Tagged: research

Better understanding bacterial blooms in New Zealand waterways - Genomics Aotearoa

Genomics Aotearoa • Jul 13, 2020 •

• bacteria,
• cyanobacteria,
• genomics,
• microorganisms,
• research,
• University of Auckland,
• Water quality

Dr Kim Handley, University of Auckland Just how do cyanobacteria live in their natural habitat, and how do they coexist with other bacteria and microbial life forms? And what difference will knowledge on this bacteria have on maintaining New Zealand’s water quality? One of the consequences of declining water quality is an increase in cyanobacteria – these are photosynthetic bacteria … Read More

Coronavirus ‘infodemic’ - Lately, In Science

Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Feb 03, 2020 •

• 2019-nCov,
• coronavirus,
• journalism,
• open access,
• preprint,
• research

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

Science prizes are still a boys’ club. Here’s how we can change that - Guest Work

Guest Author • Oct 22, 2019 •

• awards,
• gender,
• research,
• Science

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

Measles & cancer, part 2 - BioBlog

Alison Campbell • Sep 09, 2019 •

• cancer,
• measles,
• research,
• Science

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

The replication crisis is good for science - Guest Work

Guest Author • Apr 10, 2019 •

• peer review,
• Psychology,
• replication crisis,
• research,
• Statistical significance

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

Sticky thoughts on where research can most effectively influence policy - Code for life

Grant Jacobs • Aug 30, 2018 •

• Chief Science Advisor,
• Evidence,
• Juliet Gerrard,
• New Zealand,
• policy,
• research,
• science communication

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

Opinion: Give Postgraduates a Student Allowance Too - Guest Work

Jean Balchin • Apr 26, 2018 •

• Auckland,
• New Zealand,
• Otago,
• postgraduate,
• research,
• study,
• universities

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

Science isn’t broken, but we can do better: here’s how - Guest Work

Guest Author • Apr 20, 2018 •

• peer review system,
• predatory journals,
• publishing,
• quality,
• quantity,
• research,
• Science,
• scientific paper,
• studying,
• The Atlantic

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

The SMC Video Competition: History of David Glacier from the Cosmos to Atoms - Guest Work

Jean Balchin • Apr 10, 2018 •

• Antarctic research,
• Antarctica,
• climate change,
• David Glacier,
• glacier behaviour,
• global warming,
• ice,
• marie byrd land,
• research,
• science communication,
• university,
• victoria land,
• water

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

My dyslexic perspective on academia – and how I found science communication - Guest Work

Guest Author • Mar 26, 2018 •

• academia,
• Adaptation,
• agriculture,
• bird feeding,
• dyslexia,
• ecology,
• education,
• knowledge,
• language,
• research,
• science communication,
• tuberculosis,
• wildlife

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