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Archives: 2006 | 2005 | 2004
Nobel
vs Ig Nobel
(16/10/2006)
Everyone
loves the Ig Nobel prizes. Despite their irreverent,
mocking and humorous nature, they actually do a service
to science by showing that scientists can laugh
at themselves. But is it normal for them to be more important
than the Nobels?
Scientists
vs. Exxon
(09/10/2006)
When
scientists protest, it often goes unnoticed. But when
the world’s oldest science association—Britain’s
Royal Society, founded 346 years ago—attacks the
world’s richest company—oil producer ExxonMobil—it’s
a whole different story.
Three
million years + 3
(02/10/2006)
She died at the age of three,
but it’s a little late to mourn her death—it
happened 3 million years ago.
Has
the Darfur genocide been underestimated?
(25/09/2006)
While in political circles, the opportunity to
intervene in Darfour is debated, scientists are starting to get involved. It
turns out that the genocide’s victims could number in the hundreds of thousands,
rather than tens of thousands.
China
climbs up the obesity standings
(18/09/2006)
The
obesity epidemic continues to grow, and now China is
getting into the game. A recent study by the Chinese
Academy of Medical Science has concluded that China is
on its way to becoming one of the world’s most
obese countries.
Fatherhood
after 15 years in the freezer
(11/09/2006)
The sperm cell is one tough customer.
Recently, baby mice were conceived using sperm taken
from dead, frozen mice. And after these babies reached
adulthood, they were able to father other healthy babies.
Do
mammoths prefer blonds?
(17/07/2006)
It takes all kinds. Of course, mammoths usually
had brown fur, but a team of German scientists revealed last week in the journal Science that
some individuals had blond or even reddish pelts.
Ants
count their steps
(10/07/2006)
Can
ants count ? It would seem so. They can count
their steps, at least, but how high can they go?
The
genes of birth
(03/07/2006)
After finding the genes for this
and that, researchers are now starting to find the genes
responsible for triggering birth itself.
The
Science behind the world cup (Part 2)
(26/06/2006)
No one is immune from soccer fever, even scientists, writes
the journal Nature.
The
Science behind the world cup
(19/06/2006)
The perfect ball, the perfect boots, and the colour a
team should wear if it wants to win. The latest edition
of the New Scientist collects 10 studies that prove science
is everywhere!
A
future without bananas?
(12/06/2006)
The banana: the most popular fruit in the world and the
fourth-most cultivated crop on earth. However, things
are going from bad to worse. The more Cavendish bananas
(a variety that once only grew in India) sold around the
world, the more the banana’s genetic diversity is
whittled away.
The
science of Al Gore
(05/06/2006)
A recent film about climate change presented by
former U.S. Vice-president Al Gore has received a great
deal of media attention. Even the scientific media has
responded positively to the film.
The
chimpanzee - a very close relative
(29/05/2006)
On our family tree, we usually place the split
between humans and chimpanzees at about 7 million years
ago. But in reality, the two species must have continued
to interbreed for hundreds of thousands of years.
If you think global warming is not real, do not read this
(23/05/2006)
Now, a report from George W. Bush’s own government
says the planet is warming.
Dinosaur
beneath the seas
(15/05/2006)
Here is a discovery that even the author of Jurassic
Park could never have imagined: dinosaur fossils
found on the ocean floor during an oil drilling operation.
Free access to research results: another blow for publishers
(08/05/2006)
In the war pitting commercial publishers of research magazines against those who want free access to all research results, the publishers have just lost another battle. Scientific research funded by the European Union should be made freely available, says an EU-sponsored report.
I don't think, therefore I am not!
(02/05/2006)
Consciousness is apparently a luxury our brain allows us only when it is not doing some other essential task. For the first time, researchers have caught the brain in action as it literally inhibits consciousness.
Alien Rain
(24/04/2006)
Did fifty tonnes of extraterrestrial biological particles really fall as red rain in the Kerala region in southern India?
Another blow for creationists
(18/04/2006)
It would appear that while creationist arguments have not been recognized by the courts, they have certainly motivated scientists. The discovery of a fossil last week was hailed, among other things, as yet one more victory over backwards creationist ideas.
Hospital in an iPod
(10/04/2006)
At least three British hospitals have found a new use for the iPod: training their staff.
Side effect: immune system collapse
(27/03/2006)
Drug trial participants of course risk side effects. But before March 14, when six British trial participants ended up in intensive care, including two in critical condition, no one had ever seen such catastrophic side effects.
Our furry ancestor
(13/03/2006)
Were dinosaur-age mammals all shrew-like runts? Apparently not all. Now there is one specimen that does us proud. Furry with a beaver-like tail, and as comfortable in the water as a fish.
Bird Flu in Europe
(06/03/2006)
Whether Europeans are happy about it or not, they have to deal with it. Bird flu is there to stay; once it arrives, it doesn't go away.
Climate: who can we sue for negligence?
(27/02/2006) The United States government has become a target for lawyers examining the question of negligence with respect to greenhouse gas emissions.
Fertility tests increasingly popular
(20/02/2006) A coincidence? One after the other, fertility tests for men and for women have recently landed on British pharmacy shelves.
Who controls scientific information?
(13/02/2006)
Should scientific data be controlled or not? Ever since it was learned last week that NASA apparently censored a global warming expert, other scientists have come forward. But it should be remembered that NASA has always controlled scientific data.
Forbidding Science?
(06/02/2006)
Forbidding Science-an unusual title for a science conference, to say the least. But the question is being raised more than ever at a time when topics such as bioterrorism, the atomic bomb in Iran, and human cloning are fast becoming realities.
The world belongs to China and India
(30/01/2006)
Economic development in China and Ind
ia holds the world in balance, leading either to growing political instability and resource consumption, or to development that takes the future of our small blue ball into consideration.
Rewriting Earth's history
(23/01/2006)
Maud Boyet and Richard Carlson want to rewrite history. Specifically, Earth's history.
The science behind the news King Kong Lives
(15/01/2006)
Or at least it once lived. And while it wasn't nearly as large as the movie character, it would certainly have commanded respect by all who encountered it. Gigantopithecus blacki was over twice as large as today's largest gorillas, weighed almost a tonne and stood nearly three metres tall.
Romantic love: one year and it's over
(03/01/2006)
Are you consumed by your latest love affair? Does your heart go pitter pat when the object of your desire comes near? Alas, it cannot last.
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