Drosophila melanogaster* You make my heart beat faster With your lovely simple genes You tell us what our genome means
Poetry and science are two genres whose paths rarely cross, but Prospect is bravely bridging the cultural divide. Pen a four-line ditty on a science theme, and the wittiest entry will win its creator all six books shortlisted for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, awarded on 17th November. They include Ian Sample’s excellent Massive, about the hunt for the Higgs boson, and Through the Language Glass, Guy Deutscher’s acclaimed study of language. Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society, will judge. Send your entry by 17th November to competitions@prospect-magazine.co.uk. The winner will be announced in our January 2012 issue.
*Drosophila melanogaster, or fruit fly, has a quick breeding cycle that allows biologists to study many generations in a short time.
