Quick Fire Science
Quick fire facts on hot science news stories...
Mind Boggling Bog Bodies
A mummified body known as the Cashel man was recently found to be the oldest so called 'bog body' wi…
The Nobel Prizes
This week, the Nobel Prizes for medicine, physics and chemistry were awarded. Here's your quickfire …
Invasive Species
It's official: the UK has a slug problem. This week, researchers from the John Innes Centre in Norwi…
Science of Baking
This week saw the final of the Great British Bake Off, a television programme in which 13 people spe…
Gunpowder and Fireworks
Remember, remember the fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot. We see no reason, why gunpowde…
Giant animals
This week archaeologists in Queensland, Australia, found part of a fossil from an ancient platypus t…
What is opium
This week, reports suggest that the 2013 opium harvest in Central and South Asia was the largest on …
World Toilet Day
The 19th November was World Toilet Day. Established in 2001, the event seeks to draw attention to gl…
AIDS Awareness Week
This week is AIDS Awareness Week. It is thought that, worldwide, 35 million people carry the HIV vir…
Exploring Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars in August 2012, and it has spent that past 15 months exploring a region of the planet called Gale Crater. This week the team running the rover reported on what they've found so far, and so here's your Quick Fire Science about our planetary…
Renewable energy generation
The UK government has this week announced changes to its subsidies for renewable energy generation. But how much energy does the UK generate using renewables? Here's your quickfire science on renewable energy with Dominic Ford and Dave Ansell.
Polar Vortices
This week, Hell literally froze over, as the small Michigan town of Hell experienced temperatures of minus 17 degrees Celsius. And Hell wasn't alone temperatures across the United States have plummeted to record lows as cold air from the Arctic has reached much lower latitudes than is usual. To explain…
Keeling Curve Crowdfunding
Crowd funding programmes like Kick-starter have been used to raise money for music projects and Hollywood films, but now it could even be used to raise funding for long running scientific projects. The so-called Keeling Curve is the world's longest unbroken record of how much carbon dioxide is in the…
Purple Tomatoes
Purple tomatoes might soon be making their way onto our dinner plates as the genetically modified fruit is currently being mass produced in Canada. The tomatoes which contain anthocyanin compounds normally found in deeply coloured berries are hoped to place the potential health benefits of blueberries and cranberries in a…
Medically Induced Comas
This week doctors are trying to bring Formula One Racing Star Michael Schumacher out of a coma which was medically induced following a skiing accident.To find out more about why medically induced comas are thought to help people with brain injuries Here's your Quickfire Science with Kate Lamble and Hannah…
Maurice the Giraffe
Last week a young, physically healthy giraffe called Marius in a zoo in Copenhagen was put down, amidst an uproar from animal lovers. The zoo argued that it had to be done to prevent inbreeding, and produce a healthier population of giraffes. Here's your Quick Fire Science on the subject…
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics are finishing in Sochi, Russia this week. But it's not just the athletes who've spent the last four years training for the event. Engineers and designers have also been working to reduce times and grab golds on the slopes. In fact, when asked about her gold medal…
Northern Lights
Last week much of the UK witnessed the spectacular displays of the Northern Lights, but what causes this phenomenal natural light show? Here's your quick fire science on the aurora borealis…
Air Traffic Communication
With the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 still missing after nearly two weeks, some people are asking how you can lose a plane? But with over 6000 aeroplanes flying above us every day it's essential that air traffic control keeps in contact with them all. Here's your Quick Fire Science on…
Black Box Recorders
Now that Malaysian Airways Flight MH370 has officially been acknowledged to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean with all lives lost, attentions have turned to recovering wreckage and piecing together what events might have lead to its crash. It's the aircraft's black box recorder which might hold the most…