by Erin Brown, Science Correspondent

When it comes to politics, finding the meaning behind words can be a lot trickier than it seems.

It’s no big news that politicians frequently use language to influence public opinion.  Successful ones cleverly choose words that convey a message simultaneously ambiguous enough to avoid offending those who disagree and substantive enough to create the appearance of having actual ideas and convictions.

Examples of insidious or inane political language abound.  Usually reporters can be trusted to parse public statements and hold speakers accountable for their words.  Sometimes, however, those watchdogs of the political circuit miss the mark. Read More

by Erin Brown, Science Correspondent

A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology recently announced at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that 63% of the Neanderthal genome has been successfully sequenced.

Neanderthals, humans’ closest relative in the evolutionary tree of life, lived until around 30,000 years ago but disappeared abruptly from the fossil record.  It is believed the evolutionary lines of humans and Neanderthals split approximately 800,000 years ago. Read More

by Anna Fenton, Assistant Head of News

Scottish ministers have recently unveiled plans to set minimum pricing for alcohol in Scotland in this latest attempt to combat drinking problems. Campaign groups have pushed the government to spread these measures throughout the UK, but the drinks industry have argued that is would have little effect on British drinking culture, and would only punish the ordinary consumer.
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comment by Anna Fenton, Assistant Head of News

The 2009 EUSA elections have been high-spirited and as always, competition has been fierce. Using all media at their disposal, including Youtube, newspapers, blogs, and our very own Fresh Air, it has been a pitched battle to see who has got what it takes. After weeks of campaigning, debates and stress for all involved, the votes have been counted and results for the 2009 EUSA election are in.
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by Joe Duggin, FreshReporter

The recent charges levelled at Sir Allen Stanford for fraud amounting to around $8 billion have thrown a cumbersome spanner in the fragile works of English cricket and have unfortunately overshadowed an exciting tour of the West Indies.  Sir Allen’s alleged exploits are deeply concerning yet they may, in the long term, help cricket and sport in general distance itself from the monetary greed that distracts from sport’s nascent mystique. Read More

by Lina Barbenes, Science Correspondent

A study published on Sunday the 15th of February in the journal Nature Neuroscience reports that a new method, using existing blood pressure pills, could be useful for weakening or erasing bad memories in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the new study on humans, by Merel Kindt and colleagues at University of Amsterdam, 60 subjects were taught to associate pictures of spiders with a mild shock, creating a fearful memory. Later, they were given either a beta-blocker called propranolol or a placebo. The group given propranolol had a greatly decreased fear response to the spider pictures 24 hours later, according to the journal. And the fear response did not return, suggesting that their fear memory was completely erased.

Would you like a 'spotless mind'?

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A poor turn out was seen at the EUSA General meeting last night despite many controversial motions brought for debate. The meeting was rendered pointless, falling far short of the 300 students needed to make the meeting quorate. Therefore any decision reached last night was not a binding mandate for the EUSA sabbatical officers but it did give a rough idea of student opinion for the Sabbaticals to act on in future. The lack of real student involvement was surprising as the motions brought forward for debate had been well publicised. Read More

by Kane Mumford, FreshReporter

It is nothing new to assume that if alcohol was invented today it would be a controlled and classified substance. More difficult to determine, however, is in this hypothetical scenario where alcohol is removed from its ingrained place in society and treated as any other inebriate is what classification it would receive from the home office.

The simple answer is no one knows. The department for science and technology have been voluble on the arbitrary nature of drug classification for some time – in 2005 they said that “the present system of drug classification is based on historical assumptions, not scientific assessment”. So it really is down to who is in charge at the time.

Jacqui Smith, when calling upon an Advisory Council, headed by Professor David Nutt of the DST to find out just how naughty people who take ecstasy are being, she discovered that in Nutt’s words “Horse riding is a more dangerous pursuit”. He was made to apologize for his statement which was based on a mere year of study and a career in pharmacology and ecstasy remains a Class A drug. It resides in this category with heroin which funnily enough is called horse. So Ecstasy is as dangerous as horse (not horse riding).

Ecstasy has become the drug of choice for the clubbing generation

Smith’s cause is noble enough – people should not be breaking the law for their kicks and to demote Ecstasy to a Class B substance may indeed “send out the wrong message”. But the fact is that it has been at Class A since it was recognized as a controlled substance – a period that has seen its use become more popular. Furthermore, a slightly foolish young person caught with ecstasy intended for recreational use can look forward to the same treatment at the hands of the law as one caught with a more harmful substance. This sort of thing will happen as long as the classification system misrepresents the dangers of substances and people will continue to get the wrong message about those who fall foul of the disproportionate sentencing this it leads to. Read More

by Annabel Cooper, Presenter and Online Reporter

One month in and 2009 has already been a year for political firsts. As Barack Obama had barely settled himself into his new seat in the Oval Office, news broke that Icelandic politics was to have a pioneering leader of its own. The crippling financial crisis and ill health cut short Geir Haarde’s premiership and up-stepped former social affairs minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, to become the world’s first openly gay head of state. She will preside over a coalition of her social democratic party with the Left-Greens until the elections in May at least. So what it is about Iceland and their new lesbian leader that has made this unprecedented appointment possible? And if they can do it, can we Brits do it too?

Sigurdardottir

This small north Atlantic nation has always had a reputation for quietly progressive politics and was the first to elect a female head of state in 1980 when Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became its 4th president. She went on to serve three terms as leader (ring any bells?). But despite widespread coverage of this pioneering woman’s election in the 80s and a keen interest from the international press in Sigurdardottir’s promotion this week, Icelandic voters are bemused by the furore.  For them, “Saint Johanna” as she’s affectionately known, is the natural choice.

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