Guest Work

Unexpected Prime Number Breakthrough

Guest Author • Jul 19, 2010

• mathematics,
• prime numbers,
• Riemann's hypothesis

By Phil Jackson Mathematicians had all but given up hope of ever understanding prime numbers. The last time there was a brief flurry of excitement was when it was discovered that the periodicity of zeros from the Riemann-Zeta function closely matched the spacing of energy levels in high-Z nuclei [1]. Prior to that, Gauss and others … Read More

How Much Science Communication Is Enough?

Guest Author • Jun 30, 2010

• Michael Edmonds,
• science communication

By Dr Michael Edmonds Over the past couple of years I have spent time participating in, and thinking about science communication. I have observed an ongoing call for more scientists to engage with the public and to communicate science with greater clarity, and I have seen scientists around the world rise to this challenge. Read More

Taking the Hot Air out of the Climate Change Debate

Guest Author • Jun 22, 2010

• AGW,
• Carbon dioxide,
• climate change,
• co2,
• denialism,
• global warming,
• IPCC,
• weather

By Dr Michael Edmonds Climate change is an issue which needs to be debated scientifically, through careful and rational analysis of the facts. However, as the climate change debate intensifies a disturbing trend is emerging — more and more of the debate involves arguments reminiscent of a ’down and dirty’ political debate. Personal attacks, misrepresentation or … Read More

The Sandhill Cranes of Mississippi

Guest Author • Jun 17, 2010

• George Jones,
• Sandhill Cranes

Currently they are keeping a watch on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and have no immediate fears for the birds. Read More

What is the (e) in your eResearch?

Guest Author • Jun 16, 2010

• BeSTGRID,
• eresearch,
• Julie Watson,
• Karen,
• Markus Buchhorn,
• MoRST,
• REANNZ,
• Slava Kitaev,
• Sydney Shep,
• VUW,
• Wellington eResearch Symposium

By Julian Carver First eMail, then eCommerce, eBusiness & eProcurement, eGovernment, eDating, and now eResearch. Does simply putting an ‘e’ in front of an existing practice make it somehow sexier, and more now? I headed along to the Wellington eResearch Symposium last week to find out. OK, that’s not true. I did go to … Read More

Engaging Students — Ideas from the School of Chemistry, University of Bristol

Guest Author • Jun 16, 2010

• ChemLabS programme,
• DLM,
• Dynamic Laboratory Manual,
• education,
• University of Bristol

By Dr Michael Edmonds A couple of weeks ago, I attended a fascinating talk by Dr Paul Wyatt from the University of Bristol entitled ’Teaching Innovations — Using Technology to Enrich the Traditional’. The talk described many of the innovative techniques used to teach practical chemistry at the University of Bristol as part of the School … Read More

Dealing with ’Anti-Science’ Commenters on Science Blogs

Guest Author • Jun 11, 2010

• blog,
• comment,
• Science

By Dr Michael Edmonds We’ve all come across them before — commenters on science blogs who propose less than scientific arguments. The fodder for such arguments is varied — vaccines, climate change, ’alternative’ medicine, the list goes on. The response to such people can vary; on many blogs they become the immediate target of derision, name … Read More

Science Fiction — Inspirational or Setting Unreal Expectations?

Guest Author • May 11, 2010

• certainty,
• experiment,
• nerd,
• polymath,
• Science,
• science fiction

By Dr Michael Edmonds My fascination with science is closely mirrored by an enjoyment of science fiction. This is possibly because I see a lot of truth in physicist Edward Teller’s idea that ’the science fiction of today is the technology of tomorrow.’ However, having recently watched Iron Man 2 where Tony Stark (aka … Read More

Gluckman: The New Zealand Science System — into a brave new world

Guest Author • Apr 22, 2010

• climate change,
• CRI Taskforce,
• NIWA,
• Peter Gluckman

Text of a public lecture at NIWA, Auckland given by Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman Thank you for the opportunity to speak. NIWA seems a particularly appropriate venue to address what might at first glance appear to be two apparently unrelated topics — the CRI reforms and the broader issues of public confidence in … Read More

Science, Climate Change and Integrity

Aimee Whitcroft • Apr 07, 2010

• climate change,
• Climate Science,
• Keith Hunter

A statement from Professor Keith A Hunter FNZIC, FRSNZ, Vice-President – Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology, Royal Society of New Zealand. Summary of Statement The science of climate change has been the subject of recent harsh criticisms in the popular media, with attacks on the integrity and professionalism of scientists. There is fault … Read More