Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Feb 03, 2020 •
Lately, my morning routine includes opening up our work email and checking the latest World Health Organization coronavirus situation report. It’s sobering to see the numbers increasing so rapidly – about 2,500 new confirmed cases every day and about 45 reported deaths. But I’m also reminded of the stark contrast between this outbreak and previous situations in terms of how … Read More
Guest Author • Oct 22, 2019 •
Justine Shaw, The University of Queensland and Vanessa Wong, Monash University This year, five of the seven Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were awarded to women. While this is a welcome development, the great majority of awards and prizes for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Australia still go to men. Our research has identified some of the key … Read More
Alison Campbell • Sep 09, 2019 •
I’ve written previously about an anti-vaxx plague enthusiast claim that measles can cure cancer (it doesn’t). However, it seems that the search for positive attributes for a measles infection knows little bounds. Thus a friend shared this with me – it’s something posted by an antivaxxer in a FB thread: Presumably this is an example of having … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 10, 2019 •
Eric Loken, University of Connecticut Science is in the midst of a crisis: A surprising fraction of published studies fail to replicate when the procedures are repeated. For example, take the study, published in 2007, that claimed that tricky math problems requiring careful thought are easier to solve when presented in a fuzzy font. When researchers found … Read More
Grant Jacobs • Aug 30, 2018 •
New Zealand’s Chief Science Advisor (CSA), Professor Juliet Gerrard, has been asking where research can most effectively influence policy – one post-it note at a time, (Posted 21st August ~10:45pm, NZST; click on image to open tweet.) The comments after this piece are open for readers to offer their thoughts on where science should best influence policy. Please do! … Read More
Jean Balchin • Apr 26, 2018 •
I’m in the exceedingly fortunate position of not worrying about my postgraduate education costs; I have a scholarship that pays my fees and accomodation over the next few years. I won’t have to worry about feeding myself, scraping together my dollars to cover power bills, or shivering in my bedroom because I can’t afford an electric blanket. But … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 20, 2018 •
Alan Finkel, Office of the Chief Scientist This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Every time a scandal breaks in one of the thousands of places where research is conducted across the world, we see headlines to the effect that “science is broken”. But if it’s “broken” today, then when … Read More
Jean Balchin • Apr 10, 2018 •
Recently, the results of the Science Media Centre Video Competition were revealed. It was an incredible competition, open to previous participants of the SMC’s science video workshops. There were eight entries, and the judges were incredibly impressed with the creativity and quality of the entries. I was fortunate enough to watch all eight entries and chat to a number of … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 26, 2018 •
Grainne Cleary, Deakin University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. I am an academic with dyslexia and I would like to share my story with you. Dyslexia in academia is a conundrum – it is basically a learning difficulty, and coping with dyslexia is a very personal journey. It is … Read More
Helen Taylor • Mar 21, 2018 •
When I was little, I wanted to be David Attenborough, but here I am at 35 hanging out in the bush and collecting bird sperm samples. I feel like I owe everyone (including my younger self) an explanation. An interesting career choice Me in the field, loving my work. Sorry, mum! (Image credit: Robyn White) My mum doesn’t like … Read More