We started off with a nice clean cosmological model, and since then it's had to be patched up with dark matter, dark energy and inflation. I think we're due for a new theory in cosmology, akin to Kepler's theory of eliptical orbits that replaced the previous cumbersome theory of circular orbits, within orbits, within orbits...

That was the thought from Jocelyn Bell Burnell that stayed in my mind after her talk at the Science Cafe yesterday. We've had lots of interesting people at the Science Cafe, but as the discoverer of pulsars, Bell stood out as a figure of historical note. I'll be able to boast in the pub, 'Yes, well of course I attended a talk by Jocelyn Bell in person...'.