by Len Fisher | 22 Mar 2015 | Mini Stories from Science
Erectile dysfunction, the subject of many a cartoon, is in reality a very distressing condition that affects more than 150 million men worldwide. But now, in this Year of Light, light has come to the rescue. But first, a little history. Some of the early devices that... 
by Len Fisher | 15 Dec 2014 | Mini Stories from Science
I once visited the Hospital for Traditional Medicine in Lhasa, where the walls are lined with 76 huge thangkas – pictures that illustrate the processes by which the body is supposed to work, and which are used as an aid in diagnosis and treatment. The head of the... 
by Len Fisher | 9 Dec 2014 | Mini Stories from Science
The story of light is still going, with some very surprising twists, as later posts will show. Light itself can even be twisted, like the fibers in a rope, and also used to lift small objects and move them around. When Newton published his book Opticks in 1704,... 
by Len Fisher | 8 Dec 2014 | Mini Stories from Science
If you want to repeat one of Isaac Newton’s most significant experiments, try holding your index and middle fingers up to the light (don’t do this, as I once did, in a train full of drunken football supporters!). With the tips of the fingers just touching, there will...