RCSU Broadsheet

The Great Exhibition: The event that established Imperial

by Ben Stockton

Hyde Park, London, Summer 1851— Atop the grassy plains stands a quite remarkable structure; a regimented iron skeleton adorned with glass of bewildering grandeur. Catching the sun, the Crystal Palace lords over Knightsbridge. A greenhouse of unimaginable proportions, the building stretches almost 40 metres into the sky, engulfing the tallest trees, and stands upon 90,000 square metres of earth. Within, the forefront of human endeavour in industry and manufacturing is housed. Nation’s flags and canvas awnings add a shock of colour to the engineered interior. Items from all around the modern world are paraded to the tens of thousands of

Filling the skills gap: How can we inspire the next generation of scientists?

by David Snowdon

“You mean those tiny bumps on my tongue mean I can taste chocolate?” “Yes.” “Wow!” The girl’s face flushes with excitement as she beckons for the handheld camera to continue examining her taste buds. It’s mid-August and the summer holidays are in full swing at the @Bristol science centre. Children swarm around the benches and stools that make up the open plan LiveLab area, as they attempt various taste and flavour-themed experiments. The centre is packed; the noise and energy levels indicate clearly that the interactive science on offer is being wolfed down more enthusiastically than the remains of the

Artist or addict? Painting a picture of the brain on drugs

by Amy Whistlecroft

The John Sevier apartment complex in Johnson City, Tennessee, is home to a unique combination of different types of people, ranging from disabled veterans to the unemployed. Amongst them, lives artist Bryan Lewis Saunders. His fourth floor flat is both his home and studio, filled with art materials and the sketchbooks in which he has visually documented most of his adult life. Saunders started his collection of self-portraits when he was 26 and has drawn pieces of himself during events throughout his life. The eclectic range of portraits catalogue an unusual life and feature himself on the Appalachian hiking trail,

An interview with… Richard Barnett

by Madeleine Maxwell

“What were they thinking about? What were their concerns? How did they understand the universe?” These are the questions that Richard Barnett asks as a medical historian. In his most recent book, The Sick Rose: Disease and the Art of Medical Illustration, he asks these questions of anatomists through the 18th and 19th centuries. He uses medical illustrations from this era to tell the story of the changing perception and understanding of human disease. Over a cup of tea, we spoke about this book, medical illustrations and some of the ethical and philosophical questions they raise today. Richard started off

Behind the smile

by Sophie Jones

In a dark laboratory in Paris, Pascal Cotte sat back as his prized invention, a multispectral camera, performed its final scan of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. With the imaging complete, he was ready, with the help of some self-coded computer programmes, to unearth each individual brush stroke behind one of the most iconic pieces of the art in the world. Cotte is not your typical art historian. Achieving significant success in the field of optics developing the first Macintosh webcams, the bowtie-clad Frenchman has over 20 years experience in the technology industry. He now finds himself as Director of

Where’s the humanity? How the mainstream media has warped our perception of Ebola

by Issie Barrett

A tall, dark-skinned man shudders with the discomfort of a deep fever. His brow furrows as he paws at his aching limbs with clenched fists. Alongside him is a topless boy, his stomach covered by an angry red rash. Nearby, another man is doubled over, vomiting blood. A vacant face in a bed beside stares on over the scene before him, unseeing with his bleeding eyes. People in white protective suits, gloves and masks huddle nearby with bowed heads. Set further away beside the whitewashed walls of the health centre is a person, wrapped loosely head to toe in a

Scary sea creatures

by Liisa Veerus

A creepy-looking box jellyfish. Credit: Robert Hartwick

Sea Snake Sea snake toxins are far more venomous than the toxins of land snakes. While some species have gentle dispositions and bite only when provoked, others are much more aggressive, especially during mating season. Postsynaptic neurotoxins in the venom are capable of paralysing the respiratory system of the victim. All sea snakes have paddle-like tails and many have laterally compressed bodies that give them an eel-like appearance. They do not have gills and must surface regularly to breathe. They are found in warm coastal waters from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Box Jellyfish Box jellyfish are well-known for

Sea Life at the London Aquarium

by Laura Kor

A variety of fish seen in the aquarium.
Credit: Kol Tregaskes

Amongst the inexhaustible list of attractions that London has to offer, a habitat rich in natural aquatic wildlife is not one. Yet, just a few metres from the bleak, murky waters of the Thames sits London Sea Life Aquarium – an experience which promises the discovery of “a magical underwater world filled with a dazzling array of amazing creatures”. With such a claim, what better place could there be to review for this issue of Broadsheet focusing on the oceans? Keener than the keenest parent, I arrived just minutes after the aquarium opened, managing to beat the half-term queues to

Hastening away to Hastings

by Fiona Hartley

A view over the Stade and the pier in Hastings.
Credit: Phil Sellens

“I really want to go to the seaside,” my friend said to me. For once it didn’t prove to be an unfulfilled fancy like so many can be at university. On an unfortunately wet day last March, myself and two others rocked up to Charing Cross station at around 8am to start our day trip not to Brighton or Dover or Portsmouth, but to Hastings. Hastings has everything you need for a day trip (particularly if you’re happy to spend a bit of cash): there are tourist traps like the aquarium and classic attractions like castle ruins, and the more

The pet hates of a hermit (crab, not student)

by Philippa Skett

Hermit crabs on the beach.
Credit: Marcus Calderon

I spent an inordinate amount of time in the summer of 2011 with my feet wedged in wellies, my face close to the ground and a bucket not far from my side. I was undertaking a research project in Guernsey as part of my biology degree, and for it I needed to find two hundred hermit crabs. The connotations of hermit crabs being secretive, elusive or just plain invisible definitely rang true for those few days on the causeway, battling the sea breeze and the turning tide trying to find the tiny crabs. However, once I returned to the labs,