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The latest on everything that matters to student life, from UCD’s campuses and from around the country

Otwo

The University Observer’s award-winning arts and culture supplement features the best in new music, film and fashion

Features

Peek behind the scenes of student life and gain a deeper insight into the matters shaping academic life

Science & Health

Thoughts, debate and commentary on the latest breakthroughs and discoveries about the wider world

Sport

Catch up with the latest UCD sports news and read opinion, debate and analysis on all things athletic

A brief history of Daylight Saving
Tuesday, 29 Mar, 2011 – 14:01 | Comments Off
A brief history of Daylight Saving

Hopefully everyone has adjusted after that one hour less in bed on Sunday and we can all look forward to brighter, longer evenings now that we have made the switch to IST, Irish Standard or …

Scientific sacrifice
Tuesday, 29 Mar, 2011 – 14:01 | Comments Off
Scientific sacrifice

From experiments on prisoners to instilling fear into a nine-month-old child, Alan Coughlan investigates the darker side of scientific endeavour.

Lucky number 13
Tuesday, 1 Mar, 2011 – 14:02 | 4 Comments
Lucky number 13

Are you an Ophiuchan? Alan Coughlan looks into the implications of the recently introduced thirteenth star sign

The wells run cheap
Tuesday, 15 Feb, 2011 – 18:00 | Comments Off
The wells run cheap

Does the oil industry really deserve the bad image it has been receiving of late? Alan Coughlan investigates the dirty world of energy production

Sick as a pig
Tuesday, 18 Jan, 2011 – 14:01 | Comments Off
Sick as a pig

We hear extensively about swine flu in the media, but what is the actual extent of its effects? Alan Coughlan gives a personal account of the disease.

Dude, where’s my electric car?
Tuesday, 18 Jan, 2011 – 14:00 | Comments Off
Dude, where’s my electric car?

Electric cars have, for many years now, been the way of the future. So why aren’t they popular yet, asks Alan Coughlan

Designing our future
Sunday, 5 Dec, 2010 – 3:02 | 11 Comments
Designing our future

The history of how humans came to view evolution is steeped in intrigue and the theory of intelligent design constitutes its latest chapter, writes Alan Coughlan

Treacherous Beginnings
Tuesday, 16 Nov, 2010 – 14:02 | Comments Off
Treacherous Beginnings

From the shady to the downright copycats, the origins of many famous inventors most venerated ideas seem questionable at best, writes Alan Coughlan

Mission to Mars
Tuesday, 2 Nov, 2010 – 14:04 | 2 Comments
Mission to Mars

Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang goes for a spacewalk.
The space race is intensifying and China seems to be many people’s favourites to reach Mars first, writes Science, Health and Technology Editor Alan Coughlan.

Forensically Speaking
Tuesday, 19 Oct, 2010 – 14:01 | Comments Off
Forensically Speaking

Just how reliable is forensic science? Alan Coughlan weighs up the pros and cons of this phenomenon

Belief in Disbelief
Tuesday, 30 Mar, 2010 – 14:01 | Comments Off
Belief in Disbelief

Alan Coughlan shows us why we must start to question the common beliefs around us

The truth will out
Tuesday, 2 Mar, 2010 – 14:01 | 2 Comments
The truth will out

Alan Coughlan explores the furore around the MMR vaccination, and whether there is any truth to its reputed dangers

Homeo-phobic
Tuesday, 16 Feb, 2010 – 14:01 | 3 Comments
Homeo-phobic

It’s one of medicine’s most hotly-debated topics – can ‘the memory of water’ really hold the cure to healing the body? Alan Coughlan investigates the controversial world of homeopathy