Regular readers of this blog will know Agnieszka got her paper out before Christmas. For some reason (maybe because we mentioned salamanders in the press release...?) it was picked up quite widely in the press, and we had articles about us (written with varying degrees of accuracy!) in places like the Daily Mail, the Scottish Herald and in news sources in India and New Zealand. Ameya Paleja, who runs an exceptionally good blog wrote up a story after interviewing us, and I think it does a great job of saying what the research was really about. It's here.

I don't know quite what to make of this, but it was at least fun, and it's the sort of thing that the uni and the funders like to see these days because It helps show to the public that tax-payers research has 'impact'.

Basically the idea is that when people see the good stuff that research is doing in the news, they are more likely to support funding of research when they vote. And more funding means that we can do more science.

After a few days of these articles coming out, we were contacted by the press office who asked whether we'd mind if BBC South came to film and interview us. Of course, we were well up for it. I even had a shave and put a shirt on. Here's the feature:

'Draw some pictures to show what you did', said Ed Sault, a thoroughly lovely chap, and regular host of BBC South Today, 'We'll give them to our graphics guys and turn it into a slick feature.' Little did I know they'd just put my crude scribbles straight up on the telly.

Anyway, Agnieszka's professionalism saved the day and it was great to be able to show this vid to our families. The last time I got on TV I was caught in the crowd at Glastonbury watching Sting, so this was marginally less shameful...