Guest Author • Nov 12, 2018 •
Elizabeth Preston, Undark Research shows that while satire does carry some risks, it can be an effective tool for communication. Scientists are giving it a go. “We do not care about planet Earth,” four French scientists declared in February in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. If humans are exhausting the planet’s resources, they wrote, it’s … Read More
Ken Perrott • Mar 13, 2018 •
My recent article Paul Connett’s misrepresentation of maternal F exposure study debunked got some online feedback and criticism from anti-fluoride activists. Mary Byrne, National coordinator Fluoride Free New Zealand, wrote a response and requested it is published on SciBlogs “in the interests of putting the record straight and providing balance.” I welcome her response and have posted it here. Hopefully, this will … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 06, 2018 •
Barbara Keys, University of Melbourne This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Smartphones and the internet have revolutionised society, commerce, and politics, reshaping how we work and play, and how our brains are wired. They have even revolutionised how revolutions are made. For enthusiasts, these technologies enhance freedom and … Read More
Michael Corballis • Feb 26, 2018 •
Me. But let’s press on regardless. Noam Chomsky is a polarising figure in modern intellectual life. Best known in popular discourse for his radical criticism of US foreign policy, he has written countless best-selling book on this and related political topics. It is as a philosopher and linguist, though, that he is likely to be best remembered intellectually, … Read More
Sarb Johal • Apr 03, 2017 •
In this Psychology Report, I talked with Dr Michael Philipp of Massey University School of Psychology here in New Zealand. Michael and his students are interested in how emoji and emoticons are used in computer based communication – so, those emails tweets and Facebook posts – that kind of thing. You can listen to the podcast as well … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 20, 2017 •
By Daniel J. Kruger, University of Michigan Have you ever experienced a phantom phone call or text? You’re convinced that you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, or that you heard your ring tone. But when you check your phone, no one actually tried to get in touch with you. You then might plausibly wonder: “Is … Read More
Michael Corballis • May 05, 2016 •
Do we use only 10 percent of our brain? That idea has been around for a long time, but we now know it’s not true. Brain imaging fails to show large regions of quiescence, as expected if we only used a small fraction of the stuff that occupies the skull. Even when we’re at rest a widespread “default” network remains … Read More
Alison Campbell • Aug 11, 2015 •
OK, so I'm back (from a lovely long overseas trip). And I had thought to write something 'light' to ease myself back into blogging, but then I see that scientist and science communicator, Kevin Folta, is currently experiencing some... Read More
Alison Campbell • Apr 19, 2015 •
As you'll have gathered, I'm finding Facebook - and now Twitter - great sources of information, whether it's for teaching, sharing with my students (& others!), or blogging about. And today, this paper popped up on my Twitter feed:... Read More
Alison Campbell • Apr 07, 2015 •
I recently started following Kevin Folta's blog, Illumination. (I'm sorry I didn't come across it earlier; it's very good.) His latest post quotes a comment from a Kansas farmer, made on a site opposed to Monsanto & its production of GM crops,... Read More