Why do we remember criticism more than praise?

This is what psychologists call the 'negativity bias', they think we've evolved this to keep us away from harm. Basically, we're more likely to remember scary of painful events more than happy ones - remember unkind events more than kind ones, process bad news more thoroughly than good. As for self-perception we're highly motivated to avoid a bad image so react with stronger emotions to criticism more than to praise. On the other hand we can overcome this negativity bias by over-estimating their own positive qualities. 

Winning a Paralympic Medal | Oscar Pistorius Trial October 2014

It takes a lot to win a Paralympic medal - someone who's severely disabled gets chucked well and truly  onto the biggest stage disabled sport gets. London was unique in the fact we kind of ignored the fact these were disabled people and treated them more like "superhumans" - once more Oscar not only competed at the Paralympics, but the Olympics too making history.
The Paralympians push the boundaries of science - they use revolutionary technology, all in an effort to improve their performance for the biggest stage, the Paralympics.
On Valentine's Day 2013, Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was thrown into one of the biggest, most public legal battles South Africa has seen. People can judge all they like, make whatever assumptions as to what really happened - but above all we might not ever know what really happened. But whatever your view there are no winners or losers in Oscar's trial. Oscar was poster boy of the Olympics and Paralympics, he's since lost all of that - he's lost sponsorships and literally all his money - he's not only broke but also broken. The Judge has to decide whether Oscar is better in jail or more use to society out of jail, facing a long community service sentence and house arrest. But on the other side Reeva's parents have lost their daughter - accident or not, it's still a human life, and a price should be paid. Although what that price is, is up to the Judge. We're so judgemental that whatever you think, we shouldn't forget the history Oscar made in 2012 - it's easy to judge we're not there not even remotely involved in the trial, I just hope that the judge makes the right decision on Tuesday, whatever that decision is.

The Cell Theory

Robert Hooke (1635-1703) 

The cell theory is the scientific theory that describes the properties of cells. Cells are the basic unit of structure in all organisms - they're also the basic unit of reproduction. Over the last few centuries, there's been continual improvements made to microscopes all the time. This has allowed us to look deep into the structure of the cell. Much of this is attributed to Robert Hooke who began the study of cells (cell biology). There's been many debates over the years about cells but now they're considered the fundamental unit of life. This discussion and research led to the Cell Theory being eventually formulated in 1838, which was credited to Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann. But many other scientists like Rudolf Virchow contributed too. 

The Cell Theory is widely accepted to be the foundation of biology and explains the function of the cells. 

The main principles of the cell theory are described as:

- All living organisms are composed of at least one cell

- The cell is the most basic form of life

- All cells come from pre-existing cells

What is scoliosis? - UPDATED

3 years ago today (26th September 2014)  I had an operation to straighten my spine. Before the operation it measured around 65 degrees. With the addition of 2 rods and twenty something screws - it's gone down to a staggering 13 degrees!

But what is scoliosis? How do you get it? The answer to that is that most of the time no-one knows, this called idiopathic scoliosis. Most often, scoliosis is found either really early on in your childhood or mid-way through your adolescence - mostly after a growth spurt. If the curve is under 20 degrees then you'll probably be monitored. Although if your curve increases beyond 20 degrees then a brace may well be recommended. But a curve beyond 40 degrees an operation might be recommended.
Now my spine has been fused almost all the way down - I can't feel the metal at all, it's just airport security that poses a bit of a problem!! :) All in  all, it was one of the best things I've ever done and I'd recommend it to anyone considering having it done!

For more information check out the Scoliosis Association UK for more information and Patient Leaflets - www.sauk.org.uk

Update 27th October 2014 - today I had my last ever appointment at Addenbrookes at 11:30, where I was discharged forever! We then went into Cambridge to celebrate! Below are the X-rays from today!! 

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Science Bites

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USB Post-It Notes

It sounds far fetched but it's just been discovered that some sticky notes could contain around 32GB of data storage. It seems loosing your most important files could be a thing of the past with this new office must-have. The concept has been put forward by the company "dataSTICKIES" - they say that each strip will be able to store up to 32GB of data. It works by attaching the strip to the ODTS (Optical Dater Transfer Surface) around the computer screen where it is then read by the computer. They're made far more resilient with an injection of the super material, graphene to form a one atom thick protective layer. What's even better is you can write on the notes to distinguish between them!





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The Solar-Powered Personal Plane

You'd probably love a personal jet, but what about a solar-powered personal plane? This could be the future of transport - Fly Citycopter. At a maximum speed of 193 kilometres (120mph) per hour you could go from London to Paris in under two hours. The designer,  Eduardo Galvani thinks it will help ease pressures on public transport and general inner-city congestion. Although it's only just a design concept currently, the hope is the plans will inspire major players in the transport industry and maybe become the face of inter-city travel.

An update...

Sorry for the delay in posting, through major scheduling problems, we've got there! Since I last posted a lot has happened, with the Young Scientists Journal a lot of very exciting new things are coming very soon (in the next couple of months). I've also just started Sixth Form, doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and GPR, so keep an eye out!

What Altitude Can You See the Curvature of Earth?

From Felix Baumgartner's daredevil skydive to teddy bears we've sent into space we're all familiar with the Earth's characteristic curvature. 100km from the Earth's surface is usually taken as where space begins - but Felix's jump was at around 24 miles (39 km), well under the height that space is considered to begin. So the answer is - no one really knows! Although passengers on board Concorde did see the curvature of Earth at altitudes of about 60,000ft. Although this gives a pretty clear indication of the figures, this can be distorted by plane windows for example. Because of this debate, research has taken place to determine the real figures. After much deliberation the real altitude is around 35,000 ft  - so next time you take a plane ride see if you can see the curvature of Earth! 

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