SoT 187: Not All Experts Agree

Dr. Alice Gorman is a Space Archaeologist. She explains what that means, and why cable ties can be more significant than you might think.

NASA has ended the MESSENGER space probe's mission by crashing it into the planet Mercury. Initially only expected to orbit Mercury for one year, MESSENGER has provided a wealth of new information in it's four year study of the closest planet to the Sun.

A team of Chinese scientists claim to have built a farm that maintains the high crop yields we expect from conventional farms while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. And they've done that largely by replacing traditional chemical fertilizers with cow manure.

The United Nations has named 2015 the Year of the Soil, which is perhaps fitting given the growing amount of research looking at ways soil bacteria could help mitigate the effects of climate change.

A small TV news segment from a local network in New Mexico sparked an international media frenzy when it claimed that some beards contain more faecal bacteria than a toilet. Unsurprisingly, there's more crap in those claims than there is in most beards.