Science.ie Atmosphere ezine Vol 3 - September 01

Science.ie

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A t m o s p h e r e
Science for a Successful Ireland
http://www.science.ie

Issue 3 - September 2001

THIS MONTH:
1)...News - Laser Technology, Robotics Combine To Win Top Award
2)...Irish Scientist - John Tyndall and Why the Sky is Blue
3)...Events and What to Do This Month

A t m o s p h e r e is the free monthly Science, Technology and
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1)...N E W S A N D I N F O

LASER TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTICS COMBINE TO WIN TOP AWARD
Laser and robotics specialist Xsil Ltd has won the Overall Award
at the National Innovation Awards 2001. Other category winners
were Medtronic AVE, Elan Biotechnology Research and Corvil Networks.
A special merit award went to Andrews Surgical Innovations Ltd.
http://www.science.ie/events/national-innovation/index_nia.html


A CAREER IN SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY
This month's Careers Role Model, Karen Henderson, combines art,
science and technology to help others communicate effectively.
http://www.science.ie/careers/index_rolemodel.html


CORK MICROFLUIDICS RESEARCH ALLOWS INSTANT CANCER CELL CHECK
A device that enables surgeons to do on-the-spot checking for the
presence of cancer cells, thus helping them know what tissues to
remove during surgery, has been developed at Cork's National
Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC). The device is based on
microfluidics, a relatively new branch of biotechnology.
http://www.nmrc.ie/control/include_database.html?DB=~/press.dbf&RO&OL&TC=2&DE=2
or http://www.nmrc.ie/news/index.html
and http://www.nmrc.ie/research/ict/


NEW BERKELEY FELLOWS ANNOUNCED AT TRINITY COLLEGE
Financial support will allow the seven elected Berkeley Fellows to
concentrate on research for one year. Research projects range from
the evolution of fossil crinoids to the theory of Brownian motion.
http://www.science.ie/news_info/index_articles.html


MOUSE CHALLENGES CAT TO THINKING GAME
CyberPounce, a video game designed for cats, makes use of movement
patterns, sounds, shapes and colours that appeal specifically to
felines. The game stimulates the brainwave patterns in cats, making
them active 'thinkers' when they ordinarily would be sleeping.
http://www.cyberpounce.com/

More Science and Technology Headlines at:
http://www.science.ie/news_info/index.html
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* Fact of the Month *
The telescope at Birr Castle was the biggest in the world
from 1844 until 1917. However, due to the Irish potato famine,
it was virtually unused until 1848. After that, astronomers
from many parts of the world came to use it. Its fame was
such that Jules Verne referred to it in his early Science
Fiction novel "From the Earth to the Moon".
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2)...IRISH SCIENTIST - JOHN TYNDALL AND WHY THE SKY IS BLUE

Born in Co.Carlow in 1820, John Tyndall eventually became one of
the most important scientists of the 19th Century. He was also the
first to successfully answer the question "Why is the sky blue?"

Following on from Newton's work on visible light in the 1660s,
Tyndall suggested that the blue of the sky is due to the
scattering of the sun’s light by molecules in the atmosphere.
Known as the Tyndall effect, or nephelometry, this phenomenon
is the basis of instruments such as the spectrometer.

Tyndall was an inventor as well as researcher. He invented the
fireman’s respirator and improved on the fog horn, but his most
important invention was his "light pipe", which he originally
constructed using just a torch and a bucket of water.

The modern version of this "light pipe" is the gastroscope,
which is used in hospitals today to view the inside of a
patient’s stomach. Tyndall’s "light-pipe" eventually led
to the development of fibre optics.

When not in the lab, he loved to study glacier forms in the Alps.
He climbed Mont Blanc several times and eventually became the
first person to climb Weisshorn in 1860. In the same year, he
published a book on his adventures called "Glaciers of the Alps".

In his lifetime, Tyndall also made important contributions to
thermodynamics, magnetism, electricity, telecommunications and
electronics. As an educationalist he influenced the direction
of science teaching at university and school levels.
http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/Tyndall/
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* Link of the Month *
The Seaweed Site has detailed information on all aspects of
seaweeds and marine algal biology, photos, teaching resources
an algae discussion list, plus AlgaeBase, a comprehensive and
searchable database of over 20,000 seaweed and seagrass names.
http://www.seaweed.ie/
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3)...E V E N T S

Forfas 7th National Innovation Conference Thur 4 Oct 2001, Dublin
The Total Innovation Process - From Creativity to Profit
For more information email: dublin@project-planning.com
or call Project Planning International on + 353 (0)1 6615765

National Science and Technology Journalism Awards 2001
Entries must be in by Fri 12 October 2001.
http://www.science.ie/events/journalism-awards/index_s-t.html

Science Foundation Ireland - Next Evaluation of Proposals
Call for Proposals for Principal Investigators and Fellows:
Proposals received by 10 October 2001 under the current open
calls will be included in the next round of assessments.
http://www.sfi.ie/

Science Week Ireland, 11 - 18 November 2001
Find out how to get involved in this week-long celebration and
demonstration of science, technology and innovation for all
the family. Events will take place throughout Ireland.
http://www.science.ie/events/science-week/index_swi.html
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...W H A T T O D O T H I S M O N T H

Read...
'Prometheus's Fire' A multi-author history of the development of
technical, technological and scientific education in Ireland.
Edited by Norman McMillan, Tyndall Publications 2000

Watch...
'The Blue Planet' The natural history of the oceans.
BBC 1, Wednesdays 21.00 and Sundays 14.45

Listen to...
A series of free public lectures on the theme 'Life in the Universe'
Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe, the director of the Cardiff Centre
for Astrobiology will speak in Cork and Galway in early October.
http://seti.it-tallaght.ie/liu/LiU_Ire_Lectures.html

Surf...
Enter a competition to name NASA's newest infrared observatory.
Entries must be submitted online by 20 December 2001
http://sirtf.caltech.edu/namingcontest/

Visit...
W5, whowhatwherewhenwhy, Belfast's new interactive discovery centre.
http://www.w5online.co.uk/
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Next Issue - October 2001
http://www.science.ie/

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