Guest Author • Oct 17, 2018 •
Nancy Longnecker The well-written article entitled ‘Why men don’t believe the data on gender bias in science’ by Alison Coil stimulated this post. Coil points out that gender disparity is about much more than a numbers game and is not necessarily the result of the overt sexual harassment that is at long last being exposed in some industries. Read More
Kimberley Collins • Oct 16, 2018 •
As another Bird of the Year draws to a close, Kimberley Collins reflects on why this kind of fun and uplifting advocacy is an important way to get New Zealanders to take an interest in conservation. Every year, thousands of New Zealanders flock to the polls to vote for their favourite bird. Well-known and enthusiastic “campaign managers” hit the streets (and … Read More
Michael Corballis • Oct 16, 2018
Steven Pinker is an optimist. In his two recent books, he paints an increasingly rosy picture of human civilization. In The Better Angels of Our Nature (2011), he shows how human violence has declined over the centuries. In Enlightenment Now (2018), he tells us that, besides becoming less violent, we live longer, and are wealthier, heathier, happier, safer, and more … Read More
Guest Author • Oct 09, 2018 •
Emma Timewell Diversity in science is what makes it truly innovative – and although one scholarship won’t fix it, it’s a step towards a more inclusive sector. This week, the Association for Women in the Sciences (AWIS) is attempting to raise $30,000 for its Women in STEM scholarship. The first AWIS Women in STEM … Read More
Alison Campbell • Oct 08, 2018
What with WAVES, and anti-1080 groups, and Rethink Fluoride (which, like FFNZ, opposes water fluoridation), there’s quite a lot of ‘alternative’ activity online these days. It’s actually quite interesting to look at the similarities that you can see in attitudes & opinions expressed on those sites. I mean, Agenda 21, anyone? Back when Making Sense of Fluoride was … Read More
Alison Campbell • Oct 05, 2018 •
Glyphosate is another of those substances (like fluoride and 1080) that can be the focus of a lot of unease. So it wasn’t entirely surprising to see the claim on WAVES’ FB page that glyphosate is found in vaccines. Predictably, various little Gish gallops saw Yellow told that injection and ingestion aren’t the same, and by the way … Read More
Alison Campbell • Oct 03, 2018 •
That image is a visual counter to a now-removed billboard put up on an Auckland motorway by the NZ group WAVES (Warnings Against Vaccine Expectations). If you haven’t seen the offending item, this was it: That’s not a warning, that’s a scare tactic, and will surely have led to complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. After … Read More
Guest Author • Oct 03, 2018 •
Michele Daly, GNS Science We can only imagine how horrific it currently is for the people of Central Sulawesi, following the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck Donggala and Palu on late Friday afternoon 28th Sept 2018. The damaging tsunami which struck Palu Bay at incredible speeds a reported 30mins after the quake happened, caused widespread destruction. This was on top of … Read More
Rachel Thomas • Oct 01, 2018 •
There’s a lot of media out there, and we know it can be hard to keep track of the things you want to read, watch and listen to. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite science-related stories from last month to help you out. If you’ve seen something great that’s not here, let us know in the comments. Read More
Donal Curtin • Sep 27, 2018 •
The NZME/Fairfax Court of Appeal judgement is out and contained few surprises. The Court had been widely anticipated to rebuff the appeal against the Commerce Commission’s refusal to authorise the proposed merger of NZME (the Herald, radio stations, and a herd of other North Island media businesses) and Fairfax (DomPost, Press, S-ST, herd of other media things nationwide). So … Read More