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.
We need to make the PhD system more student-supportive and student-centric
Not everyone aspires to getting a PhD. But for those who do, pursuing one should be the pinnacle of their educational experience. Yet for many graduate students, studying for their doctoral degree turns into nightmare that continues to haunt them...
The Moviegoer’s Guide to the Future: Beginnings
As The Moviegoer's Guide to the Future book comes together over the next few weeks, I thought it would be interesting to post excerpts from the early drafts. These will change during editing -- drastically so in some cases I suspect. But they might...
The BS and the Science of Nanotechnology
In case you missed it, Elon Musk called BS on the field of nanotechnology last week. The ensuing Twitter spat was admittedly rather small on the grand scale of things. But it did throw up an important question: just what is nanotech, and where does...
I just signed a book deal – The Moviegoer’s Guide to the Future’s happening!
The big news is that I've just signed a book deal with the publisher Mango! The working title for the book is The Moviegoer's Guide to the Future (Update: the final title is Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies), and...
10 potential risks of artificial intelligence we should probably be thinking about now
To unpack some of the challenges around the risks and benefits Artificial Intelligence, Risk Bites has a 5 minute introduction to ten potential risks of AI we should probably be thinking about now
Humility in science communication
A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a keynote on Knowledge Mobilization for the annual Graduate College Impact Awards at Arizona State University (the video's at the end of this post). The talk was to be science communication. But on reflection, I...
After Tempe fatality, self-driving car developers must engage with public now or risk rejection
Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University; Jameson Wetmore, Arizona State University, and Thaddeus R. Miller, Arizona State University On Sunday evening, March 18, an Uber SUV hit and killed a pedestrian in the Arizona city of Tempe. In a place...
Eager to dye your hair with ‘nontoxic’ graphene nanoparticles? Not so fast!
Graphene is something of a celebrity in the world of nanoscale materials. Isolated in 2004 by Nobel Prize winners Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, these ultrathin sheets of carbon atoms are already finding novel uses in areas like electronics,...
What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and why should you care?
We have a new video up on the YouTube Risk Bites channel that asks what the fourth industrial revolution is, and looks at the technological trends underpinning it. If you've ever wondered what the fourth industrial revolution is, why it's so...
‘Geostorm’ movie shows dangers of hacking the climate – we need to talk about real-world geoengineering now
Jane A. Flegal, University of California, Berkeley and Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University Hollywood’s latest disaster flick, “Geostorm,” is premised on the idea that humans have figured out how to control the Earth’s climate. A powerful...
Dear Elon Musk: Your dazzling Mars plan overlooks some big nontechnical hurdles
Elon Musk has a plan, and it’s about as audacious as they come. Not content with living on our pale blue dot, Musk and his company SpaceX want to colonize Mars, fast. They say they’ll send a duo of supply ships to the red planet within five years....
These scientist-communicators deserve your attention!
On April 22 2017, over a million people marched for science around the world. They came for many reasons -- to celebrate science; to soak up the vibe; to protest a growing distain for evidence-based decisions within society; to say they'd been...
Have spacesuit, will travel?
This week, Elon Musk gave the world a sneak-peek of the new SpaceX space suit on Instagram. I was passingly intrigued when I saw it. But then came the request from Fortune.com to write an article tying in the new suit to the future of space...
Ten reasons why more scientists should be on YouTube
A couple of weeks ago I tweeted ten reasons I think more scientists should be on YouTube. I know it’s hard & takes time, but there are lots of reasons why scientists should enter this #scivid contest! https://t.co/P5HWHKRFxe...
2017 Science Showcase Video Contest
Can researchers make awesome science communication videos? To find out (and, quite honestly, to encourage scientists to show us what they can do!), we're running a science video competition this year on the YouTube channel Science Showcase. Entries...
Will driving your own car one day be as socially unacceptable as smoking in public?
In 2014, over 32,000 people were killed in car crashes in the U.S. In 2012, more than two million Americans visited the emergency room as a result of car crashes. And an estimated 94 percent of the crashes that cause these injuries and fatalities...
Taking on the complex ethics of emerging brain technologies
Imagine infusing thousands of wireless devices into your brain, and using them to both monitor its activity and directly influence its actions. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, and for the moment it still is – but possibly not for long....
Navigating the nanotechnology risk landscape – pointers for early career scientists
Navigating the risk landscape that surrounds nanotechnology development can be a daunting task – especially if you are an early career researcher just getting started in the field. There are plenty of studies and speculations around what might –...
A fifth grader (and up) introduction to nanotechnology
The latest video from Risk Bites takes a four minute dive into what nanotechnology is, and why it's important. It was created as a primer for 5th graders - which probably means that there'll be a lot of 5th graders at heart watching it! It also...
Elon Musk’s new master plan will take more than advanced tech to pull off
Elon Musk – CEO of Tesla Motors – has just revealed the second part of his master plan for the company. And it’s a doozy. Not content with producing sleek electric cars (which to be fair, was only ever a stepping stone to greater things), Musk...
How risky are the World Economic Forum’s top 10 emerging technologies for 2016?
Take an advanced technology. Add a twist of fantasy. Stir well, and watch the action unfold. It’s the perfect recipe for a Hollywood tech-disaster blockbuster. And clichéd as it is, it’s the scenario that we too often imagine for emerging...
Guiding “questions” for science communication – personal reflections
A few days ago, I was asked to articulate my “rules” for effective science communication. I don’t actually have a check-list for developing science communications (and I’m not sure that a rigid check list would be such a good idea). But I do have...
What’s the latest on carbon nanotube safety?
Just a few years ago, carbon nanotubes were front and center of discussions around the safety of engineered nanomaterials. These days, not so much. So what happened? Did we do the science and discover that they're just as safe as any other form...
How to give the perfect scientific presentation
Too often, it seems, the mark of a "good" scientist is the ability to give an excruciatingly embarrassing and incomprehensible scientific presentation - the sort of presentations that litter academic conferences. Borne out of long-standing...
Nanoparticles in baby formula: should parents be worried?
There’s a lot of stuff you’d expect to find in baby formula: proteins, carbs, vitamins, essential minerals. But parents probably wouldn’t anticipate finding extremely small, needle-like particles. Yet this is exactly what a team of scientists here...
With carbon nanotubes in the news again, where’s the public interest in possible risks?
Back in 2008, carbon nanotubes – exceptionally fine tubes made up of carbon atoms – were making headlines. A new study from the U.K. had just shown that, under some conditions, these long, slender fiber-like tubes could cause harm in mice in the...
Peanut allergy – what does the LEAP study tell us?
Peanut allergy continues to increase, and affects an estimated 1% - 3% of the population in Western countries. Yet we're still not clear what the cause is. A recent British study though is indicating that exposing infants to peanuts early in their...
Public universities must do more: the public needs our help and expertise
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, has been in the national headlines for months, culminating in its central role at a recent debate in the city when Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton slammed government officials...
Three ways advanced genetic engineering could help address Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases
In just a few short weeks, Zika has shot from being an obscure infection to a headline-hitting public health disaster. The virus is spreading rapidly across the Americas (and potentially beyond), is suspected of being associated with birth defects...
Can citizen science empower disenfranchised communities?
Early in 2015, a group calling itself the Nappy Science Gang hit the parenting scene in the U.K. It was made up of moms and dads who used cloth nappies – or diapers – with their kids, and wanted to know the best ways to keep them clean and safe....