2020 Science Archives
Here you’ll find all the currently existing posts on 2020 Science, in reverse date order. Feel free to browse through them, or if you’re looking for something specific, use the search box below.
Science and Technology Innovation – looking to the future
The final part of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Nine months ago, I embarked on an ambitious project to flesh out the ideas presented in a seminar given at the James Martin 21st Century School at the University...
Completing the circle: Coupling science & technology outputs to inputs
Part 9 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Writing about completing the circle of science and technology policy at the start of the Copenhagen climate summit seems particularly fitting. Although the climate change...
Nanotechnology in 24 seconds/7 words, courtesy of Wade Adams and the Ig Nobels
How do you describe nanotechnology in 24 seconds, or even in 7 words? Tough challenge, but Professor Wade Adams, Director of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology at Rice University rose to it with aplomb at this...
Researchers are real people too – thoughts on interviewing scientists
Update July 2015 -Andréia's original blog post isn't accessible anymore sadly (I'm still looking for a link to an archived version). Andréia Azevedo Soares has just posted an excellent blog on how to interview scientists over at YS Journal - an...
What’s technology innovation got to do with it? Final thoughts on the Summit on the Global Agenda
As this weekend's Summit on the Global Agenda came to a close this morning, I was left with an abiding impression of a looming yet largely hidden potential crisis in global security and prosperity: A failure to develop and use technology innovation...
Serendipity at the Summit on the Global Agenda
Good brainstorms are oft anticipated and rarely encountered. So I tend to get a little excited when I find myself in one that stimulates rather than stultifies. Today at the World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda had more than it's fair...
From the Summit on the Global Agenda: Technology innovation as an enabler of social innovation
It's the end of day one at the World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda, and I'm sitting in my rather comfortable hotel room overlooking Palm Island, trying to pull my thoughts together. It was a day for meeting old friends, making new...
Rethinking the world – World Economic Forum style
For the next three days I will be participating in and blogging from the World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda in Dubai. If last year's summit - described as the "World's largest brainstorming" - is anything to go by, we're in for an...
Tim Jones’ Exquisite Corpse of Science – an update
Back in July I wrote a short blog about Tim Jones' Exquisite Corpse of Science project - an innovative project to explore what people think about science and it's place in their lives and society, through the medium of drawing and film. Four...
Looking for the nanotechnology in your life? There’s an app for that!
Okay so it's more of a list of nanotech-enabled products than a lifestyle tool, but at the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, we've just released an iPhone version of our surprisingly successful web-based nanotech Consumer Products Inventory....
Could some nanoparticles inflict harm across normally tight biological barriers?
A new paper published on-line today in Nature Nanotechnology hints that some nanoparticles could cause damage to cells on the other side of normally tight barriers - such as the blood brain barrier or the placenta - without actually crossing the...
Speaking power to truth – the unfortunate case of David Nutt
Sitting 3000 miles away from London in Washington DC, I've been following the dismissal of Professor David Nutt as the UK government's senior scientific advisor on the misuse of drugs, with interest. Not being steeped in British drugs politics, I...
Do scientists encourage misleading media coverage?
As scientists, how we love to rail against the incompetence of the media. As self-proclaimed keepers of the truth, we decry - usually rather vocally - the misinterpretation and misuse of our precious studies. And as we commiserate together on the...
Risk Innovation… You what?! (Desparately seeking advice!)
Here's something I've been chewing over for the past few weeks: How do you capture succinctly the idea of developing innovative new approaches to identifying, assessing, managing and otherwise dealing with risks to human health? What I've ended up...
Riding the wave: Rethinking science & technology policy
Part 8 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Much to my embarrassment, I’ve just realized that it was over four months ago that I wrote the previous blog in this series – a series that was supposed to evolve over...
Do peer review journals need a media code of conduct?
Since when did peer review journals start to put press hits before published data? Scientific peer review journals are a cornerstone of modern science - providing an authoritative repository of scientific discovery that researchers and others can...
Is too much choice bad for the health?
Sunday morning breakfast - a croissant, a coffee, and a stress-free morning. But wait a minute... I wonder how healthy all that butter is? When did I last have my cholesterol levels checked? Were they high? Will my crisp, moist butter croissant...
“Nano” from the 1970’s. Don Eigler, eat your heart out!
Twenty years ago, Don Eigler became the first person to manipulate and position individual atoms, making the breakthrough that many consider a pivotal moment in modern nanotechnology. Unknown to Don and the rest of IBM team though (I assume), they...
So you’re curious about nanotechnology…
Curious, concerned or just plain confused about nanotechnology? The new website Nano & Me might be just what you are looking for. Funded in part by the UK department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and developed by the Responsible...
Enough with the nano already!
Okay, so I've been letting work interfere with my blogging life over the past few weeks, which has led to an interminable series of impenetrable blogs on nanotechnology. I promise I'll try and lighten up over the next few weeks (although I'm...
Want the low-down on nanotechnology safety? Try these ten helpful resources
Where’s the best place to look for down to earth information on nanotechnology safety? Surprisingly, given how much time I spend speaking and writing about the subject, I don’t think I have ever sat down and compiled such a list. But while...
Texas Instruments – transforming the world, one graphing calculator at a time (or, Where I Went Wrong With My Life)
I always thought mathematics at school was all about being taught a new language – one that helps us live in a culture built on numbers, enables scientists and engineers to understand and control the world we live in, and enriches us by revealing...
Living in a post-chemistry world – the regulatory challenges of emerging nanotechnologies
Regulators around the world are currently grappling with how to manage the possible risks associated with first generation nanotechnologies. But increasingly sophisticated nanotechnology-based products are coming – will the old regulations still...
Helter skelter nanotechnology
There's an absolute killer of a nanotechnology blog post over on placescope, if you are looking for something to brighten your day. It appears to be based on some old Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) press releases. But the process of...
Hooked on science – ten things that inspired me to become a scientist
How exactly did I get hooked on science? It's not something I've thought about too much before. But an invitation to discuss how to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists and engineers next week has got me thinking... Next Monday...
Geoengineering options: Balancing effectiveness and safety
An interesting aspect of today's Royal Society report on geoengineering is the attempt to rate twelve potential approaches to engineering the climate by effectiveness, affordability, timeliness and safety - and to graphically compare the approaches...
Geoengineering the climate: A clear perspective from The Royal Society
Initial reflections on the new Royal Society report "Geoengineering the climate: Science, governance and uncertainty" After many months' hard work, the Royal Society's much-anticipated report on geoengineering was published today. Aimed at...
Ten things everyone should know about nanotechnology safety
Asked to conclude the Fourth International Conference on Nanotechnology, Occupational and Environmental Health in Helsinki this year, I rather rashly came up with the above title for my talk—thinking that I would find inspiration in the multitude...
Sunscreens and Alzheimer’s – solid science or scare-mongering speculation?
Could using sunscreen lead to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or other neurodegenerative diseases? The association seems far-fetched - given the amount of sunscreens, creams and lotions used every day, surely someone would noticed a link by now if it...
Graphically comparing 523 scientwists’ Twitter stats
Following on from yesterday's update on my quest to track science influence on Twitter, I've posted a bubble-chart of the August "influence stats" for all 523 scientwists in David Bradley's list over at Many Eyes. Using the chart, you can quickly...