2020 Science

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 barriers. It's a study that could raise concerns over ...

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 was only vaguely aware of the tensions between the Advisory ...

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 injustices of the world, we inevitably get to thinking ...

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 with is "Risk Innovation" - but I'm not convinced it works. So I ...

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 just a few weeks! Most ...

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 examine, test and build upon. Publication in peer review journals is the primary route ...

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 push me into a French pastry-coronary? And how about the coffee? ...

“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 were pipped to the "nano" post a full ten years ...

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. [caption id="attachment_2284" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Nano & Me - a new website for everything nanotech"][/caption] Funded in part by the UK department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and developed by ...

On the road again – epilogue

Sunday September 27, 9:40 AM Well, I'm back from four days in deepest Colorado, and it's time to take stock. One of the more frustrating things I'm asked when traveling is "so what are you getting out of this meeting?" Just occasionally, it's tempting to answer "sleep deprivation, a bad back and ...

Hello Denver – again!

Saturday September 26, 5:40 PM (Mountain Time) Back at Denver Airport. Knackered (a good British phrase - look it up!) Just landed from Grand Junction, and boarding in 20 minutes. Time for something to eat? Only if I wrap this blog up fast. Get back home around 1:00 AM Sunday morning. No matter how enjoyable ...

No wife should have to celebrate her wedding anniversary with a duster!

September 26, 12:45 PM (Mountain Time) Well, I’m sitting here at lunchtime on my last day at Kessler Canyon, and I must confess I’m somewhat conflicted. On one hand, this was a trip I was not looking forward to. I’m tired. I’m traveled-out. I miss my family. They miss me. And ...

“Fruit picking,” nanotech style

September 25, 11:00 PM (Mountain Time) Update, Sept 26, 12:25 PM. One of the advantages of not being able to publish blog posts as I write them is the option of reviewing them before they finally hit the net. I finally have internet access for the first time since Wednesday evening. ...

Absent fathers

September 24, 11:15 PM (Mountain Time) It’s the end of my first full day at the Kessler Canyon workshop and I have to admit, it’s been a good day. However, the internet outage has completely thrown the carefully crafted blog schedule I had worked out for the next day or so, ...

Yodeling Cowboys at 3 o’clock

Thursday September 24, 3:15am (mountain time) Well, I think I've hit my first real glitch in this trip. It's 3:15 in the morning, and I can't sleep. I'm being kept awake by music playing outside my room. It's been going on forever, and I can't find anyone to turn it off! I've ...

Mile high? More like mile long!

Wednesday September 23, 7:50 PM (Mountain time) Having just landed at Denver and made the commute along concourse B to my next flight (just how long is that concourse? Forget being mile high - mile long is more like it), I have just enough time for a shot of caffeine, a ...

Never mind the hunting, check out the man-spa!

Wednesday September 23, 11:15 AM Having a few minutes free before this lunchtime's event at the Wilson Center, I thought it was about time I revealed where I'm heading this afternoon. To be honest, I was a little unsure about doing this in case someone got the idea that this was ...

It’s the shoes that are the problem…

Wednesday September 23, 6:35 AM It's 6:35 in the morning, the dog's walked, I have the day's first cup of tea in my hands, and it's time to start getting ready for today's travel. Just to complicate things though, I have a full day's work to get through first before heading ...

On the road again – four days of travel blogs

Tuesday September 22, 8:05 PM There's this myth that work travel is fun. When I used to work for the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, they treated it as a perk that was only grudgingly allowed - to the extent that tagging personal days onto work travel was considered "too ...

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 afraid there are still a couple of nano ...