Welcome to the first Sarah's Shiny Science column. Every Wednesday I'll be bringing you the latest news from the weird and wonderful world of science. Right, with introductions over, let's get on with the column.

It's Nobel Prize time again and the worthy winners are being announced throughout the week. So far, three scientists have shared the prize for medicine for discovering the viruses that cause Aids and cervical cancer. And the prize for physics has gone to three researchers for their work on the building blocks of matter, called subatomic particles. The discovery of a protein that glows green, which is being used to study Alzheimer's disease and the spread of cancers, has netted the chemistry prize.

But before you start berating yourself for a lack of personal accomplishment this year, take a look at how some of the world's brainiest boffins have wasted their smarts after the jump...

Dear LHC,

Please don't kill us all. Please don't create a black hole, when you get going on the whole 'particles colliding at the speed of light' thing.

Things I've yet to do yet include find out about the new Apple products, work out exactly how the semantic web works and get picked to appear on My Super Sweet Sixteenth.

Trust me, no one wants to know about the origins of the universe that badly (although apparently they *do* want to know £2.4bn much).

Much love,

All those at Shiny Towers

This is a very strange concept to explain. On one hand it's incredibly simple, but on the other hand you have to see it to believe it. I've been lucky enough to experience it firsthand with a morning at London Aquarium testing manta-rays patience by dunking things in their pool. And what was I dunking? A mixture of tissue paper and cloth that had been coated with a unique treatment.

Hi-Tec have developed something called ion-mask technology which uses nanotechnology to enhance the surface of an object till it's completely water repellent,

Have you got a dog in the room with you whilst you're reading this? If so, watch out, because whilst it might look like the pooch is chewing on your new stilettos, he may actually be plotting to take over the world.

A new study, which only gets stranger the more your read of it, suggests that dogs have adapted through the ages to communicate with humans, and even goes as far as to suggest Fido has a moral compass.

A UK scientists has declared it would be 'crazy' for women to stop moisturising. Not because he lives in fear of living in a world where women look their age, but because it turns out that you can't extrapolate findings of a couple of mice you moisturised and generalise it to women worldwide. Shocker.

The background: A US study found that when they shaved mice and exposed them to UV light, 69% more of them got skin cancer compared to those who hadn't touched the Oil of Olay. However, as the UK scientist pointed out, shaved mice are hardly designed to be exposed to sunlight, unlike our own huuman-type skin.

It seems when male guppies get in the mood for love they can be frighteningly persistent, and if they're rejected will apparently "attempt to sneak a mating". Something tells me that the sneak mating move isn't a defence that would stand up in court. Rather than risk attracting males, female guppies will instead choose to swim in an area swarming with predators, in the hope that that will deter the amorous males.

In my head, this is the equivalent of running through traffic to escape from a Weatherspoon's pub on a Friday night. I think we can all sympathise with the female guppies, ladies.

[via Science Daily]

More edumacational science? Click here.

Finally, we're one step closer to being able to lose weight and get fit through the medium of a chocolate bar. Scientists have produced a pill which has allowed mice to train for ages on the treadmill, without any prior exercise. It also lead them to burn fat whilst they were exercising, rather than sugar.

What does this mean for us? Why, it means as long as you've got a liking for cheese, whiskers and a slightly twitchy nose, you can start eating as much as you like, safe in the knowledge there's a medical trial with your name on it imminent.

[via BBC]

Back in the days of yore Japanese children were told tales of ancient battles and heroic deeds. This legacy continues today with Japanese folk legends still part of our culture (Just watch Hiro in Heroes if you don't believe me). The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu's is possibly one of the oldest stories ever written, and you can have it read to you by this alluring kimono clad fembot. She has a built in MP3 player, and will read it out to you, as well as enact it by gesturing with her neck as she glides across the floor.

Good news if you live in Westminster, City of London or Kensington - you're hot. Bromley, Dagenham and Haringey? Not so much.

A study has shown that we're all guilty of judging people in terms of attractiveness based on where it is they live. Basically, the more affluent the area, the more people will fancy you.

The researchers hypothesise that it could be that the richer you are the more you smile (eh?) or it could be that it's the rich setting the agenda on what's deemed attractive i.e. they control the media. Or, it could be that when you know someone lives on a crime-free, tree lined avenue, they suddenly become a pretty attractive proposition...

Whilst being aware of what's normal for your breasts is advised (so you can identify the abnormal), scientists are suggesting that women who conduct frequent and detailed breast exams tend to have more biopsies which are then identified as normal.

Frequent examiners had twice as many, in fact, compared to those who examined on a less regular and in-depth manner. Those biopsied suffered increase stress levels, for obvious reasons. Between these two groups, there were found to be no difference between the number of deaths from breast cancer.

Having said that, that's not a green light to ignore your boobles - some examination is surely beneficial. Best nip to the loo now and have a good rummage about in fact.

[via The Guardian]

This is one of those stories that makes me want to hug the internet and give it a big squeeze. Doctor Who fans, pretty much geeks to a man (hi!), have been gathering on the intermatube to create reconstructions of lost Doctor Who episodes - for nothing more than the pleasure of knowing that they exist in the world for all to see and enjoy.

(Watch a video clip after the turn)

It was a sad day indeed when, two years ago, experts stripped Pluto of its official planet status. No longer would the Disney cartoon dog enjoy an eternal astonomical legacy. Instead, it became a 'dwarf planet' (a la Snow White, and in keeping with the Disney theme).

Now, though, researchers have declared that any small spherical objects beyond Neptune should carry the tag 'Plutoid'.

If you've got a big decision to make, you're best off doing it after lunch. And if you're on your way out to Sainsburys, can I recommend the chicken soup, tuna, bananas and (hooray!) chocolate. These are the foods high in amino acids, which a new study has found increase the chances of making a good decision.

By manipulating the subject's diet, researchers found that by increasing foods high in the right amino acids they kept seratonin levels high. Low seratonin levels often resulted in aggressive social responses, aka being a bit mardy and refusing options available just because you're in a bad mood (me? Never!).

The moral of this story? If you're going to have to make any kind of decision today, go and grab a bar of Galaxy first.

[via Daily Telegraph]

More science? We've got it.

Pterosaur were lazy buggers, according to the latest of dino-expertry out there. Rather than utilising their massive wings, scooping fish and the like out of the sea in the manner of our modern-day gulls, they preferred just to lumber about like your common garden dinosaur.

It's yet another case of back to the Jurassic drawing board, as textbooks, museums and films starring Jeff Goldblum turn out to be misrepresenting the era. Specifically, the Azhdarchids were the best type of Pterosaures on land, which seems a shame since they boasted a wingspan of over 10 metres and were as tall as giraffes. That would have made an impressive site.

[via Science Daily]

More edumacational stuff? Check out all our Science news here.

Yesterday was a bank holiday, so I'm going to spend the entire week thinking we're a day behind. Yay! And so, to Science Monday. You've no doubt heard about the Phoenix mission to Mars, which has been tasked with pootling over to the red planet to get some photos of what's going on over there. You might even be following it on Twitter.

The photos beamed back, together with the excavated ice found below the surface, has scientists proclaiming that there is, or at least was, life on Mars. It's just a question of getting the right technology to the right place.

Bad news for those who spent Saturday night on the lash, followed by a sneaky kebab. It's been the 'healthy takeaway option' in most people's minds, in comparison to things like a curry or a pizza. But scientists have pooped on another party, declaring that each kebab might have up to a glass of wine of cooking oil in it. Ouch. And it gets worse - eating two a week could lead to a coronary in ten years.

What to have instead? Well, if you can find somewhere selling it as you tip out of the pub, Chinese bar-b-q'd pork scored ok, but you're best of going for (my personal favourite) a shish kebab.

You might want to file this in preparation of Friday night.

[via The Guardian]

It looks like there's a team of scientists out there dedicating their life to proving whether those cartoon fallacies are in fact, true. First up Popeye. Well, it turns out that he was right, along with your mother - spinach does actually increase strength.

Rats were injected with the extracted chemical found in the plant, and found that after month were stronger, and had better grip. Putting the chemical on human muscle made them grow by 20%, so that's great news. The bad news? In order to see any effect as a human, you've got to guzzle over two pounds of it a day. Spinach smoothie, anyone?

No word on whether crusts turn your hair curly or if carrots make you see in the dark though.

[via The Telegraph]

My sister is tall, blonde and athletic, which is a marked contrast to myself, who doesn't trouble the basketball courts in either stature or athleticism. Still, I would think that our genetic link is slightly more obvious than that between a chicken and the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Research has concluded that the monster's closest relative is the humble chicken, of crossing the road fame. Another close relative is the ostrich, where as the crocodile and lizard proteins were barely second cousins twice removed.

Fancy a change in career? Looking for something other than pen pushing, computer staring or managing minions? You're in luck - the European Space Agency is currently recruiting for astronauts to join their space programme.

It's not the easiest of applications. You'll need to be science-y, engineer-y and pilot-like. You'll complete a medical, a professional aptitude test, psychological profiling, a second medical and an interview in front of the selection board.

But there's more.

A project is being kicked off this week involving researchers across Europe in a bid to make robots nicer, friendlier and more interactive. It's been decided that robots won't truly be trusted by us humanoids until we can interact with them on a personal level. Engineers, psychologists and computer scientists will all be hard at work for the next four years to build personalities worthy of R2D2.

One robot has been dubbed 'the spirit of the house' which is designed to look after the elderly. The robot will make sure no one has fallen over, that the residents have taken their pills and the like (why this is preferable to an elderly person being looked after and spending time with a person is unclear).