Weekly Science Picks

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Here we are at the end of one more amazing week. It’s Sunday again and we are supposed to review what happened during the last 7 days. For example, have you ever wondered how night shifts could affect you? This week is definitely a week of the museums. Did you know these days we had an Australian Museum Eureka Award or the Science Museum in London is to open a gallery devoted to mathematics? Finally, did you notice that media are too violent at present and all those can impact your mind? So, let’s begin!

Is working at night bad for you?

In some jobs, working the night shift is unavoidable. There are hospitals to run, planes to fly and shops to keep open as we move towards a 24-hour society. With careful planning and a bit of peace during the daytime, it is possible to work all night and still get eight hours sleep the follow day. Some people will even tell you they don’t mind and that they get used to working in this way. But can their bodies ever become fully accustomed to working to a clock turned upside down? And, more worryingly, is nocturnal labour bad for your health?

Science Museum unveils £5m plan for ‘world’s foremost’ mathematics gallery

The layout of the new permanent gallery, which will open in late 2016, is inspired by mathematical ideas. A plane will be suspended from the ceiling and the position of the displays will follow the lines of aerodynamic flow around it. Lines representing a turbulence field from the plane’s flight will form the basis of a curved surface dividing the gallery into different spaces.

Eureka, they’ve done it

More than 2 200 years ago, legend has it, Archimedes got into a bath and had a lightbulb moment. He worked out that you could use the amount of water it displaces to measure the volume of an irregularly-shaped object. He was supposedly so excited about this that he jumped out, and ran, dripping wet and naked, down the street yelling ‘Eureka!’ (Ancient Greek for ‘I’ve found it’).

Impact of violent media on the brain: Depends on each individual’s brain circuitry, study finds

With the longstanding debate over whether violent movies cause real world violence as a backstop, a study has found that each person’s reaction to violent images depends on that individual’s brain circuitry, and on how aggressive they were to begin with.

Until the next meeting, please stay curious and scientifically passionate. The new stories are coming soon.