Jenny Gristock

The health benefits of three wheels

A tricycle might not be the first thing that springs to mind as a solution to mobility problems, but Jenny Gristock explains how a “bucket bike” helped her I live with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome, which, as the Royal College of General…

Do we really need more women in science?

Why are so few women publishing scientific papers? This question is posed by New Scientist magazine, as it reports that in medicine, female authorship of scientific papers has started to go backwards. Since 2009, the proportion of women as lead…

The protection in the sway of a woman's walk

A sexy walk may be alluring, but changes in the sway of a woman’s hips also protect her during her most fertile period. So say researchers who have found that during ovulation, our hips sway less; not more. The finding implies that evolution doesn’t…

Journalism’s role in science

According to the scientist Richard Dawkins, science journalism is "too important to be left to journalists". Why then, will the Today programme be broadcasting live from the Royal Society this Thursday? Is it possible scientists are beginning to…

Bathroom bliss: run rings around a curtain

Scientists have solved one of life's most annoying problems: how to stop the shower curtain from wrapping itself around your legs. The answer has been found by an American engineer, David Schmidt, who has built a computer model that explains why…

Cash for much less flash

For students with photosensitive epilepsy, flickering screens are a serious hazard. Jenny Gristock suggests countermeasures and ways to finance them Not all people with epilepsy are badly affected by flashing lights and flickering screens. But help…

Patients - a real virtue in biomedical innovation

Government policies focus on developing links with industry but that is not the only place fruits of academic research can be applied. Jenny Gristock reportsA hidden research network based on United Kingdom hospitals that could be as important for…

Tricksy evolution proves its worth

How do you create a sophisticated, clever robot? Let it evolve. So say researchers from the University of Sussex, who have "artificially evolved" the brains and the bodies of real machines.The researchers, from the Centre for Computational…

Not making it easier for mums - or dads

Parents of sixth-formers cannot be having an easy time right now. But what of another group of mums and dads: those who are still at college? How can they face the prospect of abolished grants and huge loan repayments when there are shoes to be…