Guest Work

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

Inaccurate reporting of scientific evidence perpetuates myths

Aimee Whitcroft • Mar 15, 2010

• cervical cancer,
• gardasil,
• HPV,
• Human papillomavirus,
• vaccination,
• Vaccine

A guest post from the Immunisation Advisory Centre, following recent reports in the press questioning the safety of the Gardasil vaccine. Recently we have seen more examples of vaccine safety surveillance data being misinterpreted by both members of the public and the media.  This misinterpretation of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) data can perpetuate fear and confusion … Read More

Brain Awareness Week – merging the two cultures?

Guest Author • Mar 11, 2010

• brain,
• Brain Day,
• Neuroscience,
• University of Auckland

I’ve been a science communicator for as long as I can remember. It started way back in primary school, when I was the go-to girl for gross-out facts about the human body (thanks go to Usborne’s book of puberty). Talking about science was my way of life, and it’s what led me to my career in science journalism. But over … Read More

On the sequencing of the pea aphid genome

Guest Author • Feb 26, 2010

• DNA,
• genetics,
• genome,
• pea aphid,
• University of Otago

By Dr Peter Dearden* My group has been involved with genome sequencing since 2004, when we were asked to become involved with the honeybee genome. This week we published our second insect genome, that of the Pea Aphid which was the culmination of 6 years collaborative work with over 200 scientists from 15 countries. The project has cost several … Read More

Is genetic engineering just like breeding?

Guest Author • Feb 15, 2010

• Agriculture,
• biology,
• breeding,
• genetic engineering,
• genetic modification,
• GM,
• gmo

By Prof. Jack Heinemann* Dr. Nina Federoff, the science advisor to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, voiced more blatantly in New Zealand what many other advocates of large-scale plantings of genetically engineered (GE/GM) plants sought to imply for years: ’There’s almost no food that isn’t genetically modified. Genetic modification is the basis of all evolution.’ This stance … Read More