Over this inspiring and challenging programme you’ll devise, design and prototype ideas that will establish systems for living, surviving and communicating on a new planet. With skills sessions, workshops and talks delivered by professional mentors from across Science, Technology and the Creative Industries, this experience will equip you with the tools and techniques to bring innovative ideas to life.

Whether you’re a young entrepreneur, a budding artist or engineer, or looking for ways to channel your creative energies; Fuselab will take your creative thinking out of this world.

Participants will be split into two groups, each attending one session; either 1-5 July or 5-9 July 2013.

Accommodation and all meals are provided completely free of charge. Applications from the UK and overseas are welcome and a travel grant of up to £200 per participant is provided.

The application process will close on Monday 20 May. Click here for more details and to apply.

The vote aims to discover the nation's favourite invention or discovery from an exciting selection of major British advances over the past century by asking people to choose their favourite from a range of options including the DNA Double Helix, the World Wide Web, the first successful Atomic Clock and Penicillin.

One of the organisations behind the campaign is The Royal Society, who have asked nine research fellows to describe an innovation in their field and how this has influenced their research today. This includes a submission from Dr Rachael Pearson, from University College London, who sets out the case for Stem Cells – something with particular relevance to her work.

Dr Pearson has helped develop a therapeutic approach that replaces lost cells with functioning ones to restore vision.  For the chance to hear her talk about how this research could revolutionise treatment of visual impairment in the future check out Stem Cells: A Cure for Blindness at the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

There are 6 days left for the public to vote for their favourite innovations and the winners will be announced on Monday 25 March.

Launched by Good Thinking in association with Soho Skeptics, the competition received over 100 entries before an expert panel of judges whittled them down to the following shortlist.
 

• Stuart Clark: Across the Universe
• David Colquhoun: DC’s Improbable Science
• Ed Yong: Not Exactly Rocket Science
• André Tomlin: The Mental Elf
• Suzi Gage: Sifting the Evidence
• Dorothy Bishop: BishopBlog
• Neuroskeptic: Neuroskeptic
• Oliver Childs, Henry Scowcroft & Kat Arney: Cancer Research UK Science Update
• Dean Burnett: Brain Flapping
• Athene Donald: Athene Donald’s Blog
  
  The overall winner will be announced at the Prize Night on Sunday 25 November. The event will feature guests including Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh and Helen Arney and each blogger will talk about their blog or blogging before the overall winner and runners up are revealed.

To purchase tickets for the prize night visit http://2012scienceblogprize.eventbrite.com/#

In preparation for the jump, Baumgartner consumed a "low-residue, low-fibre" diet so that his food would pass quickly through his body without any build-up of gas, as this might expand and cause him severe internal pain in a low-pressure environment.  He also "pre-breathed" oxygen for two hours before his ascent to help reduce the amount of nitrogen in his blood.

Reflecting on the day's achievements Baumgartner said "It was an incredible up and down today, just like it's been with the whole project."  The attempt had faced some weather-related delays before finally lifting off under favourable conditions on Sunday morning.  The jump itself was not without drama as an issue with the power supply to Baumgartner’s visor meant that his vision was impaired and, after a perfect exit, Baumgartner had to try to stabilise himself from spinning which he described as “really brutal at times”.

One of the jump's key scientific goals was to learn, via a series of monitors on his body, more about what such an experience does to the human body.  The physiological exertions Baumgartner experienced during his descent are still being studied by his team.

Baumgartner and his team spent five years training and preparing for the mission.  The equipment for which included: a capsule acting as a pressurised environment which protected him from sub-zero temperatures on the way up; a full pressure suit and helmet to act as his personal life support system; and a one of a kind parachute system.

The team have previously noted that they plan to share all their finding and breakthroughs in areas of aviation and aerospace with the scientific community around the world as they aim the achieve advancements in medical science and contribute to the understanding of survival in space.

*The data on the records set by the jump are still pending confirmation from the authorised governing bodies.

Wozniak will headline a rich programme of speakers, from National Geographic Explorers presenting scientists & adventurers and Raspberry Pi talking about the revolution in education to CERN discussing the advance in nuclear research and lawyer David Allen Green and Security Engineering author Ross Anderson talking about the real security of our online activity.

The Turing Festival, named after the founding father of technology, Alan Turing, is a collaboration between the European Open Innovation Project, City of Edinburgh Council and Interactive Scotland and will bring the world's leading innovators and technologists together with artists, performers, scientists and entrepreneurs to debate and discuss the impact of technology on humanity and the future.  A 3-day festival running from 23-25 August taking place across various venues in Edinburgh, the festival will explore the ways in which technology is affecting all aspects of culture and society.

Dr Jamie Coleman, Director of Turing Festival commented:

"Edinburgh in August is where the cream of the world's creative community come together in the largest cultural festival on the planet.  The Turing Festival brings the global digital community to the heart of this event in a celebration of computing and the web.  Bringing some of the world’s most respected experts to our capital city enables us to offer an ambitious programme to our audience as well as raise our platform on an international level"

Turing 2012 promises to be the not to be missed highlight of the festival calendar, combining an array of business, professional development and educational sessions within this years’ programme. 

Tickets can be purchased at www.turingfestival.com

Prof. Barton, an evolutionary biologist from Durham University, has researched the effect of colour in competitive sport and has found that red seems to be the colour of winners.

“Red is associated with dominance, aggression and anger,” said Prof. Barton, explaining that the absence of red in the British Olympic design could prove fatal for the medal haul.

Drawing on research from a range of sports, Barton found that when matched with a competitor of equal ability, the athletes wearing red won more times than not. Barton suggested that this was due to a natural instinct that we can still see in animals today.

Mandrills display status and signal dominance and confidence through the brightness of the red on their noses. There is evidence to suggest that this animal instinct and susceptibility to the colour of red is still present in modern humans.

Read more about the details of the 2012 Team GB strip and the science behind it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17457729

What do you think? Post your comments below.

Generation Science, the Edinburgh International Science Festival’s national touring schools programme, currently delivers over 1,400 shows across more than 600 primary schools in Scotland and reaches more than 55,000 school pupils annually.

Over the next three years Generation Science will;

• Develop a range of activities designed specifically for lower secondary 11-14 year olds, to keep them interested and motivated in science subjects and encourage them to opt-in to future learning.
• Expand its work in health and wellbeing using the successful model created for Live for It! A touring workshop created in 2011 in partnership with Diabetes UK Scotland to encourage healthy lifestyles in young people, and contribute towards making Scotland a healthier nation.
• Trial and develop Continuous Professional Development (CPD) modules and activities for delivery to primary school teachers, through partnership working with organisations such as SSERC.

Simon Gage, Director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival said:

“‘The way we tour science workshops and shows to schools makes perfect sense: the events are mobile reaching every corner of the country, they’re high quality with great staff and they’re really cost effective.

Today we launch a new phase in our schools work with the announcement of three new initiatives: 1. We will start touring to secondary schools with events that give S1 and S2 pupils a glimpse of the rewarding opportunities that await those that keep studying science, 2. We will expand our work with healthcare bodies including the NHS to encourage young people to live healthier lives by giving them a better understanding of how their bodies work and 3. With partners we will start to run training courses for primary school teachers to help them teach the bits they find hard.

 These new initiatives will, within two years, reach many thousands of young people and teachers.’

Professor Muffy Calder, Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland said:

“Science, technology, engineering and maths can open many doors for our young people. Making sense of the science and maths taught in the classroom is vital in allowing them to explore the world aroud them. Generation Science shows and workshops encourage hands-on participation and bring science to life, helping to improve young people’s knowledge and linking it to the real world, outside school.”

Professor Jack Jackson, HM Inspectorate of Education said:

“Generation Science’s workshops and shows inspire children in primary schools right across Scotland with a wide range of science and technologies. Their schools programme not only supports learning and teaching for children and professional teaching staff, but makes a real contribution to securing further and higher education opportunities for the next generation. Longer term it is programmes like Generation Science that spark an interest in science among children from an early age and, in turn, creates Scotland’s scientists and technologists of the future."

 Catalytic Clothing is a partnership that brings together the worlds of fashion and science and asks the public to join the campaign for clean air. Professor Storey, from London College of Fashion and Professor Ryan, from the University of Sheffield, together with partners and supporters including CRISTAL GLOBAL and the world’s best know ecological cleaning brand ECOVER, have announced that they have moved one step closer to making their world-changing ideas a reality. Employing existing technology in a new way, this public experiment between fashion and science explores how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify the air we breathe.

 Catalytic Clothing works by neutralising the pollution in the atmosphere around it using the essential ingredient, ultrafine titanium dioxide. This powerful ingredient, which is already used in self-cleaning glass for example, breaks down harmful pollutants such as smog-producing nitrogen oxides when in the presence of UV light, converting them into less harmful substances. Nothing sticks to your clothing – in fact it has the opposite effect and helps keep your clothes cleaner! At the moment this technology is used in concrete and the surface of buildings to help keep then smog and pollution free.

 ECOVER, who are committed to producing sustainable and exceptional cleaning products are currently carrying our rigorous testing in collaboration with scientists from The University of Sheffield and Cristal Global who manufacture the essential ingredient, ultrafine titanium dioxide CristalACTIVTM, to produce a laundry product that will transform our clothes into air purifying catalysts.

 Ecover said “All citizens become part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem. The idea is simple and effective: by treating our clothes, each one of us can become a catalyst for clean air. Air pollution is neutralised around our clothes as we walk through the city. With the help of sunlight, the catalysts will neutralise the dirt from the air pollution around us that would otherwise end up stuck to our clothes. Cleaner air for our cities and clean clothes, what could be better? Current testing indicates that we will be ready to launch a product to the market in 2013.”

 Helen Storey and Tony Ryan will be taking part in an ‘in conversation’ at the National Museum of Scotland with Professor John Shepherd CBE FRS about the motivation behind their collaboration, the technology they have developed and the benefits it could bring. Wednesday 4 April Tickets £8/6 apply here: http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/categories/talk/catalytic-clothing

How do we measure success in our own lives? Members of the public are being asked to answer these questions, and others, to try to determine whether certain attributes of character or background are indicators of a successful future. 

In the 18th century, the Scottish Enlightenment was characterised by the vibrant flowering of ideas and enquiry that flourished as thinkers and scientists sought to understand the natural world and the human mind, and improve the world through new ideas, discoveries and inventions. An unprecedented outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments led to 18th-century Scotland being described as ‘a hotbed of genius’, with rapid advances in philosophy, political economy, engineering, architecture, medicine, geology, archaeology, law, agriculture, chemistry and sociology.

Professor Peter Higgs, is an English-born scientist who has lived and worked in Edinburgh for much of his life. Whilst working as a lecturer in Edinburgh University in the 60s, Professor Higgs put forward a theory predicting the existence of a new sub-atomic particle which theoretically gives other particles their mass. This elusive particle was termed the Higgs boson and has often been described as “the most sought after particle in modern physics”.

On the brink of its discovery, last Friday the City of Edinburgh paid tribute to Peter Higgs, recognising his contribution to the city by honouring him with The Edinburgh Award.  He is just the fifth person to be granted this accolade along with Ian Rankin, JK Rowling, Sir CHris Hoy and George Kerr.

On being a recipient Higgs said "It is a great honour to receive this award from the city that I fell in love with and is now my adopted home"

Click here to watch BBC interview with Peter Higgs about his achievements and receiving this award.

If you’re interested in this story you may like: A Year in the Life of the Large Hadron Collider 

A new laboratory, hailed as the most high-tech in the history of the Olympic Games, has been unveiled in Essex. It will be used to combat the use of prohibited drugs by athletes in the upcoming Olympics in London. Not only is the lab better equipped than any other facility ever used for this purpose, it will also carry out more tests than ever before, operating around the clock to test all medallists and in total about 50% of competitors. A record-breaking 5,000+ tests for performance enhancing drugs will be carried out over the events duration.

As part of its £20 million donation to the games, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline equipped the lab. This is the first time that a pharmaceutical company has sponsored an Olympic anti-doping lab but the company insists that there is no conflict of interest. GSK Chief Executive Sir Andrew Witty explains “our involvement is the support and delivery of the facility; we have no role in the testing process."

The best experts and anti-doping scientists from all over the world will carry out the key lab-work at the facility, assisted by a number of volunteers. Intelligence, along with a routine testing and random selection, will be used to decipher what athletes are tested and when. The anti-doping officials will meet daily during the games to analyse the intelligence and decide where to focus their tests. Sources of information will include cleaners and venue staff who will be briefed on what to look out for and instructed to report on suspicious behaviour and materials. There have been several instances in past Olympics of cleaning staff coming across materials associated with doping.

Not only this, the 2012 Olympics in London will be the first summer games to use "biological passports". These detect doping by monitoring performer’s blood over a long period of time. The International Olympic Committee confirmed that some competitors in London will be using them. Changes in blood variables can be attributed to the intake of substances and may raise suspicion and the need for testing.

The team of doping experts and scientists will be led by Professor David Cowan from King's College London. He is confident the London Games will be as drug free as is possible and believes that athletes who use the courts to challenge the process of testing will be wasting their time. "We are going to be fast, sensitive and efficient, and we are going to be right."

Along with the public, the media have taken a large interest in the work going on in the festival. Last night, we were visited by Abu Dhabi TV which visited many of the events and interviewed science communicators, along with Team Leaders from Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Print press have also been chatting about the Festival, especially after the opening days’ events: ADNEC played host to VIP visitors and the seaside area of the Cornichem where Yves ‘Jetman’ Rossy made a dramatic entrance by soaring over the crowds strapped to a jetpack.

The ADNEC area was officially opened by Lt General Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and has since welcomed many important local figures, including children of prominent Sheikhs. Although all visitors to the Festival are welcomed warmly, the sight of such prominent guests has sparked a pride in many of the communicators: this is a festival being taken seriously by the UAE and the start of something big.

Read more about it!

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/science/who-needs-superman-when-there-is-jetman

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/education/hands-on-experience-for-junior-scientists

http://gulftoday.ae/portal/b994fb10-baa9-4d97-9a16-8e65db14b2eb.aspx

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle11.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2011/November/theuae_November553.xml§ion=theuae

Over the past two days, over 500 new science communicators have been trained to deliver a range of shows brought especially to the UAE. From dinosaurs to DNA, a pristine batch of students from around Abu Dhabi will be entertaining and educating local young people about scientific topics in a whole new way.

Many of the shows have been adapted from those developed at Edinburgh’s Science Festival, which has also provided the team leaders who’ll be supporting the new communicators in their role. The team leaders are all science communicators in the UK, many are regulars at the festival, and all are itchy with anticipation about tomorrow’s grand opening.

Edinburgh’s reputation for a stirring festival has fitted neatly with the dramatic Abu Dhabi vision, and the team leaders have relished sharing their passion for the role with their new peers. They’ve been building on an intensive workshop provided by Tom ‘Dr Bunhead’ Pringle, who flew out from Scotland last month with a group of experienced trainers, giving the students a solid grounding in communicating difficult topics.

Tomorrow, all the hard work will come to bloom. Classes from around the Emirate will be treated to trips to the festival, while the evenings and weekend will be filled with members of the public who want to give their families an outing with a difference. 60,000 visitors are expected to visit over the next nine days (and no, that isn’t an accidental extra zero). And Edinburgh’s science communicators? They’re waiting for that snip of a ribbon from a member of the Royal Family and a chance to see a wee piece of Auld Reekie in the Middle East.

Speed of Light is a national programme which combines physical and cultural activity in an innovative and exciting way. The programme will culminate with a unique series of night runs on Arthurs Seat next August and one of Scotland’s official contributions to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From the 9 August - 1 September, Edinburgh’s largest hill, Arthurs Seat, will be transformed by trails of light. An audience will witness this extraordinary physical artistic display, but more importantly, people are also invited to experience this event by actively being a part of it.

The illumination of the hill will be a performative event; carried out by participating members of the public. Participants will wear specially designed energy harvesting light suits, which will animate the hillside with trails of patterned light. Runners will become part of the visual spectacle, through their movement, as they ascend and descend the summit.

Whether this event intrigues you as a work of public art, an innovative science experiment, or a unique fun run, The NVA Speed of Light is an extraordinary undertaking with mass appeal.  Places are on a first come first, serve basis, so if it sounds like something you would like to be a part of, register early as a runner to ensure you don’t miss out. Visit www.speedoflight2012.org for more information and to register.

Edinburgh International Science Festival is delighted to be partnering with NVA on this unique and exciting project. Our specially developed workshop exploring the technology behind the light suits will be touring schools across Scotland from Jan – May. Find out more here

Stem cell biology has fundamentally changed our understanding of how the human body works. Its experiments have been the subject of fascination for scientists, writers and artists and the breakthroughs it has made have transformed lives.

The film charts the history of this fascinating research - from the discovery of stem cells in the body to the leading current clinical and scientific developments. It is the result of a genuinely creative collaboration between scientists and film makers, featuring eminent figures in stem cell research, novelist Margaret Atwood and beautiful hand-drawn animation.

Suitable for ages 16+, screenings of the film and Q&A sessions will take place in cities across the country throughout summer 2011. The Edinburgh screening takes place at Teviot Row House, University of Edinburgh on Monday 30 May at 7pm and includes a Q&A with Sir Ian Wilmut, the university's Professor of Reproductive Biology.

Visit the website for more information, details of UK screenings and to register for this event.

Visualise:Reloaded is an innovative mix of physical theatre and live science. It began life as an experiment: what would happen if science demonstrations were performed entirely without words? Taking the words away has produced a playful mix of physical theatre, demonstrations, projected images and music which allows the audience to make their own observations about how the world works.

Using ordinary objects in extremely unusual ways, this highly interactive visual presentation is guaranteed to leave you curious about science and will inspire and entertain the whole family.

The show is suitable for ages 6+ . Performances will take place at macrobert, University of Stirling on Saturday 7 May at 2pm and 7pm.

Don't miss the opportunity to catch this unique performance. As a special offer for Science Festival supporters, macrobert is offering £1 off all tickets. To book, call the box office on 01786 466666 quote 'scifest'.

Edinburgh hosts two of the UK’s largest fireworks displays each year, at the end of the International Festival and the celebrated Midnight Moment at Hogmanay.  

Millions enjoy these displays, but how many of us know what makes a firework go BANG?   Or Pop?  Or Whizz?  How do you make them red?  Or white?  Or blue?  What decides whether they burst as a chrysanthemum or horsetail or spider?  What is a chrysanthemum, or horsetail or spider?  Find out all this and more when Professor Jackie Akhavan explains the chemistry behind our favourite fiery celebrations at the Edinburgh International Science Festival tomorrow.

Prof Akhavan, Head of the Centre for Defence Chemistry, is involved in research and development of commercial fireworks, pyrotechnics and high explosives and will present an event packed with bangs, whistles and even small explosions.

Tickets for the Science of Fireworks at the George Square Theatre, on Tuesday 19^th April at 7.30pm are available  from the Box Office at www.sciencefestival.co.uk or 0131 553 0322 priced at £8/£6.

Join presenters from the show for Bang Goes The Theory LIVE, a brand new, action-packed show at the Assembly Hall, where you'll see them recreate some of the best stunts from the TV series and watch them test, stretch and explode science live on stage.

Down the road, at the bottom of the Mound, you'll find the Interactive Area, where you can get experimenting and explore some fascinating hands-on exhibits. And look our for Dr Yan - he'll be demonstrating some of the best of his street science experiments and giving you some tips and tricks that will impress your friends.

Fancy asking the presenters a question? Grab a ticket for Meet the Team at the Assembly Hall, every day at 5pm and put them to the test with your burning scientific questions.

Bang Goes The Theory LIVE is open from 15-17 April and all events are free of charge.

The Interactive Area is open 11am-6pm daily - no need to book, just drop in. LIVE shows will take place at the Assembly Hall at 12.30pm and 3.30pm daily. Meet the Team will also take place at the Assembly Hall at 5pm.

Please note, tickets are required for all events at the Assembly Hall. These are available on the day from the Interactive Area at the Mound. If you have pre-booked tickets, please collect them from the Assembly Hall before the performance.

Science Festival 2011 runs from 9-22 April with events, talks, workshops and demonstrations taking place across the city. Browse events and book online at www.sciencefestival.co.uk, or call the box office on 0131 553 0322.

Theatre can be an accessible and provocative way of telling the stories of science to a wide audience. Science Theatre looks at the ways in which these two disciplines can come together to form an interactive space.

Professor Djerassi will be joined by Nigel Townsend, artistic director of the renowned Y-Touring theatre company whose 'Theatre of Debate' format creates work addressing tough ethical issues and engaging directly with its audience.

Watch clips, hear readings and join this fascinating discussion of the different forms of science and theatre, chaired by Ben Twist.

Tickets for this event are free but can be reserved in advance at www.sciencefestival.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 0131 553 0322.

The Edinburgh Medal is awarded each year to men and women of Science and Technology whose professional achievements are judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and wellbeing of humanity. Carl Djerassi's 2011 Edinburgh Medal Address, Science, Sex and Theatre: A Potent Brew, will take place at Edinburgh's City Chambers on Tuesday 12 April.