The Physics of Popcorn

A lot of us see popcorn as a healthy snack that’s quick and easy to prepare at home. We know what temperature to pop it at and how long to heat it for, and the grain itself has been bred over the years to expand more impressively. But, until recently, nobody knew how or why the kernels pop. Two scientists from France have now filled that gap in scientific knowledge by experimenting with popcorn they bought from their local supermarket.

Having established the critical temperature at which popcorn pops (180 °C, in case you wondered!), the scientists recorded a piece of popcorn on a hot plate with a high speed camera; possibly the first time popcorn has been the subject of a movie instead of just the accompaniment. They saw that a ‘leg’ of starch forms between the kernel and the ground, causing the popcorn to jump.

The rotation achieved by a popcorn jump somersault outperforms that of a running gymnast. However, a flea accelerates under muscle power five times faster, and the explosive sandbox tree catapults its seeds with an acceleration 20,000 times greater than popcorn. So it’s not an outright winner in every category.

But what about the most characteristic aspect of popping corn; its sound effect? The sound could be caused by either the formation of a hull fracture, the rebound on the ground, or the release of pressurised water vapour. To investigate, the scientists returned to their trusty high-speed camera, synchronised with a microphone. They proved, conclusively, that a pressure drop produced by vapour release excites cavities inside the popcorn to produce an acoustic resonator. This is the same reason for the similar ‘popping’ sound of a champagne bottle cork.

So this Friday night when you prepare some popcorn and sit down to a film, take a moment to think about the scientific research that has been done into your tasty, inexpensive snack.

But scientists can’t answer the most important popcorn question of all: sweet or salted?

Photo credits: Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Author - Katie Renouf

Unicorns vs. R&D tax credits (7 common myths about R&D tax credits)

We love a good myth, particularly mythical creatures, and especially unicorns! 

The kind of myths we don’t like though, are those about R&D tax credits, that frighten companies into believing that R&D tax credits aren’t for them. 

Time to venture forward and dispel some of those R&D tax credit myths!

1. YOU’RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR R&D TAX CREDITS UNLESS YOU WEAR A WHITE COAT AND WORK IN A LABORATORY. 

MYTH! Any limited company from any sector can be eligible for R&D tax credits - from biotechnology (where there are actually lab coats) to manufacturing; IT to food and drink; engineering to renewable energy (plus all the other sectors we haven’t mentioned!). As long as you are working towards an advance in your field and facing uncertainty in how to do it you could very well be doing R&D.

2. YOU CAN ONLY CLAIM FOR SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS. 

MYTH! You can claim R&D tax credits for any eligible R&D project whether there was a successful outcome or not. In fact failure can be a good sign of eligibility - what can be more uncertain than a seemingly impossible project?

3.YOU CAN ONLY CLAIM FOR YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR. 

MYTH! You can make a retrospective claim up to 2 years from your current financial year end, which means companies new to the scheme can still go back and claim for older projects rather than missing out.

4. RECEIVING A GRANT IS A DEATH KNELL FOR A CLAIM. 

MYTH! Whilst it is true that some grants can complicate an R&D tax relief claim, it is still possible to make a claim no matter what other funding you have received.

5. YOU CAN’T CLAIM IF YOU ARE SUBCONTRACTED TO DO WORK BY ANOTHER COMPANY. 

MYTH! Subcontracting can be a tricky situation in an R&D tax credit claim, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t claim. You need to be very sure about your contractual situation, the work you are contracted to do and who is bearing the brunt of the cost, as all these can have an effect on the eligibility of subcontracted work.

6. CLAIMING R&D TAX CREDITS IS HARD. 

MYTH! OK, sort of a myth, it’s a complicated process that requires knowledge of your technology (easy for you!) but also an in depth knowledge of HMRC’s R&D tax credit legislation (not so easy!). But you can cut out the difficult part by enlisting the help of an R&D tax credit expert who can take on the hard work and complications for you.

7. ALL R&D TAX CREDIT EXPERTS ARE THE SAME. 

MYTH! Make sure you select an R&D tax credit consultancy that understands your technology and will put it at the heart of a claim, leading to a maximised result! 

The right consultants will help you weed through the myths and provide a comprehensive service to ensure you have the best R&D tax credit experience possible.*

For more details and to get an idea of the returns you could receive, call: Mark Lear on 07967 462704

* Unicorn not included

The Next Big Thing in Science and Technology?

Some of our technical analysts have donned their Nostradamus of Tech outfits (think Gandalf, with added wires, apps, test tubes and Petri dishes) and have come up with the following predictions on what is likely to be the next big thing in science and technology : -

Apple Pay - like Paypal but better. Basically, use your phone to pay for stuff. Currently only in the US, but leaked documents at the end of 2014 show it is coming to UK and many other EU countries this year. Again, could be a game changer to rival contactless payment already provided by VISA and Mastercard. Peter Eyles, IT Technical Analyst

Quantum dot televisions - Electronics and display manufacturer LG presented at the CES technology exhibition in Las Vegas, its 4K ultra high-definition television displays that use quantum dot technology, an improved method for producing colour displays. Sounds familiar? That's probably because you read all about it on our website back in May last year! Get a refresher on this exciting new technology by reading Technical Analyst Katie Renouf's original article here.

Internet of Things - kept getting talked about at CES last week. Not sure whether this is going to be big just because people are talking about it or whether it is actually going to be big because people WANT to talk about it. Basically everything in your life will be connected to the Internet in some way. Expect to be able to switch on a light in your bedroom from the comfort of your desk (yes, seriously) Sandy Findlay, Channel Partner Manager

Windows 10 - due sometime this year. A big shift for Microsoft as the operating system is more in tune with the device you are using it on (PC, laptop, tablet, phablet, phone etc) rather than having separate operating systems for each device. Could finally be the push from Redmond to overthrow Android and the boys from Cupertino in the mobile market. Peter Eyles, IT Technical Analyst

A vaccine for malaria? In July 2014 GSK announced that they had submitted a regulatory application for its malaria vaccine candidate. This is the first step towards making this vaccine a reality in the fight against malaria (Scientists have been battling to develop a vaccine against malaria for over 30 years!) and a positive response from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) could mean a policy review from the WHO by the end of 2015. On top of this, in December 2014, a research collaboration, lead by St Jude Children's Research Hospital, announced the discovery and successful initial trials of a compound that tricks the immune system into destroying red blood cells that are infected with malaria, whilst leaving healthy cells unharmed. It also appears to suppress the development of drug resistant parasites. Charlie Burgess, Bioscience Technical Analyst

iBeacons - these nifty little gadgets track you via Bluetooth whenever you are in range, typically in a retail spaceso you walk past a clothing rail and your phone beeps to tell you that they have the dress in your size on the rail and its currently 40% off (this already is the case in some department stores in the US I believe). This could get bigger and bigger. Peter Eyles, IT Technical Analyst

Hoverboards & Hovercars: I don't know that this is my area of technical expertise, but I'm expecting hoverboards and hovercars to come out this year in 2015. Over the festive period I've been watching 'Back To The Future' which was made in 1985 and had useful things to say about 30 years time, also I'd been having one too many sherries, both of which sources assure me of the factualness of these predictions. David Ryan, Systems Developer

Fighting Dirty Against Antibiotic Resistance

Last year we were a tad doom and gloom regarding the global health crisis of antibiotic resistance. Even Prime Minister David Cameron was in on it, stating that we could soon be “cast back into the dark ages of medicine” as a result of the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance. We painted a pretty bleak picture… total drama queens!

Since the golden age in antibiotic discovery during the 50's and 60's, research has ground to a halt: no new class of antibiotic has been discovered in 30 years. Additionally, a worrying trend has emerged: diseases we thought we had controlled are becoming resistant, such as tuberculosis and the dreaded bacterial infection MRSA.

But, however bleak the situation is, we can rest assured that lots of clever scientists are on the case. In fact, 2015 has brought an exciting development in the fight back against antibiotic resistance from the most surprising source – common garden soil!

Surprisingly, many of our antibiotics have been discovered by studying microorganisms that live in soil, however, in the 60s researchers hit a brick wall in terms of the technology used. Soil is teaming with bacteria and represents an untapped source of new antibiotics, but bacteria isolated from soil don’t grow well under laboratory conditions - think bright white lights, clean white surfaces and people in white coats – not a nice environment if you have spent your life swimming around in mud!

In response to this problem Ling et al. developed techniques to grow organisms from the soil by cultivating them in their natural environment. Genius! Why did no one think of that sooner? Essentially the team diluted a sample of soil so that a single bacterium sat in its own little chamber. It was then covered over with a membrane to separate the bacterium from the soil (which the chamber was buried in) while allowing nutrients in the soil to diffuse through to the bacterium. Using this clever, but simple method, the team have so far discovered 25 potential new antibiotics. Teixobactin shows the most promise, it’s toxic to bacteria but not mammalian tissues and, excitingly, it is effective against the dreaded MRSA.

So we say thanks to these researchers, and the many others all over the world, who are fighting back against antibiotic resistance. And lets not forget humble, ordinary, glorious mud!

Photo credits: Northeastern University

Author - Louise Tibbetts

Should You Worry About Gemalto's Breach ?

Gemalto is the largest sim card producer in the world, producing over 2 billion every year. This means that the chances are highly probably that your sim card would have come from Gemalto.

Recently Gemalto confirmed that they have been hacked and that both the NSA and GCHQ had got their hands on the SIM encryption keys from the manufacturer. This mean that both GCHQ and the NSA could access to encrypted conversations, messages and data traffic. But is that this as big of a concern as the media is making it?

No-one is claiming they succeeded in the access

We so far only have Gemalto’s word on the breach, but it’s been more than open about the fact that its systems were hacked into by intelligence agencies between 2010 and 2011.

Only 2G is vulnerable

According to Gemalto, 3G and 4G are too secure and only 2G networks would be affected. Gemalto is currently confident enough to claim that most people have already switched to faster networks, so if a hack had been successful, it would only affect a few people.

The attacks didn’t take place on UK numbers

The attempted hacks targeted mobile operators in Afghanistan, Yemen, India, Serbia, Iran, Iceland, Somalia, Pakistan and Tajikistan. Theoretically that means that if you live in the UK, or at least have a UK or general European SIM you are unaffected.

There’s no risk to card chips or security networks

If a breach had occurred on the infrastructure running Gemalto’s SIM activity, it wouldn’t have any access to payment chip encryption or other security systems. Gemalto isn’t a small player in any field it occupies, it has physically separate networks for all of its sensitive information. Breaching one, wouldn’t mean breaching all.

An interesting question...

While there’s definitely a case for a breach of privacy and a need for genuine concern over the security of our personal information and communications online, the interesting question is, if it is true that GCHQ actively hacked an organisation, from the UK, did a breach of the Computer Misuse Act occur and would GCHQ be liable to prosecution? If one had a genuine concern that their information was being inappropriately processed, would the ICO be concerned?

Of course, it could all just be mis-information.

Author - Peter Bassill

Get out of your funding comfort zone with R&D tax credits

Here’s a question for you, what is it that all SME’s, regardless of sector and location, have in common? The answer - a need for funding.

Whether it’s to help drive innovative product development, purchase capital assets or to implement a sales and marketing strategy, everyone needs a helping hand at some point.

The trouble is that funding is not always guaranteed and even when it is available it has a long developed reputation of sometimes causing more trouble than it’s worth. Back in the day you may have taken out a short-term debt (an overdraft) or a small term loan, usually from a bank, and had to give some form of personal guarantee, which really translated as - “your house is on the line”. Not a risk many are willing to take anymore!

These days of unstable financial times call for a need to step outside your comfort zone when it comes to funding sources. Funding sources have progressed far beyond the old-fashioned bank loan, with the rise of crowdfunding, business angels, equity funding and grants. Depending on your business and what you are looking to achieve the choices for SME’s to raise some extra capital in an innovative way are now greater than ever.

A big step away from the norm for some companies is HMRC’s R&D tax credit scheme. A source of funding from the government, the scheme is driven by innovation, rewarding companies with tax relief based on the amount of money they have put into research and development. 

 Understandably some companies may feel out of their depth if they do not see themselves as doing ‘traditional R&D’. However, R&D can be found in the most unlikely of places and you should not rule R&D tax relief out without first thinking about your potential eligibility, particularly if you find yourself constantly solving seemingly unsolvable problems in a bid to make advancements in your field – whatever sector your company is in.

Turn your R&D tax credit claim up to 11

So, you’re already claiming R&D tax credits and doing a pretty good job of it, but what if you could turn it up to 11?

Follow these simple tips and you too could get that extra push.

1. Look at the technology. An R&D tax credit claim is all about the technology so to maximise your claim get your technical people involved, the guys who know everything about a project, from the advances made to the problems faced. This approach will help you identify every bit of eligible R&D. 

(Yeah, crank it up!)

2. Keep a record of everything spent on R&D, such as staff time and raw materials, throughout the year. This makes collating the costs at claim time easier and also means you won’t forget about any smaller costs, all of which add up. 

(Keep going, the windows are rattling!)

3. If you have received any grants - watch out. Some grants can push an SME claim into the less generous Large Company scheme. This is unavoidable, but by careful consideration of the application and award, the damage may be minimised. 

(Did my eardrums just burst?!)

4. If you have subcontracted out part of your R&D make sure you have a clearly defined contract in place for the work that has been done. Whilst HMRC don’t currently ask for proof of contracting situations, if an enquiry is raised on your claim they will expect to see a contract or they will not accept subcontracting costs as eligible expenditure. 

(Let’s get this party started!)

5. Talk to an R&D tax credit expert like Mark Lear on 07967 462704 or at mark.lear@hultonassociates.com and find out how we can help you go one louder than 10. 

(BOOM!!!!! 11!)

Security Bulletin - .chm Files

We have been observing a rise in the use of .chm files as email attachments and/or malicious downloads to automatically execute malware on a machine and encrypt its contents. Chm files are compiled HTML documents commonly used to deliver instruction manuals but can include external URLs via JavaScript code.

What is the risk?

Chm files are not commonly blocked by email filters and when they are inspected by security devices, will pass through. The .chm files we have observed have been successfully installing Cryptowall, malware used to encrypt a user’s files and hold them to ransom.

What should be done?

Chm files are rarely used, so it is advisable to force all .chm files into quarantine for manual inspection or globally deny them.

Author - Peter Bassill

R&D Tax Credits – Whatever you do be sure to do this FIRST (or be sorry forever)

We won’t lie to you, R&D tax credits can be a complicated business. 

For a start, HMRC’s CIRD (Corporate Intangibles and Research and Development - rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it!) guidelines run to 500 pages, which is enough to put anyone off! 

There is also a good chance you’ll be bombarded with advice informing you of the ins and outs and the what’s and wherefores of making a claim - until your head is spinning like a merry-go-round. Argh, you think, where do I start? 

It’s OK, just breathe, it’ll all be all right on the night, if you make sure you follow this simple rule…

The FIRST thing to do for a successful R&D tax credit claim is to identify all of the eligible R&D carried out in your company. Ta-dah! Yes, that’s it. Bit of an anti-climax isn’t it? 

Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised at just how many companies forget this first simple step, resulting in an over complicated claim process and a less than maximised claim to boot (along with some tears of frustration).

A technical approach is at the heart of any successful R&D tax credit claim, after all, it is the money spent on eligible R&D projects that determines the size of your claim. 

Once you have this first simple step in place the financial side follows on nicely, and whilst complications can arise, especially if grants or subcontracting are involved, planning around a defined project makes everything easier. 

For no nonsense expert advice on how to make YOUR claim process as easy as possible, contact Mark Lear on 07967 462704 or email him at mark.lear@hultonassociates.com

We’re Top of The Tree and may even help you uncover some R&D that you didn’t know was there!

Medicinal marijuana: a medical marvel - or just an excuse to use?

10 million people in the UK admit to having tried cannabis (1). Whether a serial smoker or a chronic sufferer, a one-time taster or a concerned loved one, an intrigued scientist or someone who simply loves an argument, the use of marijuana in medicine is a topic that sparks (no joke intended!) an interest in the masses.

The pharmacology

Despite over 500 chemical compounds in the marijuana plant, the psychotic effects commonly observed following ingestion or inhalation result primarily from a single constituent - delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Just like a key fitting a lock, THC binds to complimentary receptors in our body. But, instead of opening doors, enzymes with essential regulatory roles are inhibited, and our brain and immune system are affected in an unpredictable way. This is the “high”.

The history of illegalisation

Cannabis is one of the oldest psychotropic drugs known to humanity, with its therapeutic effects recorded as far back as 2737 BC! (2) However, in 1970, due to “a considerable void in [the] knowledge of the plant and effects of the active drug contained in it”, the U.S. government classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug - a substance with high abuse potential and no accepted medical purpose. A decision that was not based on scientific evidence of cannabis proving ineffective or displaying severe toxic side effects, but because a lack of evidence.

The medical efficacy

The use of marijuana to induce therapeutic effect is not limited to a few conditions. Research has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, loss of appetite, pain, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, Tourette’s syndrome, epilepsy, glaucoma, Parkinson disease and dystonia (2). 

Synthetic cannabinoids are available as prescription drugs in some countries. Dronabinol (U.S. and Canada), a low-dosage formulation of synthetic THC that comes in capsule form and is used to stimulate appetite in people with HIV and control the nausea and vomiting that’s associated with chemotherapy. Nabilone is another synthetic analogue of THC that is effective in chronic pain management. 

However, no substance is without side effects. In 2012, researchers found that people who started smoking cannabis before age 18 showed a greater decline in IQ and cognitive functioning than people who started taking as adults. Furthermore, a 2014 study identified that the number of children receiving treatment for marijuana addition is in excess of 13,000, with the age at which it is first tried declining with time; now only 11. A terrifying statistic.

The future

Much like many things in science and medicine, the future use, efficacy and acceptance of marijuana in medicine is unknown. For me, a scientist by trade, I know what I would like – more data! 

A lot of existing research has focused on the negative, such as “Bad trip due to anticholinergic effect of cannabis\", or \"Cannabis induced pancreatitis”. A few exciting studies underway include investigations into whether it can help alleviate symptoms of PTSD, and assessing the anti-cancer effects of marijuana – let’s find out what works, what doesn’t, and why. 

Don’t let the treatments be untested, unauthorised or unpredictable - by filling in the gaps, this burning question could be answered: is using marijuana in medicine a marvel, or an excuse to use?

(1) Cannabis; DrugScope, 2011.

(2) Ben Amar M (2006), "Cannabinoids in medicine: a review of their therapeutic potential", Journal of Ethnopharmacology (Review), 105 (1–2), 1–25. 

Author - Gemma Craig