Top Ten Null Articles '07

2008 has snuck up and launched itself upon us with full vigour. But we wanted to take a moment to look back at what 2022 had to offer by way of silly science. After much arguing, bickering and Chinese burning we've chosen our very favourite articles from the last year.

THE NULL'S TOP TEN STORIES OF 2022
(click on the links for the inside story)


	Null Exposes NASA Con At the beginning of the year NASA released pictures purporting to show lakes of methane and ethane on the surface of Titan, one of Saturn's moons. The Null's conspiracy theorists were all of a flutter. It wasn't Titan at all, but Finland. (more)

	New Invention Hams It Up Could this be where science has gone one step too far? Has a design student been so obsessed with 'if I can' that he hasn't stopped to think 'if I should'? Hamster-powered shredders might seem innocent fun, but could they spell disaster? (more)

	Getting Physical with Alice Roberts Dr Alice Roberts' most recent series on BBC2 gave us a guided tour of the human body. We caught up with Alice to discover what fascinates her about anatomy, why she is similar to the liver and whether she believes in aliens. (more)

	Experiment: DNA from a Banana You can turn your kitchen into a laboratory and yourselves into molecular biologists, with little more than a banana and bottle of washing up liquid. Learn how here. Bananas at the ready! (Beware: frightening photographs inside.) (more)

	Snails Sent into Space The Russians have a long-standing tradition of sending animals into space. The heart-wrenching story of Laika, aka Muttnik, touched audiences worldwide. But why are snails the latest arrivals on the International Space Station? (more)

	We Claim Virgin Prize When Richard Branson offered $25 million of his own nicker to anyone who could solve the problem of global warming, we just couldn't resist giving it a go. Three minutes of hard thought later we had an answer - stop exercising. (more)

	Pass Out Pooches You know how it is when you're running on empty - everywhere is a potential snoozery, the table, your desk... But these pooches have quite a talent, they can drop off just about anywhere, and in hilarious fashion. Join us in cruel mirth. (more)

	August Podcast Our podcasts can be pretty hit and miss affairs, but we do enjoy doing them every so often. In August Andy set us all off yawning, Hayley advocated drinking at breakfast and Mark threw in a cheeky little surprise at the end. (more)

	Helpline for Pot Plants It's always a little upsetting to return from a week's holiday to discover your house plants have died on you. But is it that upsetting enough that you want them calling your mobile every time they start to feel a little bit thirsty? (more)

	Gummy Bear Science At the Null we like to publish top class research. Smith and McCallum's intensive research and scientific insights into the evolution and habits of the gummy bear are set to take the human race to the next level of sophistication. (more)

To reach this final list there had to be an awful lot of discussion, compromise and blackmail. Therefore, we decided to indulge ourselves with five extra articles each: