Science & Society

The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation today announced 104 grants to explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve global health. The grants of US$100,000 each will be made to scientists from 22 countries and five continents. They mark the first round of funding from Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help lower the barriers for testing innovative ideas in global health. The initial set of grants will inject fresh perspective into research for preventing or curing infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and TB, and limiting the emergence of drug resistance. Successful applicants…

Aesthetics or your personal preferences aside, who do you think is in better physical condition,  international ballet dancers or international swimmers?   A study led by Professor Tim Watson and Dr Andrew Garrett of University of Hertfordshire involved comparing members of the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet School with a squad of British National and International Swimmers, including members of the Olympic squad. The results will be announced at the University’s Health and Human Sciences Research Institute Showcase but we'll go ahead and tell you here:  ballet…

This autumn's banking panic will take a severe toll on world growth especially in developed economies. GDP growth in the OECD group of mainly rich countries will slow to 0.4 per cent in 2009, the weakest since 1982. Among the G7, the American and British economies will contract next year and the best performer among the other five countries will be Canada, with GDP growth of just 0.5 per cent. The key downside risk is that the bailout packages may not succeed, in which case financial turmoil will persist and the recession will be deeper and more prolonged than we are forecasting. The…

New research on the manner in which people reveal their most intimate secrets on national TV talk shows will be presented at the University of Leicester on Wednesday October 22. Professor Ian Hutchby, Professor of Sociology at the University of Leicester, will present his paper: Revealing revelations: 'Performed retellings' of significant announcements on a TV talk show. In his talk, Professor Hutchby will discuss his findings on the way the revelation of personal information is managed by the protagonist. He said: "There is now an established tradition of television talk shows in which…

If you've been reading this blog via feed, it's time to come pay the home page a visit. Scientific Blogging has received its long-awaited makeover, and the place looks great. And if you're been thinking of starting a science blog, now is a great time to come over and start writing.

The US Presidential candidates on fostering science and technology innovation: For decades, the United States dominated the technological revolution sweeping the globe. The nation’s science and engineering skills produced vast gains in productivity and wealth, powered its military and made it the de facto world leader. Today, the dominance is eroding. In 2002, the nation’s high-technology balance of trade went south, and it never came back. By 2007, the annual gap between high-tech exports and imports had grown to $53 billion. The gap this year is expected to be the largest ever — approaching…

More than four in 10 parents with underweight and overweight children mistakenly believe their children are in the average weight range, according to University of Melbourne research. The study also finds that different methods of assessing children's weight – such as BMI or waist circumference – result in different rates of children being identified as overweight or underweight. According to BMI, more children were classified as overweight, than compared to waist circumference. The study, by doctoral researcher Dr Pene Schmidt, also finds that children who are not in the average weight…

As the world’s money markets do their best to combat the 'credit crunch', a University of Sunderland politics lecturer says that the root of modern democracy’s money woes may lay with the first corporations – pirates. Dr Peter Hayes is Senior Lecturer in politics at the University of Sunderland. In his latest paper ‘Pirates, Privateers and the contract theories of Hobbes and Locke’ Dr Hayes argues that the roots of modern democracy were not in Britain or the USA, but were the ‘corporations’ which were created on pirate ships during the golden age of buccaneering. Dr Hayes says: “Pirates…

LONDON, October 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Politicians are mistrusted by 97% of Brits and the only professions people trust less are car sales representatives and estate agents. We are twice as likely to trust a builder or plumber to give us an honest opinion over our local MP, according to the findings of a major impartiality study released today, by impartial price comparison service, PriceRunner.co.uk. Ashley Cole is revealed as one of the least trusted celebrities, with 99% of Brits expressing their lack of confidence in the disgraced Chelsea footballer. On the other hand, Cheryl Cole's judging…

Would you ever have thought there could be anyone considered an expert on the political impact of late-night comedy shows on candidates? Us either, but that's the claim. American University says Lauren Feldman is that expert and in her real job she is an assistant professor at American University’s School of Communication. Feldman did an analysis of the 2004 election and the results say Tina Fey’s humorous impersonations of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live (SNL) could be doing real damage to the McCain campaign in the 2008 election. Even if they aren't, it'…