Science Spin November 2008

In this issue, Claire Riordan reports on harvesting molecules from the sea; and Sean Duke reports on how progress is being made on an all-island offshore map. From Clare Island, off the coast of Co Mayo, Anthony King describes what life was like in this former Gaelic stronghold. We take a look at how scientists have made advances in understanding volcanoes and predicting when they will erupt, Brian Doolan describes the science behind the world's biggest ever experiment, and Eileen Clifford reports that synthetic cannabis could provide help for people with MS.

Features in this issue

• The Large Hadron Collider, and the God (damn) particle [PHYSICS ]
• Volcanoes; how do they work? [EARTH SCIENCE ]
• Synthetic cannabis; a wonder drug for MS? [MEDICINE ]
• North South efforts to map the Irish offshore [MARINE SCIENCE ]
• Clare Island: The lost civilisations [ARCHAEOLOGY ]
• How thick is Europe's crust? [GEOLOGY ]
• Is maths really the problem? [MATHEMATICS ]
• Pointers for Ireland in Barcelona ESOF event [SCIENCE EVENTS ]