue reading
Today, Dr Stu’s blog is one year old - cue the cake and candles! This little experiment to write about science, health and technology in an understandable way has been extremely well received and continues to be read by an increasing number of people. After a few weeks of writing practice, the blog officially went … Continue reading
“Spare the rod and spoil the child” Last week I received an odd request from a local radio station. They phoned to ask if I would take part in an on-air discussion about parenting issues – I was more than a little bemused. Having no experience of parenting (babysitting doesn’t count) – I felt ill … Continue reading
We sure love popping pills. In the last two decades, popular culture has decreed that three basic meals a day isn’t enough: modern-day healthy living needs something more - supplements. Despite a global economic downturn, the world’s appetite for dietary supplements remains insatiable; every year we collectively swallow over fifty billion dollars of minerals, … Continue reading
That’s right, being fat is your fault after all. Yesterday, the UK minister for health, Andrew Lansley jabbed his not-too-chubby finger at the overweight far lacking insight into their food addiction. In a rally-call to the 60% of overweight adult Britons, his announced a new ‘national ambition’ is to cut out the hamburgers and go … Continue reading
Ok, so I didn’t win. Still, getting short-listed from over 800 for the Guardian/Observer Wellcome Trust Science Writing competition isn’t too shabby, so I shan’t get down in the dumps. Besides, the canapés at the award ceremony were worth the trip alone (tuna topped with salmon caviar - Oolala!). Up until know, all the entries have needed … Continue reading
Scientists don’t normally make much money. But Nobel Prize winners Perlmutter, Riess and Schmidt don’t need worry about being short of cash anymore. They can forget eating instant noodles and cobbling together loose change to keep the electricity meter running. Winning the highest accolade in science is more than luck. It wasn’t their lucky stars … Continue reading
Have you ever done a ‘leadership’ exercise? I’m sure you know the sort of thing - You’re on a corporate “training day” and after being placed into arbitrary groups in a stuffy meeting room, you are given a handful of straws, paperclips and plastic cups and told to build a tower that reaches the ceiling. … Continue reading