Posts tagged as:

Communication

Is nanotechnology suffering from “silent rave” syndrome?

by Andrew Maynard August 26, 2010

I couldn’t resist finishing the August in the Archives series with this piece on “silent rave” syndrome, which I am sad to say still seems to inflict the emerging technologies community! Originally posted October 5 2008 The silent rave might seem a rather bizarre social phenomenon; a group of strangers converging in a public place [...]

Read the full article →

I’m breathing in nanoparticles, so why aren’t I dead already?

by Andrew Maynard August 5, 2010

This was based on a piece I originally wrote for Nano Today – the blog was a slightly extended version of what was published.  Although it was written two years ago, it’s still surprising how few people realize that breathing in nanoparticles is an everyday fact of life, and that to make sense of new [...]

Read the full article →

Smart science, biopunks and nanoparticles – August in the Archives at 2020 Science

by Andrew Maynard July 28, 2010

I‘m going to be taking a break from 2020 Science over the next few weeks, as I finally make the move with my family from DC to Ann Arbor.  But rather than let the blog languish, I thought I would use this as an opportunity to revisit some of my old posts.  So through August, [...]

Read the full article →

I’m A Scientist – where the prize money went

by Andrew Maynard July 14, 2010

I love books – the old fashioned kind, printed with ink on paper.  As a kid, books were my source of education, inspiration and entertainment.  As an adult, I still find there’s something oddly satisfying about picking up a sheaf of printed and bound pages and immersing myself in them. So it’s perhaps not surprising [...]

Read the full article →

ASME launches a new series of nanotechnology podcasts

by Andrew Maynard July 7, 2010

ASME – the organization that used to be known as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – has just launched a series of educational podcasts on nanotechnology that are well worth checking out. Between now and next February, the ASME Nanotechnology Institute will be posting new video and/or audio podcasts on their website every couple [...]

Read the full article →

Scientist listen to the public? Surely you’re joking Mr. Mooney!

by Andrew Maynard July 4, 2010

With apologies to Chris Mooney, and all the many scientists that really do get the need to listen to people.  And also with a rather large tongue in my cheek: Dear Mr Mooney, I’ve been way too busy this week doing important sciency stuff to engage with the trivialities of the popular press.  But this [...]

Read the full article →

I’m A Scientist 2010 ends, and the winner is…

by Andrew Maynard June 25, 2010

An hour or so ago, the final winners of I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here were announced.  To my surprise, I made it to the last two standing in the Silicon Zone yesterday, and have been on the edge of my seat today waiting to see whether I was going to be ousted [...]

Read the full article →

I’m A Scientist – A brilliant British idea that needs to come to the US!

by Andrew Maynard June 23, 2010

Today was a tough day on I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here – three live chats almost back to back, followed by the first evictions.  And believe me – even though I live to fight another day, the evictions were traumatic!  But more of that below.  At the end of a long day, [...]

Read the full article →

I’m A Scientist – Check out the competition!

by Andrew Maynard June 1, 2010

Reading the Twitter feeds, it seems that a number of scientists participating in I’m A Scientist, Get me Out of Here have struggled with their profiles.  It’s one thing to design an elegant experiment or write a smart paper – but describing yourself in three words or telling a joke that’s actually funny isn’t something [...]

Read the full article →

I’m a scientist – and I’m going to be hanging on for dear life’s sake!

by Andrew Maynard May 17, 2010

I can’t sleep, I’m distracted, I keep breaking out in a cold sweat.  And the reason?  I have a deceptively simple question going my head – and I don’t know the answer! The question… well, I’ll come to that in a minute.  I’d rather put the moment of embarrassment off for at least a few [...]

Read the full article →

Found in translation – Journalist Andréia Azevedo Soares’ take on a Brazilian nanotechnology documentary

by Andrew Maynard April 25, 2010

Language is often seen as a barrier to communication.  But sometimes it provides a valuable buffer between hearing, understanding and responding, and allows unique perspectives that are often drowned out to be heard. A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Brazilian TV presenter Luís Fernando Silva Pinto for the TV Globo program Ciência & [...]

Read the full article →

The nanotech gamble – double or nothing?

by Andrew Maynard April 20, 2010

There’s a bit of a brouhaha over nanotechnology safety brewing over at AOL Online.  A few weeks ago, investigative reporter Andrew Schneider posted a series of articles questioning both the safety of nanotechnology-enabled products entering the market, and the US government’s response to the emerging challenge.  Today, Clayton Teague – Director of the US National [...]

Read the full article →

The secrets of engaging teens with science

by Sophia Collins April 13, 2010

A guest blog by Sophia Collins, producer of the on-line teen science event “I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here!” “itz hometime but we want to stay and ask questions” These are the words of a 14 year old student, at a school in inner-city London. The school has some of the poorest academic [...]

Read the full article →

Cultivating ingenuity & humility in an increasingly complex world

by Andrew Maynard April 6, 2010

To coincide with my move to the University of Michigan, Seed Magazine has just published a series of ten questions and answers on what I do and what motivates me as a scientist.  You can read how well I fared (or didn’t, as the case may be) with questions as diverse as “How do you [...]

Read the full article →

Making sense of nanotechnology – a piece of cake!

by Andrew Maynard April 4, 2010

The quality’s a bit flaky, but I thought I would upload this video for a bit of fun.  It’s the first – and possibly the last – time I will simultaneously attempt to unravel the mysteries of nanotechnology… while baking a cake! Filmed at the National Museum of American History as part of Nanodays 2010, [...]

Read the full article →

“I’m a Scientist…” – Seriously addictive science engagement!

by Andrew Maynard March 24, 2010

The website “I’m a Scientist – Get me out of here” should come with a government warning – something along the lines of “Visiting this site could seriously disrupt your professional, social and personal live while altering your perceptions on getting kids hooked on science – proceed with extreme caution.”  In fact I would probably [...]

Read the full article →

UK nanotech strategy – unavailable due to technical difficulties

by Andrew Maynard March 18, 2010

It seems the UK government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is having a “leaves on the track” moment this morning (a scathing cultural reference, for those of you Brits too young to remember!).  The newly-minted UK nanotechnology strategy – launched today – is unavailable… because of technical difficulties it seems. Seems to me that [...]

Read the full article →

24 questions and answers on nanotechnology safety

by Andrew Maynard February 12, 2010

Well I guess I set myself up good and proper – I should have realized that in asking people for their questions on nanotechnology safety last week, they would actually want answers! Having failed miserably to compile a catalog of websites that provide clear and concise answers to the questions asked in last week’s blog [...]

Read the full article →

Nanotechnology safety: We’ve got the answers, now what was the question?

by Andrew Maynard February 12, 2010

Last Friday I posted 24 questions on nanotechnology safety provided by folks on Twitter and FaceBook, in a naive attempt to see if people could find matching answers on the web.  Predictably perhaps, there weren’t too many responses.  This wasn’t too surprising – I’m beginning to realize that asking for feedback on the web is [...]

Read the full article →

No Small Matter – a taste of the nanoscale

by Andrew Maynard January 18, 2010

To accompany the review just posted of Felice Frankel and George Whitesides’ book “No Small Matter: Science on the Nanoscale” the authors kindly allowed me to post this series of excerpts.  What I wanted to capture here was the synergy between the images and the prose – and how together they pull the reader in. [...]

Read the full article →

No Small Matter – A connoisseur’s guide to delicate work

by Andrew Maynard January 18, 2010

How do you write a book about something few people have heard off, and less seem interested in?  The answer, it seems, is to write about something else. Felice Frankel and George Whitesides have clearly taken this lesson to heart. Judged by the cover alone, their new book “No Small Matter:  Science at the Nanoscale” [...]

Read the full article →

Daily Mail Science Reporting – Deconstructed

by Andrew Maynard January 8, 2010

Hype, scare mongering, obfuscation and just plain misinformation – the scientific community are reasonably clear about what they think of Tabloid science reporting much of the time.  So I wasn’t too surprised to see the headline “‘Grey goo’ food laced with nanoparticles could swamp Britain” in today’s Daily Mail, following the release of a new [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries