H G Wells The Answer To The Riddle Before Your Eyes Inspired by the work of Charles Darwin, Finnish symphonic metal group Nightwish's latest album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful is 'an equal tribute to science and the power of reason', exploring the theory of
Bioengineering Ghost Heart Decellularisation methods could provide organs to relieve an over-subscribed waiting list for solid organ transplant and reduce the demand for immunosuppressive drugs. (This is an abridged version of an article I wrote in
Ghosts Unfinished Business Many of us, at some point in our lives, have witnessed a 'ghostly' encounter. It may have been resolved - revealed as the trailing fingers of a tree's branches in the wind, or
Astrobiology The International Space Station - A Life Raft For Micro-Organisms? Russian astronauts collecting samples during a recent spacewalk from the International Space Station (ISS) may have stumbled upon something surprising. Having taken samples from illuminators and the surface of the space station, they
Bioengineering Community, Identity, Stability - Social Control In Huxley's 'Brave New World' Ridley Scott has had a successful relationship with Science Fiction, notably through the 'Alien' series and his adaptation of Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' into the cult-classic 'Bladerunner'. He has
Supernatural Devil On Your Back - Sleep Paralysis Have you ever woken to find you're unable to move or call out, maybe with the feeling that there is someone else in the room? If so, you may have experienced a condition
Bioengineering Growing Meat In A Laboratory, Part II This is Part II in a series of articles about in vitro meat and how it has been portrayed in fiction. You can find Part I here, or jump straight in if you're
Bioengineering Growing Meat In A Laboratory, Part I We live in a world of injustice, where millions of people in the Western world are overweight and suffering from related health problems while millions more are starving. Farming of livestock is criticised
Harry Potter Of Sirens And Selkies, Part II This is Part II of an article covering the science of mermaids. In Part I, I noted the depiction of mermaids through history and identified some biological features of humans that would help
Atmosphere Conquering The Red Planet Dutch Project ‘Mars One’ has gained media attention recently for its ambitious plans to colonise Mars in just under a decade’s time. (Please note that this is an abridged version of an
Harry Potter Of Sirens And Selkies, Part I All the prominent creatures of mythology seem to go through a period when they are in vogue, usually thanks to a YA (Young Adult) readership providing a cult-like and enthusiastic following for a
Mars One Cosmic Nightmares Astronaut hibernation, 'stasis' or 'hypersleep' has allowed writers of fiction to move their protagonists into deep space, overcoming both the problems of long-distance space travel and allowing for swifter movement of the plot.
Dracula Vampires Will Never Hurt You Depictions of vampires over time have ranged vastly, from a decaying zombie-like figure kept alive only by draining the life force of other beings, to the dangerously intelligent and charismatic vampire of modern
Atwood Playing Prometheus Bioengineering has experienced vast developments in recent years, providing solutions to a number of real-world problems. Genetically-modified crops can help solve food shortages, gene therapy has been instrumental in providing relief for sufferers
Tolkien The Tinkerbell Deception Having followed the fairy fire in last week's post, it's time to come face-to-face with the creatures behind the Will-o'-the-wisp. Depictions of fairies in recent popular culture have been preoccupied with the plausibility
Atmosphere Permission To Land Dutch Project 'Mars One' has gained media attention recently for its ambitious plans to colonise Mars in just under a decade's time. On the 11th Jan this year, it was announced that 3
Tolkien Here Be Dragons Following the release of the second installment in the film adaptation trilogy of Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' this Winter, I have dragons on my mind. I'm sure I'm not the only one who believed