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We’ve reached the end of the first week of I’m a Scientist with another full day of live chats and questions. The scientists will get the weekend to rest up, and next week the evictions start! Who stays? You decide! Make sure to vote for the scientist you want to win because the one scientist will be evicted from each zone on Tuesday afternoon! As usual, we’ve picked out a few of our favourite CHAT and ASK questions from today. In the Plants Zone, the students wanted to know if plants could survive on Mars: Student: How will the gravity of mars affect the plants? Isabel Webb: Mars has different gravity to us – I dont know how much by without google though! Our plants have evolved to live under trhe gravity we have on earth, so if they were to evolve under different gravity they could handle it. if … Continue reading →

Day Four of I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here has been our busiest yet, with 23 live chats happening across the event! In the Light Zone, one student wanted to know why clouds don’t form rainbows; they’re made of water after-all, aren’t they? Student: If rainbows are made by the sun shining into the water, why aren’t clouds rainbow coloured? Paul Coxon: Good question. It’s to do with the density of the water droplets. In a rainbow light is bent (refracted) by the droplets and dispersed into the separate colours. Similar happens in clouds, but there are so many water droplets making up the cloud that the light is scattered in all directions and the rainbow effect is lost. Mike Lee: You need to have the sun behind you to see a rainbow — most of the time the sun is behind the clouds! only when the sun … Continue reading →

Day three of I’m a Scientist and a day of packed live chats has found students and scientists discussing why leaves change colour, the causes of cancer, and germs: which has more, finger-nails or toilet seats? One fantastic question asked how science has changed since the scientists were in school: Student: What is different about science when you where at school to now? Iain Moal: When I was at school the internet was a new thing and people didn’t really use it until later. Nowadays it has revolutionised science by making it so much easier for scientists around to world to communicate and share data. At the moment I am working with people in the USA, Holland and France. That would be almost impossible when I was at school. Scientists in the Nuclear and Plants Zones are overjoyed, and have finally been sent some questions! One brilliant question asked why … Continue reading →

Day two of I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here has been filled with live chats on everything from zombie apocalypses to time travel. Student: How could we ever go back in time? Matthew Malek: I promised myself that if I ever got the ability to go back in time, I would come to that very moment and let myself know. Then I waited for five minutes. No future me turned up, so I knew that I would never time travel. In the Cancer Zone the scientists were looking at why cancer rates might seem to be increasing: Student: Why do you think cancer rates are increasing? Andrea Hanvey: I think cancer rates are increasing because of increased awareness, screening programs for early detection and better diagnostic testing its easier to pick up now Amar Joshi: Cancer rates are increase for many reasons. One thing is that we are … Continue reading →

With more than 680 questions being sent to the scientists from the weekend, I’m a Scientist March 2014 has got off to a flying start! Across the 12 zones, students have been chatting to scientists about everything from cutting-edge developments in solar technology, to travelling to the moon, and gender biases in some sciences. Student: Are you working on anything interesting at the moment, if so what are you working on? Sabina Hatch: Yes! At the moment there is new material called perovskite – it is actually quite unique and amazing- it could change the way we make solar cells as it is so cheap and yet still effective. I look forward to experimenting with it. In the posted ASK questions, scientists have been asked about their opinion on explosions, and if an asteroid is going to hit the earth any time soon. The scientists have explained what causes the … Continue reading →

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! is back from 10th–21st March with 8 themed zones, four general zones (including 2 Primary School zones), 60 scientists, and nearly 140 different schools from Shetland to Cornwall taking part. Thanks to the Wellcome Trust for part funding I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! Also to the STFC for funding the Extreme Size and Nuclear Zones, the IOP for funding the Light Zone, and the RSC for funding the Colour Zone. For the latest updates on the event, follow @imascientist on Twitter. Our hashtag for 2014 is — you guessed it — #IAS2014. For updates from scientists taking part, and our funders, check out our Twitter List. Let’s take a look at the schools and scientists taking part this March! There are still a couple of names to be confirmed, and the lists will be updated as that happens. Cancer Zone The Scientists: Matthew Lam Breakthrough Breast Cancer I help … Continue reading →

This March students in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Swindon, West of England, Somerset & Dorset can talk with 5 scientists at nearby universities who are offering Nuffield Research Placements this summer.   I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! is an online project and we’re partnering with the local Nuffield regional coordinator to run a zone specially for students to talk with scientists running Nuffield placements. How does it link with Nuffield placements? It’s a chance for your students to better understand what a placement involves. They’ll ‘meet’ some of the scientists who are offering placements at their universities this summer, find out about the type of research they’re doing, and the kind of work a summer placement could involve. Can all students take part? Yes! For students not applying for a summer placement, it’s a chance to ask a real scientists anything they like. From the topics they’re learning about in … Continue reading →

I’m a Scientist: Get me out of here! is back for two weeks from the 10th March 2014. Let’s take a look at the 15 — yes, 15! — zones we’ve got lined up. To find out more about taking part, see the bottom of the post.   ComputationalBio Zone Part of the 2014 I’m a Scientist Big Data Season Biology isn’t all dissections and microscopes. There are geneticists sequencing genes, epidemiologists simulating disease spread, and neuroscientists mapping the brain; computers and the Big Data they generate are radically changing science. This is the first in a series of zones in the the I’m a Scientist Big Data season, where we will explore how computers are used in real science today. We’ll look at the science and scientists at the cutting edge of Big Data and explore some of the issues that Big Data presents to society. Click here to … Continue reading →

After every event we ask the scientists and moderators to select the students who stood out to them; the students they thought asked the best questions, or engaged most in the live chats. Well done to all of the student winners, to the runners up, and everyone who took part. There were so many interesting questions, and comments this November, but there could only be one winner in each zone. The winners will receive a certificate and a £20 WHSmith’s gift card. Ecology Zone tporter10, Westfield Primary School “For asking numerous, very interesting questions, and for chat participation.” Runners up: amaziboogles14, imasnake123, inazuma, mistymagic. Extreme Clean Zone crazyxoxo, Sirius Academy “Asked some very good questions.” Runners up: danielfulton, sadia12345, bethen, candyxoxo, macncheese, genghisbranflakes, insaneharry. Genes Zone thequestionmaker, South Molton Community College “They posted some really interesting questions.” Runners up: tillieissocoollike, about80africans. Particle Physics Zone infintaneousdeath, Broadoak “This student posted a … Continue reading →

Here we are! After two fantastic weeks of competition, two weeks of questions on everything from science musicals to top tips for science we’ve had the penultimate vote, and you have your finalists. Let’s take a look at who’ll be going head to head in the final tomorrow: Ecology Zone Thomas Doherty-Bone vs. Sofia Franco Extreme Clean Zone Jessica Liley vs. Sarah Tesh Genes Zone Vicky Forster vs. Marlene Lorgen Particle Physics Zone Zachary Williamson vs. Kristian Harder Stem Cells Zone Matthew Tomlinson vs. David Christensen Tellurium Zone Julie Speakman vs. James Hickey Iodine Zone Susan Skelton vs. Simon Langley-Evans Congratulations to the November 2013 finalists! And to those who’ve been voted out, commiserations; but remember, you can still join in the live chats! We’re grateful to the Wellcome Trust for providing part funding to run I’m a Scientist: Get me out of here!, as well as to the STFC … Continue reading →