So my current contract is coming to an end this autumn, and I'm looking for pastures new. While browsing the job sites for anything suitable, I came across this little gem of a post-doc: "Research Scientist (Energy from Pig Manure), Pig Production Development Unit, Teagasc, Ireland".

The lucky applicant will be working on a project euphemistically titled "energy generation options for pig manure and sustainable disposal of residue". Never did the word "residue" seem so unappealing.

It is the most disasterous cyclone-hit in recent times. Latest reports suggest 22,464 people confirmed dead with another 41,054 missing, mostly in the low lying Irrawaddy delta region on the Burmese coast, where those still alive are facing deficits of foot, water, shelter and sanitation. The damage was done not by the winds of "Cyclone Nargis" however, but by a tidal surge more than ten feet high that swept across the land.

At some point this week, Gordon Brown will ignore the advice of his own scientists, and reclassify cannabis as a Class B rather than a Class C drug. In doing so, he plans to demonstrate that he is tough on drugs, and in touch with Daily Mail readers. What he'll actually demonstrate is that he has no interest in creating a meaningful policy that tackles the problems of drugs, based on scientific evidence. Instead, he wants to continue to use a discredited system designed for posturing rather than action, in an attempt to win a few more votes.

In writing this blog I want to try and cover some of the stories that are missed by other science blogs, and also to reinforce the link between science and the wider world, to show that research affects our day-to-day policies. In that spirit, I thought I'd share with you a paper just published in PLoS, that looks at the effect of the Arab-Israeli conflict on an Arab population - "Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Lebanon: First Onset, Treatment, and Exposure to War" [1].

In a move that has seriously concerned the Turkish Human Rights Association, The owner of the Komsu restaurant in Nişantaşı, Istanbul has ordered his service staff to have Botox injections in their armpits, in order to reduce body odour in the sweaty environment. (HT: Private Eye)

The owner of the Komsu restaurant, Kemal Koç, explains his position in the following two quotes, picked up by Cyprus Tourism Monthly:

Tim Harford, the "Undercover Economist" (although personally I'm not sure publishing two best-selling books and having an FT column under your name is really being that undercover) has just posted an entry on his blog about the "Time Machiner". This is a fascinating little web application that lets you send e-mails now for delivery in the future, on any date up to 2030.

This is similar to Royal Mail's technology, which allows the delivery of today's mail in the distant future, but can't guarantee any particular day, month of year.