Stephan Matthiesen

Impressions from the EarthTemp meeting

The first images and impressions from the EarthTemp meeting (25-27 June 2012) are now on the EarthTemp website. There is an elephant in the room - who can see it?

Special Issue of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP)

A Special Issue of the scientific journal "Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP)" has just been launched. By the end of next year, this issue will contain the publications from the Bortas project. Editors are (besides myself) Bryan Duncan (NASA), Paul Monks (Uni Leicester) and Rob MacKenzie (Uni Birmingham).

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Why shouldn't parents have perfect babies?

13. November 2009: Why shouldn’t parents have perfect babies? (Press release, ESRC Genomics Forum)

Press release of the Genomics Forum at the University of Edinburgh about the Biomedical Ethics Film Festival (20-22. Nov.).I'm quoted with a statement the our increasing biomedical knowledge raises fundamental questions what it means to be human, the nature of individuality, and how much of our fate is influenced by free choices or by predetermined factors.

Today in the Guardian: How I was attacked by pot plants

"... he noticed the green liana which had grown from the pot plant and reached his body. Every movement became impossible, and every scream was smothered by the plant material that was growing around his mouth and throat. ... Were the plants taking revenge on humankind, or had aliens conquered the planet? Dr Stephan Matthiesen ... personally experienced this terrifying scenario and lived to tell the tale." This appeared in today's Guardian, one of the biggest British quality newspapers. What's going on here?

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science-texts website relaunched

With new content and new technology, we have relaunched the website of our editorial team science-texts today. Unlike the old static page, the new site contains not only detailed information about Andrea Kamphuis' and my work, but also texts and news about topics that we are interested in - in particular about the formation of structures and patterns in Nature.

Chairman of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (Edinburgh Branch)

Yesterday I was elected Chairman of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Branch of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. It is a great honour to fill this post in an organisation with such a long and fruitful tradition, and I am looking forward to my new responsibilities and activities.

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"Monkeys and Apes" available

"Monkeys and Apes in the Wild" by Ingo Arndt and Fritz Jatschke, which I translated into English last winter, is now available from Papadakis. With magnificent wildlife photographs and knowledgeable texts, it introduces important species of apes and monkeys from all over the world, focussing on their behaviour in their natural environment. More information about the book can be found on the website of our editorial team science-texts (in German) or on the Amazon website.

Polar weekend: activities and information about the poles

On 8 and 9 March 2008 we organise a Polar Weekend family event at Our Dynamic Earth. Hands-on activities and presentations give people of all ages the opportunity to learn about important topics in polar research. I'm organising the event for the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Branch of the British Association for the Advancement of Science within this year's National Science and Engineering Week.

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"Von Sinnen" - book about altered states of consciousness now available

Now available in the bookshops is the volume "Von Sinnen - Traum und Trance, Rausch und Rage aus Sicht der Hirnforschung", based on a conference by turmdersinne in 2005. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only German book that introduces the different aspects of altered states of consciousness from a scientific perspective for a wider audience. More information (in German) can be found on the website of our editorial team science-texts or from mentis Verlag; you can order the book from the publishers.

Polar Meltdown at the Royal Society

3 July 2007: Polar Meltdown at the Royal Society (Press release, National Environmental Research Council)

The press release from the National Environmental Research Council (NERC) about our stall at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition in London, for which I developed a demonstration experiment showing the effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems.