April 2009

Control at the nanoscale: Smallness, strangeness and sophistication

by Andrew Maynard April 29, 2009

Part 5 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Last time in this series of occasional blogs, I made the rather bold statement that while science and technology are going to have a highly visible impact on our lives over the next few decades, progress is going to be underpinned [...]

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Culture clash: Take the 2-second two-cultures poll

by Andrew Maynard April 28, 2009

A 2-second distraction in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of CP Snow’s Two Cultures lecture:  Take the two-cultures poll (below), and see how your answer aligns with those from others: (If you can’t see the poll, click here) Now you’ve pressed the button and seen the results, here’s the background: On May 7th 1959, [...]

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Obama’s science and technology call to arms

by Andrew Maynard April 27, 2009

Just in case anyone wasn’t clear, President Obama blew away any residual doubts this morning that he considers science and technology supremely important to the future well-being of the US.  In a stirring and historic speech to the National Academies of Science (audio recording available here),  Obama laid out his vision for a nation leading [...]

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Nanotechnology in motion: the good, the bad and the.. just plain weird?

by Andrew Maynard April 25, 2009

How many good nanotech videos have you come across?  Chances are, you’ll be struggling to name more than one of two.  But over the past few weeks there have been a few posted on the web that are worth watching.  These three in particular mesh together rather nicely to tell a story of nanotechnology’s potential, [...]

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Science influence on Twitter

by Andrew Maynard April 22, 2009

This is by way of a quick follow-on to yesterday’s post on the number of people on Twitter  following science-focused users.  As was pointed out, just logging the number of followers someone has on twitter is a poor indicator of either success or influence.  So, spurred into action, here is a rather more sophisticated analysis [...]

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As Twitter users skyrocket, how are the science tweeps doing?

by Andrew Maynard April 21, 2009

Earlier today, David Bradley over at ScienceBase announced that his growing list of “Scientific Twitter Friends” has hit the 400 mark.  Given the recent explosion in Twitter use, I was intrigued to see how these science-types are faring in the brave new world of on-line communication, 140 characters at a time. This is a bubble [...]

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Control: Gaining mastery over the world at the finest level

by Andrew Maynard April 16, 2009

Part 4 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century So far in this series of occasional blogs, I’ve covered coupling and communication—two of three “C’s” which together are challenging how science and technology are best used to serve society.  Now it’s the time to delve into the third “C”—control. Because [...]

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Creating order from disorder – the YouTube Symphony way

by Andrew Maynard April 15, 2009

I was skeptical – really skeptical – that the folks doing the mashup could pull it off.  But I was wrong.  They managed to create something in virtual space that is quite possibly unique, and that is most definitely greater than the sum of the parts. I’m talking about Tan Dun’s just-released YouTube “Internet Symphony”. [...]

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Twitter: changing your perspective on reality, 140 characters at a time

by Andrew Maynard April 14, 2009

13 “Twits” Who Will Change Your Perspective on Reality Back in the days when Twitter was a mere slip of a social media service—around four months ago by my reckoning—it was a byword for meaningless web-chatter and banal exchanges.  But the service is growing up rapidly —not only in the number of users (which is [...]

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Geoengineering goes mainstream

by Andrew Maynard April 8, 2009

Twelve months ago, geoengineering seemed little more than the fancy of science fiction writers and fringe scientists.  Now, an increasing number of people are viewing it as a viable – if extreme – option for curbing global warming.  This shift was hammered home today by Dr. John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor, in his first [...]

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Communication: Science and technology in a connected world

by Andrew Maynard April 7, 2009

Part 3 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century I’m fascinated by the power of communication.  The idea that someone’s perceptions and actions can be changed by information received through sight, sound or touch, is rather profound.  Even more so is the idea that, through exchanging information and ideas, people [...]

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Coupling: Actions and consequences in a shrinking world

by Andrew Maynard April 3, 2009

Part 2 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century In the previous post in this series I introduced the idea of the three “C’s:” Coupling Communication and Control—three factors that together challenge conventional ideas on how science and technology are best developed and used within society.  Following on from that [...]

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Building better batteries, the Chinese way

by Andrew Maynard April 2, 2009

Reading yesterday’s New York Times, it seems China could well be poised to leapfrog the West in advanced battery technology (China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars). According to the article, Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles [...]

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