My most viewed post of the year!

Happy New Years Eve! As it's the last day of the year, I thought its only right to take a look back at my most viewed most of the year - Enjoy the new years celebration!









Most pets liked being stroked, I do know a cat who hates it and runs a million miles every time I come near him but most cats like it!

Stroking a cat or dog releases a hormone called oxytocin. This hormone is actually released in both the owner and the animal, lowering blood pressure and reducing anxiety. Scientists assume that because these feelings are obviously pleasurable to both the owner and pet over time we've 'learnt' to continue. But why have we learnt? Scientists say that it's kind of like natural selection. This is because it's pretty much a huge survival advantage for many animals to be domesticated because not only we benefit from them but our pets get a free home, food and so on. It's this scientists believe is the reason why animals love us stroking them - a feeling which is gotten stronger over time mirroring a much smaller scale of evolution. Now, we've reached a stage where they (well most of them :) ) enjoy our company and vice versa. 

Tim Peake's Christmas Card | #SciSparksAdvent

Happy Christmas Eve! As we're only one sleep away from the big day - I thought I'd share Tim Peake's Christmas card this year!

As Tim said on Twitter, this is a Christmas card he never thought he'd send!  Having said that I reckon he needs to improve his space somersault skills! :)

Christmas Day Full Moon! | #SciSparksAdvent

There's going to be a full moon on Christmas day - one of the brightest full moons. The last time this happened on Christmas day was 1977. 

Stargazers will be given a rare treat this Christmas day as the final full moon of the year peaks on 25 December.

The last time a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas was in 1977, and the event won't happen again until 2034. 

December's full moon is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs during the beginning of winter and it will peak at 06.11 EST (23.11 GMT Christmas Eve). 

See more http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3371709/Rare-Cold-Moon-brighten-sky-Christmas-day-Lunar-event-38-years-won-t-happen-2034.html

Reindeers | #SciSparksAdvent

For obvious reasons - reindeers are mostly known for their link to Santa Claus and make the ideal sleigh pullers. Aside from Christmas, they're more usually seen during their mammoth Arctic migration -  during this, North American herds may travel for more than 5,000km.
Reindeers are also the only kind of deer where both males and females sport antlers, although they still can reach epic proportions in male reindeers.


Throughout the year, Reindeer mostly eat grass but they also take a fancy to virtually any other plant. In the winter - they often eat 'Reindeer lichen', moss and fungi. They are also very sociable creatures, living in groups of 10-100 groups.


As far as breeding is concerned, they mate in October and have a pregnancy of 230 days and give birth in May or June. When they do so, they only give birth to one baby who becomes fully mature at 2 years old. In the wild, they live to between 12 and 15 years old, although some live until they're 20.

Like many animals, they're hunted and have been hunted since the stone age. In northern regions in particular, they eat the meat and use the fur, skin, antlers and bones for various products. The reindeer was first domesticated around 3,000 years ago in Siberia and Scandinavia. Since then, they've been used for transport and pulling sleds. Because they can live in very cold climates - this makes them the ideal animals for the job.  

How much does Santa's Sleigh weigh? | #SciSparksAdvent

7 days to go!

If we're trying to work out how much his sleigh actually weighs, you need to make a lot of assumptions. Lets say that every child on Earth receives Buzz Lightyears - these have a boxed weight of 1.2kg - in total that's 840,000 tonnes of toys. These require a staggering 5.6 million reindeer to pull. Each reindeer weighs around 600lb - so the whole procession has a mass of 2,363,310.33 tonnes - Santa needs a few more than 7 reindeer!

Throwback Thursday - 2014 Christmas Lectures | #SciSparksAdvent

As the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are coming up, I thought you might like to be reminded of the Christmas Lectures last year, so here's the first episode from last year's lectures.

What will Tim Peake's expedition do for UK science? | #SciSparksAdvent

Personally for Tim, he'll be able to carry out experiments which could lead to revolutionary developments. He's also acting as a guinea pig - allowing people back on Earth to monitor how his body is adapting or changing as a result of the zero gravity. During his 6 month voyage, his bones will get weaker  - he has to do 2 hours of exercise a day to combat this. When he returns it will take around a year for his body to completely get over the effects of being in zero gravity. He'll also be able to pass on his experiences - even just the view. Understandably many astronauts who have previously flown in space say that's the one thing which truly changes you - seeing it with your own eyes, and when you return you can truly appreciate it. This, apparently is known as the overview effect. It's also pioneering in the sense that no British person has done what Tim's doing. He's the first British astronaut to be spending a term on board the ISS. Other British astronauts have flown in space - Helen Sharman became the first British Citizen to travel in space when she visited the Soviet space station Mir in 1991. Others have flown either as private individuals or by taking up US citizenship.

School children across the UK can finally relate to someone on board the ISS - someone with a British accent - coming from a town near them. Follow him on Twitter @astro_timpeake where he'll hopefully be posting updates from the ISS. Whilst he's on board he's got lots of exciting plans - including opportunities for school children to link up with him on the ISS. This is the first time he's been on the ISS and no doubt he'll make the most of it.

Good luck Tim!

Tim Peake's Launch | #SciSparksAdvent

Day 15




Today, at exactly 11:03, the first Briton to work on board the ISS launched. He waved his friends and family off from the launch pad in Kazakhstan - as Dallas Campbell put it, what a way to get to the office! Once Tim and the other two crew members have completed the 6 hour journey to the ISS, Tim's main role will be to complete experiments but he also wants to make the most of his time up there - he really wants to inspire kids and adults alike and show them the wonder of space and science.


At exactly 17:33 GMT, the Soyuz docked with the ISS after they'd completed a manual docking -  a couple of hours later, pressurisation checks had been completed - the hatch was opened and him and the crew floated into their home for the next 6 months.
The flight was relatively problem free - launch was completed in probably the best conditions possible. When it came to docking however, there was a slight issue which meant they had to complete a manual docking. We're still not sure what the issue was - this caused a delay in opening the hatch as the crew sent back data before putting the Soyuz in 'sleep mode'. This is such an important step because the Soyuz is their 'lifeboat' if there's an issue on board the ISS the crew can transfer to the Soyuz and quickly return to Earth.





Tim has embarked on an amazing adventure for himself and Britain - good luck Tim!


18/12 update: Tim has recently revealed on Twitter that his first space meal was a hot bacon sandwich and he'd also just found his tea - some things never change, wherever you are! :)

Sea Otters | #BigBlueLive #SciSparksAdvent

For day 10 of my advent calendar, I thought we'd have a flashback to this summer's Big Blue Live. You may remember that the Sea Otters of Monterey Bay stole the show!They relax on the waters just of the coast of America and surprisingly are fairly closely related to the weasel. They are perfectly adapted to spend their days lolling back on the water, with their thick fur they can stay warm and toasty

I thought I'd leave you with some of my favorite sea otter pictures.... (prepare for a overload of cuteness!)

What slows your Wi-Fi? | #SciSparksAdvent

Research has shown that there might be more to a slow internet connection than first meets the eye. Check out this article for more information -
"Christmas lights may be crippling your WiFi, or at least that was the takeaway from headlines circulating earlier this week.
The claim isn’t simply fodder for the #WarOnChristmas debate. It’s based on some basic principles of physics.
But how bad is the problem and should you toss those twinkle lights in the trash so you can stream Love Actually without interruption? The answer depends on where your WiFi router is in relationship to the holiday lights and the size of those sparkling strands.
WiFi uses radio waves to communicate. Radio waves fall into a family of radiant energy known as the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwaves, infrared beams, visible light, ultraviolet rays and gamma rays are all part of this family. Like relatives arguing at the holiday dinner table, sometimes these waves interfere with each other.
The biggest pest for WiFi tends to be microwaves. If you stick your router next to a microwave oven and warm up a bowl a soup, you might notice a few connectivity issues. That’s because high-powered microwaves often operate at a frequency — 2.4GHz — used by most WiFi devices. Switch on the microwave, and your laptop can no longer distinguish between the WiFi signals and energy being produced by heating your Hot Pocket. Cell phones, bluetooth gadgets, some baby monitors, and cordless phones (remember those?) can create the same problem and interfere with your download speed.
Back to holiday lights. Their incandescent and LED bulbs emit light. Also, their wires are typically unshielded, meaning the electromagnetic radiation created by electricity pulsing through the cord can produce a very weak electromagnetic field.
More lights may mean a stronger field, thanks to a physical concept called linear superposition. Light waves, like all forms of electromagnetic radiation, moves in waves like water."
From -
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/war-on-christmas-lights-wifi-interference/

The Changing Arctic | #SciSparksAdvent

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the Earth as a whole. The Arctic is vast - it spans about 11 square kilometres, yet around 4 million people live there. The harsh environment brings extreme conditions, winter darkness and very brief summers. The issue of climate change is one that's still being debated but one thing's for sure, climate change in the Arctic is real. Mathematical models produced show that in 100 years we could be looking at an Arctic, 3-6C higher than today. The spring snow thaw is now happening earlier, on top of warmer winters it's putting many species' lives at risk. As far as soils are concerned, the Arctic has a complete range - from rocky mineral soils and mountain areas to polar deserts. 22% of the Northern hemisphere has permafrost (snow that doesn't thaw throughout the year), the Arctic has most of the permafrost. In some locations the permafrost is 3 million years old and even about 1.5km thick. However because of climate change some of this permafrost is melting - along with its 3 million year history. Towards the south throughout much of the tundra (ecosystems where tree growth is limited because of low temperatures) when the permafrost thaws, surface ponds drain away. Although this doesn't sound like much of an issue, the ponds host billions of species such as insect larvae, migratory birds and the predators that feed on them. Having said that, in other areas, further North, the permafrost thaw can lead to the formation of new ponds - this of course increases the biodiversity. We can also learn more about the organisms that lived long ago, how they coped with climate change and we can learn more about our natural world. Above all, the Arctic is facing a new challenge - global warming and if we continue to lower our carbon dioxide emissions and work towards reducing climate change, it's not too late.

I'm a Celebrity... Get me out of Here!!!! | #SciSparksAdvent

Last night, I'm a Celebrity crowned it's new Queen of the Jungle, Vicky Pattison - the show was a lively one but once again, it's come under fire this series for how animals are treated. Some animal charities (like Peta- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have raised concerns about the use of live animals during trials. This was particularly the case during Ferne McCann's trial where she ate a number of things including a live spider. The show also saw live crickets, cockroaches and snakes used. It's not just animal charities who are worried, the watching public was too, so much so, Ofcom received 553 complaints last night alone. So - do you think animals aren't treated like they should be in these shows? ITV does say that they comply with all the necessary regulations, do we treat the "cute and cuddly" animals better than the others? Have your say in the comments below.

Follow me on Twitter!! | #SciSparksAdvent

Keep updated with everything that's happening by following me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks!

The Smell of Pine | #SciSparksAdvent

By now you might be thinking of putting up your Christmas tree, if you've ever wondered what fills your house with that amazing pine smell - here's that chemical.

Image taken from Compound Interest

What is our nervous system? | #SciSparksAdvent

Without our Nervous System, our life would be very, very different. For a start, we simply wouldn’t be able to feel pain. Take a candle for example, if we couldn’t feel pain then we would just leave our hand far too close to the flame but because we do have a very advanced Nervous System we’re able to take our hand away as quickly as possible without becoming too burnt!

Your body is home to a network of neurones and passages which send messages all over your body – all to keep you out of harm’s way. Your nervous system is one huge evolutionary product – the first nervous tissue actually came about in wormlike organisms 550 to 600 million years ago.

Your nervous system is made up of two components - the CNS (Central Nervous System) and the PNS (Peripheral Nervous System).

The CNS – This contains the brain and spinal cord. Most of your central nervous system is enclosed within your body that is apart from something called the “olfactory epithelium”. It’s a specialised area of tissue inside the nasal cavity involved in smell. Scientists say that because it is exposed this might be a potential avenue for further treatments relating to your CNS.

The PNS – This mainly consists of nerves, pairs of nerves that originate from the brain, enclosed in bundles of long fibres. It connects the CNS to every other part of the body.

Surprisingly your nervous system controls your heart rate. The job of which is done by chemoreceptors. These are found in the walls of your carotid arteries. They detect changes in pH as a result of a change in CO₂ concentration. When your blood CO₂ concentration is too low, your chemoreceptors detect a pH drop. They then send impulses to the section of the medulla oblongata ( a region of the brain) responsible for increasing heart rate. This section of the brain then sends impulses to a node in your heart. Your heart rate is now faster and the pH can return to normal.

Christmas Countdown: 21 sleeps to go!

Bank Card Readers | #SciSparksAdvent

By now, you've probably started thinking about your Christmas shopping and you might pay for a lot of it on a debit or credit card, but how do those card readers actually work? Well, when you insert your card, the machine works to read the information along the magnetic strip, the machines also make electrical contact with the embedded chip on the card - the users pin is then encrypted, once you've typed in the correct pin, the payment is authorized!

Happy shopping!

Could our moon have a moon? | #SciSparksAdvent

Day 2

Although it's scientifically possible, astronomers are pretty certain it doesn't. If this system did exist, it's likely that the gravitational pull from Earth would quickly destabilize the moon's moon eventually pulling it out of orbit, although it's certainly possible if the moon was small and it was far away from Earth that it wouldn't adjust our tidal forces - but it may well be a reality on some similar planet far, far away from us!

It's December! | #SciSparksAdvent

It's finally December, time to crack open the first door on your advent calendar as there's only 25 days to go until the big day!

Every day until the 25th December I'll be posting every day on Christmas science, to the highlights of the year, keep updated by following me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks and keep your eye out for new posts here!

To get into the Christmas spirit I thought I'd start off by looking at Santa - question is, what would happen if he ate all those sweets?

He'd actually have late onset diabetes by the time he was three hours into his night shift! If you assume every household the world over leaves two chocolate chip cookies, he'd be consuming 170 calories, 8g of fat and 14g of sugar in every household. This means he consumes 374 billion calories, 33,000 tonnes of sugar and 151,000 tonnes of fat - enough to keep him going for the new year!!! Still, who said chocolate chip cookies weren't delicious?? :)