September edition

Fascinating placebos, big bang day, the aesthetics of trash, and science in the Dublin Theatre Festivals . . . all this and more in our packed September edition. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Art & Society. . .
The Aesthetics of Trash: two-day international conference taking a cultural perspective on objects and obsolescence, by way of literature, geography, consumption and production. UCD, Sept 4-6

Based On Our Current Science . . . : time travel, pseudoscience, conspiracy theories . . . and visual culture. Special exhibition at Dublin's Gallery of Photography exploring how the lens can carry the ideological concerns for a particular time. Until September 21, plus special outdoor screenings in the adjacent Meeting House at Square September 3-5.

LAB01: Pay Attention! Brain research joins the fringe programme of the Dublin Theatre Festival, when TCD's science gallery is transformed into a working brain research lab, and you get the chance to become a live experimental subject. Make art using your brain waves, and test and control your attention. October 4-31.

The robots are coming: ArtBots comes to Dublin, in time for Culture Night and the fringe theatre festival. Events include Forcefield, by sound artist and theremin player, Ray Lee (September 19, adm free, booking essential). Plus work by 15 artists from nine countries, workshops and a panel discussion about living with robots. September 19-21

Sculpture In Context : over 100 artists rose to the challenge of responding creatively to the National Botanic Gardens, and the result is Ireland's largest outdoor sculpture exhibition. Until 17th October

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Conferences & Opportunities. . .

Bodies and books, medicine and print: the wonderful Edward Worth Library at Dr Steeven's Hospital in Dublin, is 275 years old, and its founding will be marked by two special conferences, the first in Dublin this September 22, and the second in London (November 27-28), when the topic will be science, medicine and book collecting in Ireland during Worth's lifetime (1678-1733). That event takes place at the Royal Society, where Worth was a Fellow. The Dublin meeting concludes with the re-issue of a history of the hospital, first published in 1924.

Science, society and synthetic biology: the uses and abuses of new knowledge, and paradigm shifts vs science fashion shifts . . . some of the topics for the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) annual science and society conference, which this year looks at systems and synthetic biology. Germany, November 7-9; all welcome, adm e40/20

Science & technology in 19th-century Ireland: that's the theme for a 2-day conference next July 2-3, at the RIA, Dublin, and organised by the Society for the Study of 19thC Ireland in association with the RIA and the Open University. Proposals for 20-minute papers are invited; the closing date for abstracts is the end of this month. Details: g.hooper@open.ac.uk or
juliana.adelman@gmail.com

Science week, 2008: this year's festival is on November 9-16.

Irish science open forum Expo: a showcase for Irish scientific and technological research, education, and industry, organised by the Irish Science Open Forum (ISOF, modelled on a similar European forum) takes place in Dublin on November 13-15, as part of this year's Science Week.

Offaly rocks: 10,000 years of history, no less, will be explored at a special geology gathering this weekend (Sept 4-7) organised by Offaly Naturalists Field Club, including field trips. Kinnitty Community Centre. Booking essential, cost e20, info: apedlow@offalycoco.ie ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Omniumgatherum . . .

An end to 'blue sky' thinking: that's the motto of the wonderful Cloud Appreciation Society, where over 13,000 members in 66 countries, including 145 in Ireland, are not ashamed to say that they love clouds and want to see more of them. We highly recommend Gavin Pretor-Pinney's wonderful book, The Cloudspotter's Guide, which combines lucid scientific explanations of physics and meteorology, with musings on art, film (the killer stratus cloud!), architecture and much more. Guaranteed to change the way you look at clouds.

Snapping landscapes: the annual geological and landscape photography competition, organised by the Geological Survey of Ireland, promises a prize fund of €800, and accepts entries from across the world. Held in honour of 19th-century artist and geological surveyor, George Victor Du Noyer, the closing date is 10th October. See last year's winners here.

Big bang day: Wednesday, September 10, is when the world's biggest machine, and our most sophisticated and expensive ever science experiment, will be officially switched on. We're talking the LHC, or large hadron collider, the world's biggest and fastest ever particle smasher at CERN on the French-Swiss border. (Pedants among you will rightly point out that it will take months for the particle beams to reach full speed and actually start producing real data, but don't let that get in the way of the story). Ireland is not a member ( and that's another story), so coverage here will be muted, by comparison with say Britain, where BBC Radio 4 is devoting a whole day to coverage, live from the control room, with everything from topical discussions, news programmes, satire and even a play. You'll also find lots of background information on the Guardian and New Scientist, and other events at other venues, such as the Science Museum.

Burren rock: the GSI has a new geological map of the Burren that should appeal to anyone who likes to put landscape and terrain together. The reverse includes detailed information on how the limestones formed, sea-level changes, visitor attractions, key geological localities to visit, and more. Price €5

Sugar-coated pills: Did you know, for instance, that the tranquilliser diazepam works only if the recipient knows that they are being given the drug? That similarly, morphine works best if you know that you are receiving it -- else the dose has to be higher. Learn more in Ben 'bad science' Goldacre's two-part series on the history and science of the fascinating placebo phenomenon on BBC Radio 4.


iPhone apps for science geeks: a genetic decoder, star map, periodic table of the elements, 3D chemical molecules . . . who'd have thought there could be so many applications so soon for the new iPhone. Thanks to Wired.com for the list, most of them for free.


Out & about . . .
Is Ireland racist? That's the challenging topic for the Irish Skeptics Society monthly lecture, by UCD social psychologist Dr Mick O'Connell. September 10, 8 p.m., TCD Science Gallery.

Culture vultures: over 100 cultural organisations and venues open their doors for the annual Dublin culture night on September 19. It includes a chance to visit the wonderful library at the Royal Irish Academy, an after-dark tour of the National Botanic Gardens, and the opportunity to handle specimens from the Natural History Museum.

And not a drop to drink: water shortages and climate change is the topic for a special Planet Earth talk by Dr Pat Leahy, director of the American Geological Institute, in Dublin (Sept 24) and Galway (Sept 25).

Glassmaking in Ireland 1780-1850: Anne Moran (NCAD) will give a talk about historic Irish glassmaking at Collins Barracks, September 6, noon; adm free. Other free public events from the National Museum include 'My, what big teeth you have', a chance to find out the differences between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores (September 3)

Dublin's trams: past and present trams will be the subject of a special engineering heritage talk by transport historian and enthusiast Michael Corcoran -- always worth listening to -- hosted by Engineers Ireland and the Irish Railway Record Society; Dublin, September 29, 8pm, adm free all welcome.

Wild bird safari: join the wonderfully knowledgeable Glynn Anderson, guide at the National Botanic Gardens, for a special bird safari; bring binoculars; suitable for children aged 9-12. September 27, 2:30 pm.

The denial of global warming: why are so many climate change sceptics in the US? That is one of the questions that may be addressed by geologist and science historian, Prof Naomi Oreskes (University of California, San Diego), who is giving a free public lecture in Dublin this Wednesday (September 3, 6 pm, TCD), organised by the geophysics section of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. All welcome, adm free.

The stars, the stars: August's total solar eclipse is the topic for this month's meeting of the the South Dublin Astronomy Society (11 Sept, Gonzaga College Ranelagh, 8pm); the Irish Astronomy Association September talk is about the future for the Hubble space telescope (September 3, 7:30 pm, QUB Belfast). And finally, light pollution is the topic for Astronomy Ireland's September talk, by Albert White, a founder of the Irish light pollution awareness campaign; next Monday, September 8th, 8 pm, TCD.



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Next scheduled edition: October 1st 2008.
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