Science
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The Science Of… Takeaways
Whether you’re a bright-eyed fresher or a toughened old hand in your final year, takeaways are a regular part of uni life. Maybe you’re (justifiably) avoiding hall dinners, or haven’t got used to the idea of cooking regularly yet. Hopefully you’ve got some vague notion that the amount of grease you consume can’t be great, even if the finer details have escaped you.
The short-term effects of a dodgy takeaway (possibly from some obscure place you only rang to save money by avoiding Domino’s) will, to most of you, be nauseatingly familiar, and are grouped under the broad term ‘food poisoning’. Common symptoms are, unsurprisingly, a tummy ache, feeling sick, being sick, and diarrhoea. Usually these start suddenly, between 12 and 48 hours after having eaten the offending meal. Most people recover within a day, and nearly everyone does after a week.
The most common bacteria to cause food poisoning have both been highlighted in the news: Campylobacter and Salmonella. These can be present in raw meat and poultry, which is why thorough cooking is essential; and if it doesn’t happen, you end up ingesting the bacteria along with your food, and feeling the consequences. The throwing up and diarrhoea are your body desperately trying to get rid of these unwanted bacteria and the toxins they produce.
The long-term consequences? These are predictable – one example is obesity. Another is atherosclerosis – this is when your arteries begin getting clogged with fat deposits; if severe, a heart attack could result. And these effects may not seem imminent, but can creep up in later life! Short-term effects include the “take away glaze” - a heady concoction of grease and sweat on your face that appears after a heavy D2’s session. However, the severity of these things generally correlates to the number of takeaways you have, and also depends on other aspects of your lifestyle, such as how much exercise you do.
Now I’ve scared and confused you, let me give some hope, by way of a few tips. And no, you don’t have to chuck out all those beloved menus! You just have to ensure you order from reputable places, and adapt what you order.
One golden rule: avoid anything fried. So prawn crackers, samosas, poppadoms and the like are out. Also, veg based dishes are better than thick, creamy ones, so try a Rogan Josh instead of a standard Tikka Masala, and a stir fry instead of curry and egg-fried rice. And tipping away excess oil floating on top of an item will substantially cut the amount of fat in it. With pizza, choose toppings wisely; none of that extra cheese or processed meats - how about some peppers and tomatoes?
Hopefully you can now begin to tread the path towards all that is nourishing and wholesome…or maybe you’ll toss this aside and reach for the phone. Either way, best of luck in all your dining endeavours!
Aarohi Sharma
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Playing Darwin? Spore Review
Will Wright must be on drugs. Going on what we’ve seen in Spore, the man behind Sim City and The Sims believes evolution happened in a puff of smoke and that luminous, no-eyed beasts make for effective civilisations. But while Darwin might not approve, this makes Spore one ‘life sim’ which is accessible, deep, and downright charming.
Like The Sims, you’ll create and control your endearing avatar, guiding them through a virtual existence. Rather than choose baseball caps and jeans, here you’ll shape spines, add tails, and, with the help of a wide selection of phallic limbs, strip your monster of all dignity.
Your ultimate goal is evolution. Managing diplomatic relations with neighbouring, tribes, using mating calls for inter-creature reproduction, and even a space ship creator to launch enterprising space programs makes for a brilliant bit of escapism, even allowing players to unleash a vicious streak by venturing online and completely undoing a thousand years’ worth of another player’s planetary progress.
In an industry which professes to cater for females by simply adding either puppies or the colour pink, Spore dares to bring a sledgehammer to demographic boundaries, and, in the process, provides an experience with universal appeal.
Ben Griffin
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Max Out Your Meal Card
This is the guide for you if you want to know how to make the most of your £4.50 - simply select the meal to suit your mood…
• “OUCH! Hangover!” – A carb overload is required here; in Portland awaits the solution in buckets full of pizza, pasta, chips and garlic bread ready to absorb the alcohol layering your stomach. Sorted.
• “Freshers’ flu. Maybe I should eat more vitamins?” - Stack up on iron to boost your white blood cell count and Vitamins C and D, both of which synergise to help you get more from your vitamin intake. Smoothies range from £2.45 to £2.95 or alternatively just make one yourself - grab 12 pieces of fruit for 35p each, and a plastic cup for free.
• “Crisps, crisps, CRISPS!” - 10 packets of 40p Doritos and 4 packets of 12p sauce for dip.
• “I’m craving sugar…” - 2 tubs of Ben & Jerry’s finest at £1.80 and 2 packets of 40p crisps. OR 5 cakes/muffins/cookies at 85p and 2 packets of 12p sauce to ice. Impact recommends mint sauce for its high glucose content.
• “I wonder, what’s the maximum number of items I can get with my meal card?” – Legend has it that you can purchase 37 sachets of your favourite condiment. However, act with caution; these can be obtained for free from your hall with your evening meal, so stock up!
And lastly, Impact’s top optimization tip: all Paninis are priced at £2.90 in Portland, when exactly the same Paninis can be found in the Biology cafe for £2.50!Laura McKeith
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Mythbusting…
Did your ma ever tell you to drink eight glasses of water every day to stay healthy and hydrated? Or did some wise guy trick you into believing that we only use 10% of our brains? Well, guys, it’s time we debunked those myths…
How about the claim that you shouldn’t swallow gum because it takes seven years to pass through your digestive system? Right, so it is indigestible, but that just means that it will come out the other end intact. And it won’t take seven years either – twelve hours to three days is usually enough mouth to toilet transit time.
Coming back to the water theory, although it’s a fine plan to down plenty of water, there is neither a scientific nor a medical basis for the specific amount of eight glasses per day. Water intake requirements differ from person to person, depending on age, size and amount of physical activity. Also, the human body requires nearly four litres of water a day, and almost half of that comes from food. Instead of drinking more, how about a trip to Portland for some meal-card fun?
Looking at my computer, I’m reminded of the tale of keyboards harbouring more germs than toilet seats. Unfortunately for me, this one is true! According to an academic study, a work-station is much dirtier than a bathroom; a keyboard can harbour up to 3,295 microbes per square inch, whereas the average toilet seat contains only 49. I don’t know if I am convinced, but hey - how often do you clean your toilet vs. your keyboard?
Ever heard this one from your parents: “you can’t have any more sugar, you will be bouncing of the walls”? To their credit, they probably didn’t want you to get hyperactive and reenact your favourite fight scene from the latest summer blockbuster. But they also gave you the idea that you could be spiderman if you had more sugar, so you ate the entire bag of Haribo. And the only superhero you became that day was ‘Vomit-His-Stomach-Contents’ man. Well, your mum was wrong on this one. Firstly, gravity is unaffected by sugar, and secondly, despite the common belief, there is no evidence to suggest that a high-sugar diet induces hyper-activity. Oh yeah, but the part about sugar destroying you teeth is still true.
And finally, in my opinion one of the most popular myths states that your hair and fingernails continue to grow after you death. That’s entertaining, but not accurate! What actually happens is that dehydration makes the skin shrink back, making your hair and nails look longer.
That’s five myths debunked for you!Ruby Kassam
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Man vs machine…on instant messenger?
In 1950, computer pioneer (and gay icon) Alan Turing came up with a test to establish whether a computer exhibits true intelligence. Known as the Turing Test, it involves a human judge chatting on instant messenger, with both an AI program and a bog standard human, and then attempting to distinguish which is which. If the judge fails to tell the two apart the computer wins the Turing Test and is granted the status of artificial intelligence, while the human control subject is condemned to a lifetime of shame and infamy of being that hapless soul with a personality duller than a toaster.
Okay, it’s a bit more complicated than that. To pass the Turing test a computer must be able to fool the human judges at least 30% of the time. No computer or software program has yet come close to achieving such a feat…until now! Meet Elbot, an Artificial Conversational Entity (ACE) created by Fred Roberts, a computer consultant based in Hamburg, Germany. Elrod was recently involved in an annual Turing shootout between ACEs, each hoping to win the Leobner prize for superior ‘chatterbots’, held at the University of Reading. Elrod not only beat the competition but he – or I suppose, ‘it’ for the cynics among you, beat them in style by fooling 25% (3 out of 12) of its judges and coming closer than anything before to meeting Turing’s threshold. I had the honour of personally speaking to Elrod about his recent success and he seemed to be taking it very modestly (for the opportunity to speak to Elrod see below). What’s my honest opinion of its human busting abilities? I was pleasantly surprised – whilst there was something definitely very fishy about Elrod’s tendency to wildly jump from one topic to another, I enjoyed some badly executed attempts at humour – all quite complex behaviour for what is essentially a pile of electric circuits. In all frankness I have to question the people skills of some of the judges or human control subjects involved in the Loebner prize. However, what Elbot did suggest is a computer program capable of winning the Turing test isn’t too far off over the horizon.
Of course, philosophers and computer scientists have been thrashing around the nebulous issue of whether the Turing Test really proves intelligence for decades (notably, Elbot’s creator doesn’t buy it). But there are some more immediate implications of the development of such technology on cyberspace, especially due to the widespread usage of internet chatrooms, instant messaging and social networking websites. I’ll let you mull over that one. Dying to meet Elbot? Go fire up your web browser and visit him at www.elbot.com .
By Nasef Khan
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FIFA 09 review
Football fans are a loyal, optimistic bunch. Each year they pin their hopes on their team, praying that their support with finally pay off. Yet each season, early promise gives way to inevitable failure. The parallels with football games are uncanny; each year we hope and we’re told that this time we’ll get the title we deserve. In fact, FIFA 07’s motto was “This is the season”; it wasn’t. Euro 2008 was a surprisingly decent improvement over last year’s title, but has FIFA finally become the game we so want it to be?
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Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway review
A girl in a plain white dress swings from the rafters of the barn roof above, swaying in the wind; the soldiers who hung her there long gone. Such unexpected brutality makes you stop for a second and think. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway is defined by moments like this, showing a level of maturity unmatched by its peers. It takes inspiration from the likes of Band of Brothers, but is brave enough to carve out its own story rather than duplicating someone else’s.
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Discover Science City
Whether you’re a fresher or a postgrad, one of the best things about the University is its size and diversity - you can always discover new things about it. Impact Science takes a look at some of the ‘hidden gems’ and interesting facts about Science City, the mysterious group of buildings down by the East Entrance.
Whilst the Physics and Chemistry departments here epitomise all that is good about Science - expensive equipment, beards, gadgets, frothing test tubes and eccentric old men - there are other more subtle joys to be had here. One of the more interesting laboratories is the Nottingham Centre for Pavement Research. Offering delights such as ‘cracking pendulum tests’, ‘micro penetrations’ and a ‘ring and ball softening test’, this truly is one of the most exciting sounding facilities. Not just a source of amusing jargon, however, this department offers undergrads the chance to get to grips with the very pertinent problems facing pavement construction in the UK today.
Overlooking the Pavement research centre, up the hill towards Cripps sits the ‘Sir Peter Mansfield centre for Magnetic Resonance’. Inside, silently brooding, sits the main magnet, with a strength of over 100,000 times that of the Earth’s magnetic field. One of the main dangers of this magnet is the aptly named ‘missile effect’ - when metal objects accidentally brought into the room containing the magnet fly towards it in an uncontrollable fashion. Thankfully they’ve had no accidents here, but others have not been so lucky - one man in America had his jaw broken by a ‘flying’ metal oxygen tank during an MRI scan, and successfully sued for $150,000. The staff will tell you many an apocryphal story of women being stuck by their wedding or ear rings to the magnet until it’s switched off.
‘The Tower’ (that’s the official and inspired name) overlooks most of Science city, and provides a home to what a cynic might call the leftovers of the University - you’ll see floors dedicated to primary care, the odd architecture studio and some electronic engineers bemusedly wandering around. The sullen and overgrown brother of the graceful Trent building spire, ‘The Tower’ used to be used for charity abseils by Karnival, until the University got wind of the insurance premiums for such an audacious act, and that - as they say - was the end of that.
Of course, no tour of Science city could be complete without a mention of the Biology building café, where many an unsuspecting fresher has been pounced on by the enthusiastically maternal catering staff for not fully maximising their meal card allowance. So next time you’re down there, pop in for a sandwich or three and marvel at all the interesting and bewildering activity going on around you.
By Henry Blanchard
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Surviving Freshers’ Flu: Impact Goes Virus Busting
Even the most flu-alert health-freak would be shocked by what you can pick up off the Isis dance floor during Week One. And then there’s the germs.
After a week of steadily saturating your body with the ominous contents of cocktail dustbins and sharing other people’s sweat in Stealth, you can expect the leukocytes guarding the gates of your immune system to be just as pissed off their little cell faces as you are, meaning it’s also party time for the Freshers’ Flu Virus and the venue is You.
The bad news first: flus tend to be viral, and since they won’t respond to antibiotics there is little you can do for the causes. However, there are all sorts of concoctions on the market to relieve the symptoms. But faced with all that choice, can you spot your Sudafeds from your pseudo-meds? Street names aside, here is a run down of the long words you should match to each symptom.
Your basic snot-buster is pseudoephedrine, a decongestant that causes the blood vessels in the nasal passages to contract, decreasing blood flow, reducing both that stuffy feeling and mucus production. However, Pharmacy student Adelle Painter recommends you only take this for a day or two, or risk getting rebound congestion when you stop using it…
For pain relief, you can probably guess the standard paracetamol and ibuprofen. Interestingly enough, we don’t fully understand exactly how paracetamol works, despite having swallowed the stuff for over a century. Ibuprofen is a more effective anti-inflammatory and reduces fever. All flu meds contain one or the other, and it goes without saying: always read the labels if you’re mixing meds. Overdosing on the paracetamol in Lemsip Max is not funny. (Nor is it economical when you consider that for the same price you can have a perfectly good night on a Bargain Booze wine of the week, with a bit left over for an Arcos.)
Immune boosters Vitamin C and Zinc will help sober up your leukocytes. Rest is paramount to ensure your body starts flu busting, and watch out for lingering symptoms in case you have a secondary infection. Snuggling up on the sofa, with several hours’ exposure to Dave, is a clinically proven remedy. Kind of.
Perhaps the most obvious symptom of Freshers’ Flu is the almighty coughing plague, where in large lecture halls the sheer volume of coughing can drown out the lecturer. You’re forgiven if your first week of lecture notes consists of some incomprehensible squiggles and a few patches of phlegm. Our first piece of advice is dextromethorphan, found in most cough meds, which stems overactive cough reflexes. Our second piece of advice: if you’re in a steeply tiered lecture theatre, sit near the back.
By Sophie Stammers
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The Science of… Being Drunk and Disorderly
In moderation, getting a little tipsy can be quite a pleasant experience. Most people find a couple of drinks will give them more confidence and make them feel more carefree. Of course too much can lead to embarrassing and sometimes regrettable events. Printable examples include falling into shrubbery on the way home, stupidly offering to pay for the whole taxi or somehow managing to lose your shoes.
But what is actually happening inside your body to make you feel so drunk?Contrary to common belief, although mixing your drinks might make you feel sick, it won’t make you any more drunk. How drunk you are depends entirely upon your blood alcohol concentration, and this is affected by the amount of units you drink, no matter where they’ve come from.
Firstly the alcohol must be absorbed from your gut into your bloodstream. This happens surprisingly quickly and the effects of the boozing will soon be felt. Fizzy drinks go to your head even quicker because the bubbles push the contents of your stomach through to your small intestine faster, and this is where most of the alcohol is absorbed.
Once inside your bloodstream alcohol starts to affect your central nervous system. Processing information from your senses begins to take longer and your reaction times are slowed. This is why getting behind the wheel even after only a couple of drinks is a complete no go.
A few rounds later, the alcohol begins to affect the outer layer of your brain - the frontal cortex - and all rational decision-making skills go out of the window. This is the point where dancing on the tables in Ocean becomes the best idea in the world. Extra points if you manage to humiliate yourself further by scrounging some kind of novelty headwear. Pirate bandanas and bunny ears seem to be favourites.
There are many parts of the brain affected by alcohol. The cerebellum is the bit that controls fine muscle movements. Touching your finger to the end of your nose can be pretty tricky whilst under the influence. Want proof? Then do try this at home, but be careful not to poke your eyes out.
The limbic system is the part of the brain linked to emotions and after a few drinks these can become pretty exaggerated. Whether you end up trying to pick a fight with the bouncer (not a good idea) or breaking down in floods of tears because someone spilt VK apple down your top, depends largely upon your personality and the mood of the night so far.
Alcohol is an anti-diuretic meaning that it stops you from producing the hormone which normally helps your body reabsorb excess water from your wee, keeping your bladder emptier for longer. Without it you’ll be queuing for the loos all night.
Consequently a night of drinking leaves you dehydrated and full of sugar. The body responds by increasing its insulin production to combat the high levels of glucose. Once you stop drinking, sugar continues to be broken down resulting in a serious craving for carbs to balance it out. This explains why at three in the morning anyone who has Dino’s pizza on their speed dial is automatically your best friend!
After the greasy treat it’s usually time for bed. It can be a little difficult to sleep though if the room feels like its spinning. This happened because the little blobs of jelly inside your ears, which control your sense of balance, are affected by the alcohol. Their shape is distorted causing messages to be sent to your brain telling it that you are moving. The effect is greatest when lying in bed in the dark because there are no signals from your eyes telling you not to be so stupid.
The following day your poor liver has to work overtime to break down the toxins in your body and it needs water to do so. Not one to give in easily, the liver simple borrows water from your other organs. This is what causes the headache, when your water-deprived brain feels like it’s shrunk and is knocking around inside your head. Dehydration also drains the potassium from your body, and this accounts for the insatiable thirst, muscle cramps and dizziness. The dreaded hangover is pretty horrible - but don’t worry it, will pass.
Until then, hopefully reminiscing over the breakfast table will provide enough amusing anecdotes to make the pounding head worthwhile.
Laura McGuinness