North of Cam

Infographic highlighting the contributions of twelve women in chemistry history. Full alt-text available at the link in the post.

On #InternationalWomensDay, here's another edition of Women in Chemistry History. This edition features women whose achievements in chemistry include the creation of synthetic emeralds, the impact of diet on intelligence and health, and more: www.compoundchem.com/2026/03/08/i...

#ChemSky 🧪

Formidable champion of women in medical profession: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) Britain's first qualified woman physician & surgeon, co-founder & Dean of London School of Medicine for Women, first female Dean of British medical school.
Portrait: John Singer Sargent 1900, NPG London

I am a Member of Parliament today in part because of the brilliant work from groups supporting women in politics, like the Labour Womens’ Network, and the work of so many other amazing women who we celebrate on International Women’s Day.

Hoping for a ‘perfect’ baby? Genetic testing startups lur... Fertility experts say strict UK laws are no bar to accessing a booming industry that has led to concerns about eugenics

Pretty good overview of the non-medical uses of polygenic screening in IVF - good to see comments from Peter Thompson and Sarah Norcross. The legal position is indeed now hard to enforce in the UK, as the article explains. One thing I'd like to see emphasized more...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

When was that ? I vaguely remember something about it?

More seriously:
F1 is all about ridiculously over engineered, bespoke systems made without regard to economies of scale on limited production runs at huge expensive.
The MOD has already mastered those skills.

One thing I realised when Sri Lanka accidentally went organic and triggered a food crisis is that we all in one way or another eat oil. An interruption to global fertiliser supplies would be devastating

Who actually were the Hero Voters? Labour won in 2024 because of economically insecure voters, not social conservatism.

Have been a bit frustrated by some of the conversation about Labour's voter coalition.

I've written about who the "Hero Voters" actually were, how we won them, and what we need to do to earn their support next time.

chriscurtismk.substack.com/p/who-actual...

Turing Test addendum: until Claude goes 'what did your last slave die of?' or ChatGPT replies to me with 'Can't you do this yourself?' it's not AGI.

Heating oil prices have more than doubled in the UK since war broke out: that’s 4.5m people living off gas grid, no they haven’t all got Agas, and in places like Cumbria and Scottish islands that’s a lot of anxious pensioners. (Difference with post-Ukraine is oil as well as gas spiking this time)

Painting of a black and white cat and a brown cat amongst a plant with pink flowers

'Two cats amongst hellebores' by Elizabeth Blackadder (1931-2021) #WomensArt

On the one hand it's rather bad that the Greens are going to be a Corbyn mistake re-enactment society, on the other it does give those who were paying attention in those years a sudden well of expertise.

Yup the fact that he had spent about 75% of his time asleep for the last 6 month and was obviously dying didn’t count

my dad who had Alzheimer’s got his CHC claim turned down 3 weeks before he died…

Spital (Tamworth) Council By-Election Result:

➡️ RFM: 44.6% (New)
🌍 GRN: 20.4% (New)
🌳 CON: 19.4% (-18.9)
🌹 LAB: 16.6% (-23.4)

No Ind (-21.9) as previous.

Reform GAIN from Labour.
Changes w/ 2024.

Murton (Durham) Council By-Election Result:

🌹 LAB: 50.6% (+17.6)
➡️ RFM: 39.6% (-4.5)
🌍 GRN: 4.8% (New)
🌳 CON: 3.1% (-2.0)
🔶 LDM: 1.9% (-2.3)

No Ind (-13.6) as previous.

Labour GAIN from Reform.
Changes w/ 2025.

chart showing Annualised growth in real household disposable income per person, by parliament: UK

Living standards growth is set to be weak by historical standards for the rest of the Parliament, at just 0.6 per cent a year on average.

This would make it the second worst parliament for living standards growth, better only than the last one.

Get our full analysis here ⤵️ buff.ly/DqulMy0

Once again, a regulator showing it has teeth

Tbf I think it’s because otherwise they get lots of cross emails saying my mum died recently but you are right it’s worse

Snappy snaps still good for passports

Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum The autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom, researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass

Important.
A key thing to consider here is how the shame around intellectual disability remains as strong as ever. This is a driver of many of our problems.
www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

LWN's Let's Talk all things Margaret Bondfield Labour Women's Network: Supporting Labour women since 1988

There are lovely events which you don’t need to be member for like this one www.lwn.org.uk/iwd26 and there are all kinds of training on offer as well

Are you a member of @labourwomensnet.bsky.social ? they are great

If anyone is friends with any Georgian air traffic controllers, buy them a nice bottle of wine. As guardians of pretty much the only narrow gap still available between Europe and Asia that avoids both Iran, the Gulf, Ukraine and Russia, they are under some substantial pressure.

I get the strong sense that the bulk of media are calling Starmer's position on Iran entirely wrongly right now. I simply don't believe that most people out there are either as hawkish as the Tories or as anti-everything as the Greens. Being conflicted in the middle seems about right to me.

The UK’s first commercial lithium plant has opened in Cornwall and the lithium will be processed into battery-grade material by LevertonHELM here in Basingstoke.

Energy security. Skilled jobs. Backing Basingstoke.

www.ft.com/content/0df5...

Too many of our SEND interventions make provision worse We must call out unevidenced practices and debunked ideas pervading EHCPs

4. Except we're building this on an assumption that's highly suspect at least. The @schoolsweek.bsky.social investigation into what was on EHCPs was hair raising. So much dubious practice.
schoolsweek.co.uk/send-provisi...

1. The fundamental problem with the SEND white paper is it's working off the assumption there's lots of expertise and great practice available and the issue is it's too hard to get.

The underpinning belief is if this support got to children faster and without a fight things will get better fast.

Honestly the collective national level of disdain for Brits living in Dubai on all my social media platforms today really is bringing the UK together as one in a way that's hard to achieve in the modern era.

This infographic titled "Crocuses, Saffron & Poisonous Imposters" explores the chemistry and botany of crocuses. It explains that saffron comes from Crocus sativus, which contains the deep red pigment crocin. While yellow petals contain carotenoids, purple petals contain anthocyanins like delphinidin. It warns that Colchicum autumnale, also called "autumn crocus," is a toxic lookalike containing colchicine, a dangerous alkaloid that can cause organ failure but is also used to treat gout.

It’s spring in the northern hemisphere and the crocuses are blooming. Find out more about their colours and poisonous lookalikes in this graphic: www.compoundchem.com/2022/03/15/c...

#ChemSky 🧪