About Us

What's the website all about?
Essentially we poke fun at the world of science and technology to highlight all the weird and wacky stuff out there. We present articles that are often so far fetched you can't believe they can possibly be true.

So is all the content made up?
Not at all, it's a complete mixture. Some of the articles are utter drivel but we also highlight real research and real news stories, with a liberal pasting of opinions and comments from our readers.

But how do I know if an article is real or not?
The tabs across the top of the site clearly label which section you are in; therefore if you are in the spoof section beware, all might not be what it seems.

Who reads it?
It caters for anyone around the globe who's ever laughed at, or been amazed by, the world around us.

But isn't it really just for students?
Students love it because the humour is often anti-establishment but we have readers from all walks of life; anyone from professors to vicars, teachers to truckers saying they enjoy it. Our youngest reader is 14 and the oldest: 91.

Van Halen? We love it!

Sum Null Hypothesis up in 16 words.
Termites eat wood twice as fast when they are listening to rock music - cool or what?

What makes this site unique?
At Null HQ we approach science communication with a hefty pinch of satire. Science the world over labours under this boring, stuffy image and the Null (as we are affectionately known) challenges that through simply having a laugh.

Can I get involved?
That's the whole idea. We want you to contribute your articles, stories, pictures, and thoughts. Get on your soapbox and start shouting about the crazy world of science and use our groups on MySpace & Facebook and keep a look out for our new community site coming soon.

What is a Null Hypothesis?
Ah well, now you're asking. Try reading this: What is a Null Hypothesis

Why is it called Null Hypothesis?
With the amount of alcohol we'd drunk, it was the best we could come up with at the time; in fact it was the only one that wasn't rude.

And what does Null Hypothesis actually mean?
Loosely speaking it's the scientific equivalent of randomness; more accurately it's a statistical hypothesis that can be tested and refuted to support an alternative hypothesis.

Who runs Null?
There are three co-founders; all scientists and all equally strange:

Mark Steer
Mark started out at the University of Bristol, and loved it so much he stayed for his PhD. Much cleverer than the other two, Mark's PhD was high-brow theoretical biology and involved computerised animals, equations as long as your arm and a lot of Excel macros. His interests are listed as Ipswich Town FC, travelling to far-flung climes and slime-volleyball.

Andrew Impey
Andy worked for four years studying ducks (no stop laughing, he really did) but he is now aiming to make the transition from Donald Duck to Donald Trump. He went into his PhD thinking he was going to save the world (albeit from ducks) but now his aim is to rid the world of statistics and preserve the tiger penis for the tigers.

David Hall
An ecologist by trade, David has worked on birds, rats, reptiles, foxes and even some plants (although he'll never admit that). Having attended Reading University initially he spent four years working abroad sitting under a gum tree before coming back to reality and doing a PhD (in rats!) at the University of Bristol. His interests include korfball (an odd-but-fun Dutch game), travelling and eating hummous.

Still confused?