Make a comet in London; create a cloud in Italy or explore a volcano in the Canary Islands. It can only be European Researchers’ Night, back for the 8th year running in 350 European cities from Iceland to Cyprus, from Portugal to Turkey.
Listening to a BBC radio interview a few days ago, I heard an interview with John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University. He was talking about how political will is needed to make full use of the great progress that has been made in gene technology.
The UK Department of Health announced this week that the salt reduction programme introduced ten years ago is working. The average Brit consumes 1.5g less salt a day. With an average daily intake of 8.1g there is still some way to go to reach the target of 6.0g, but estimates suggest that around 8.500 lives are being saved as a result of this reduction.
Population growth and global consumption must be addressed urgently, says the IAP, the body representing the world’s 105 scientific academies. In a rare joint statement signed by all 105 bodies, scientists across the globe call for “urgent and coordinated action” to address “two of the most profound challenges to humanity”.
There has been a lot happening in the fight for open access in recent weeks. The Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest research funding bodies, has announced it will soon be launching a scientific journal eLife, which will compete with the most elite publications such as Nature and Science.
A dramatic protest by scientists was staged in Westminster, London on Tuesday. At a mock Victorian funeral over 100 scientists, mainly organic chemists, carried a coffin with floral wreaths spelling out “SCIENCE”.
För någon vecka sedan var jag på Studio samtid som är ett koncept bestående av ett en timme långt samtal om aktuella frågor, arrangerat av Greatness PR. Temat för samtalet var denna gång trovärdighet och förtroende i ett rekommendationssamhälle. Hur hanterar vi alla budskap som vi nås av och vilka råd och upplysningar litar vi på? Hur mycket lyssnar vi egentligen på dem vi inte är överens med?
