Visibly Shaken

Anatomy of a microscope

Peter Griffin • Jan 14, 2014

“Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the grander view?” wrote Victor Hugo in Les Miserables. That tidbit of microscope trivia and others are nicely outlined in this infographic charting the history of the device that occupies lab benches the world over… … Read More

Infographic: meningitis and the brain

Peter Griffin • Dec 09, 2013

An outbreak of meningitis at Princeton University in Ottawa, Canada has encouraged the university to offer free vaccinations to students. Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord. Different germs can cause it – usually bacteria or viruses and sometimes fungi. The Ottawa Sun created a full-page infographic to illustrate how meningitis affects the … Read More

Every 13 seconds a person contracts HIV

Peter Griffin • Dec 03, 2013

December 1 was World AIDS Day. While AIDS isn’t a widespread disease in New Zealand – the incidence in the population is just 0.3 people per 100,000, it is a major killer in other parts of the world. This infographic charts the history of the disease and its current status… Click image to open interactive … Read More

Rare Earth metals and our gadget fetish (infographic)

Peter Griffin • Oct 04, 2013

From laptops and smart phones to the fibre optic cables and wifi antennae supplying us broadband internet – rare Earth metals are essential to the tech-laden world we live in. This infographic gives a good idea of the metals in demand around the world for technological applications and the pressure now coming on those supplies as demand increases and stocks … Read More

Big science vs small science

Peter Griffin • May 21, 2013

We hear a lot about “big science” these days – the Large Hadron Collider being a prime example of science on a vast and hugely expensive scale. What are some of the big science projects of history – and how do they compare to relatively “small science” projects when it comes to the knowledge they have generated for mankind? … Read More

Infographic: The impact of the US drought

Peter Griffin • Jul 31, 2012

The United States is experiencing its worst drought since 1988, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture having declared area covering one third of US counties a federal disaster area What’s the impact of all of this – on agricultural production, on prices for food commodities? The Daily Observer, a paper from Ottawa, Canada, published the infographic below to sum … Read More