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Graduate Student Profile: Jessica Miller

Science Comma talks to Science Communcation alumna, Jessica Miller. 1)      Why did you choose this course? I have always enjoyed science; however, I realised during my BSc in Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter that laboratory work wasn’t for me. During the third year of my undergraduate degree I took a module in Science …

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Reclaiming Thalidomide Victims’ Lives: Post-war powered arm prosthesis

The 1960s witnessed ever-more complicated limb prosthetics, moving beyond the unrealistic, aesthetically unappealing wooden limbs of the early twentieth century, towards modernistic, beautifully functioning and natural-looking designs. This defined the transformation of post-war science. The pneumatically-powered prosthetic arms (pictured) were designed for Thalidomide victims, yet fit with and shaped trends in post-war science as it …

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The Festival of Britain (1951): Shaping citizens for science

This guide to the 1951 Festival of Britain, as well as two contemporary documentaries, Festival in London (1951) and Brief City (1951-2), show that the Festival clearly inspired contemporary notions of science and the post-war citizen. These sources also show that such notions inspired the development of the Festival itself. They show the importance of …

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Defiant Modernism and the NHS: The Newton Victor Gyromax Rotating Anode 120 X-ray tube (1953)

The Newton Victor Gyromax Rotating Anode 120 X-ray tube is a good example of how Britain’s post World War II ideals were reflected in the rapidly developing field of health and medicine in the 1950s. During the 1950s, science was celebrated as an essential tool for national development which could be used to the benefit …

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The Ferranti Pegasus Computer

On the Wings of White-Heat It may appear an unsightly cross between a Mark I Mini and a set of metallic wardrobes, but within its architecture the Ferranti Pegasus heralds the birth of something which continues to alter the lives of millions – this writer at this moment included – in the 21st century: desktop …

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Kent students create an international presence for local treasures

The Powell Cotton family were explorers, soldiers, women, anthropologists, naturalists, film-makers and more.  Their astonishing archives and collection form the core of the Powell Cotton Museum (PCM) in its country park, and include the world’s largest elephant specimen and the first room-sized habitat-display diorama (a form of exhibit best known through the examples at the …

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Officer! I moustache you a question: The Science of Selecting Soldiers in WWII

Which type of fine- follicled fellow would you pick to be an officer: trimmed, divided, clipped, line or bushy? Wartime researcher G.R. Perberdy gave the matter considerable thought, compiling data on the facial hair of hundreds of participants – whom he helpfully notes were male –  that went through the War Office Selection Boards (WOSBs) …

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Aldous Huxley – Antic Hay (London, 1923)

Why does Gumbril feel he needs to wear a fake beard to be ‘The Complete Man’? In Antic Hay, Gumbril feels inadequate in his own body. He feels restricted and unconfident, unable to express his true thoughts. When he sports a fake beard, however, he becomes what he calls “The Complete Man”. With the beard, …

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Chain Reaction! Workshop 2

The second workshop of the Chain Reaction! project took place on 18 April 2013. We spent the day in the nice new Colyer-Fergusson Music building at the University of Kent, a fittingly creative space in which to have artists discussing their practice. The workshop was thoughtfully planned and run by Caterina Albano of Artakt and …

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H. G. Wells – Ann Veronica (London, 1909)

How does studying biology impact on Ann Veronica’s view of the body? Ann Veronica, a young girl searching to find independence as a woman in early 20th century London, joins the Central Imperial College to study biology, with hopes of expanding her view of the world. After some exploration, she finds it comforting that science …

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