Science & Society

Attending the AAAS symposia on "Facing the Uncertain Future of International Science Journalism" I was stunned by something:   I am the most hated guy in every room I walk into. Donald Kennedy,  President Emeritus of Stanford University and Editor-In-Chief of Science magazine, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) whose annual conference I am attending, was saying something a lot of people there were thinking - the Internet has given readers a sense of entitlement that everything has to be free and in a 'you get what you pay for' world,…

Whether you are new to blogs or a practised poster, Eureka’s Top 30 Science Blogs will not disappoint. After much heated debate, the Eureka team have picked 30 of their favourite science, environment, health and technology blogs. If you want to know more about the latest NHS catastrophe or climate change scandal, someone on our list will have it covered. So, now we’ve shown you ours, we want you to show us yours. We know our 30 blogs are not exhaustive; they’re a subjective take on the best bloggers out there. We’d like you to help us us to compile the definitive list, the Top 100 Science…

Yes, you can view a famous poster on this red brick wall until April 12. The Berlin Medical Historical Museum (Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum der Charité) started a new Fritz Kahn exhibiton January 23. Whether you will get there or not, don't worry, you may see now an animated version by Henning Lederer here. How much fun is it? My favorite is the 'minicameraman' clicking away. Had you heard of Fritz Kahn (1888-1968) before? I had not when a friend emailed me a link for the animation. The 1926 …

The FBI yesterday released a 104-page report laying out its case the the 2001 anthrax attacks were committed by a US Army bioweapons researcher, Dr. Bruce Ivans. Some are arguing that this report isn't conclusive and that the FBI is closing the case prematurely. I can't speak to that, at least in any informed way, but if the FBI is correct, you've got a chilling, classic evil scientist scenario: According to his e-mails and statements to friends, in the months leading up to the anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, Dr. Ivins was under intense personal and professional pressure. The anthrax…

It's often the case that attending a conference like AAAS means you have to choose between competing programs, like the good stuff, the fun stuff and the stuff you will make fun of.  This morning I had one of each at the same time but since I didn't get to the one I would likely have made fun of, I will leave that out. Instead I had to make a tough call between Eugenie Scott and "How Can Scientists Support Policy Makers?" and "The Science of Superheroes" - Genie won, at least in the beginning. Of course, we're big fans of NCSE and short talks like this really get to the meat and potatoes…

The British government has just published a whole batch of reports on science communication. The Science&Media Report was published on 20th January 2010, including a variety of supporting documents. The Science for All Expert Group has also just published its Report, which also includes links to numerous sources of supporting research. There is a lot to read and digest here and I haven't done so yet but thought readers here might like to read it all for themselves. The UK has for many years been at the forefront of science communication. In 1999 I was a consultant to the then Department…

In many parts of the country there is a recession but some segments are immune to the ups and downs of economic cycles.  Three are obvious; your lawyer, your accountant and hotels in towns where conventions are being held.  No matter how bad things get, they will never lower their rates.  There may be legends of them lowering their rates but, like children who look like bats, they always  seem to be in a third world country: Last year at the AAAS meeting in Chicago, the hotel I got was spectacular.   If you are a cynic, you may believe it's because I went through…

Physicist and sci-fi author David Brin on healthy versus pathological skepticism w.r.t. climate science: What factors would distinguish a rational, pro-science "skeptic" - who has honest questions about the HGCC consensus - from members of a Denier Movement who think a winter snowstorm means there's ni net-warming of the planet?... After extensive discussions with such folk, I found a set of distinct characteristics that separate thoughtful Skeptics from your run of the mill, knee-jerk Denier dogma puppet. Among the distinguishing traits: - Healthy skeptics acknowledge the existence of…

Millions Fed : A Recommended Read Millions Fed: Proven Successes in Agricultural Development is a recently published free pdf book which details case studies in sustainable food production methods.   The data is extensively peer reviewed and offers much of interest in many fields of science.  Millions Fed is a project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , with support from the [Gates] foundation, to identify policies, programs, and investments that have actually reduced hunger and poverty in the developing world. The goal was to collect evidence…

Where Science Meets Poetry Caveat:  it may strike the reader from what follows that I have an agendist stance against modern poetry.  I have no quarrel with that assessment. Quite obviously, science meets poetry in the field of linguistics.  But what if scientists could embrace poetry?  What if a paper in, say, oceanography, were rendered in the media as poetry?  Would the public more readily grasp the core concepts? As moontide drags her weary waythrough ocean, sea, and gulf, and bay ... I think you see my drift1. Historically, the whole linguistic point of poetry…