Sorry all for being a bit quiet on the blog recently. Moving to the UK, finding houses, work, working too hard - these things slow you down!  I have recently become an editor of Plus Magazine - a mathematics based online magazine - if you have any interest in popular maths or maths news, check it out! It is very accessible for everybody (sorry for the self-promotion!)

I have however come up with a couple of podcasts in which you may be interested and would love any feedback you have.

In the first of the podcasts, I talk to Associate Professor Stephanie Schuckers from Clarkson University about her research into biometric security systems - security systems based upon your physical traits such as fingerprint analysis, voice and face recognition and iris and retina scans. Stephanie's research aims to find vulnerable areas in such systems and so she has fooled fingerprinting systems with simple tools such as play doh.

I am publishing a complete article on biometric systems later this year with The Helix magazine, so I can't put too much up of it here! Grab the mp3 here.

The next podcast comes from the BA Festival of Science, the UK's foremost celebration of science, engineering and technology and its impact on our society. This is the first of a series of podcasts.

We talk to Sue Hordienko from the organising committee to find out what it's all about, and have a chat to the following researchers presenting their work at the Festival:

1. Clare Chandler - Factors affecting clinical decision making in northeast Tanzania
2. Marco Columbo - University of Edinburgh - Mathematical Optimisation
3. Simon Blamey - University of South Hampton - Modelling railway station usage
4. Alice Courvoisier - University of Leeds - Solar Physics and Sun Spots
5. Fiona Jordan - University College London - Cultural Evolution in the Pacific