Monthly Archives: September 2015

Lunacy and sanity

It’s less than 24 hours, so this still counts as a timely post. I guess I had been primed because I had been thinking about it. But although I hadn’t set my alarm I found myself awake at 02:52 0n … Continue reading

Posted in science | Comments Off on Lunacy and sanity

Can We Get Beyond Quotas?

As people talk increasingly about the need for quotas of women on Boards and senior management teams of different kinds, it is worth considering not only whether this is desirable but whether it is viable. I am prompted to ask … Continue reading

Posted in committee membership, Equality, head hunters, nominations, Women in science | Comments Off on Can We Get Beyond Quotas?

In which I get angry (again): Science, as vital as ever

Hopefully most of you have heard about the upcoming campaign that we at Science is Vital are frantically working on. The background can be found in our recent Guardian piece, and the fine details are on our website. But for … Continue reading

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Ch-ch-ch-changes…

There’s a very real chance that this could turn out to be an actual blogpost. In the original sense of the word: a web-log of what’s been happening. Posts have been rather sparse on Reciprocal Space of late. That’s not … Continue reading

Posted in Change, funding, Guardian, Scientific Life, Times Higher | Comments Off on Ch-ch-ch-changes…

Book reviews!

An inner monologue, recently: “oh! I have a blog! I should write something. But the most exciting thing that happened this year isn’t really bloggable yet; the second-most exciting thing was the wedding in England of a very dear friend … Continue reading

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The Lady and the Trump

This week, my family and I convened to do something very unusual: to watch television. And not just any television program — no, it was to watch the Republican presidential candidate debate. While I fully expected the debate to be … Continue reading

Posted in autism, Ben Carson, CDC, doctor, Donald Trump, education, ignorance, NIH, pediatrician, Rand Paul, Republican debate, Research, science, vaccine, vaccines | Comments Off on The Lady and the Trump

Why so Few (Still)?

If you ask a kid to draw a scientist, very often they will draw a ‘mad’ scientist with sticking up hair in a white lab coat, probably holding a test tube containing some evil-looking smoking liquid: an amalgam of Einstein … Continue reading

Posted in Change then Numbers, Elizabeth Blackburn, Equality, L'Oreal For Women in Science, nobel prize, UNESCO, Women in science | Comments Off on Why so Few (Still)?

Compartmentalising our Passions

As scientists, many in the world believe we are reductionist, breaking everything down into component parts. For some humanities’ scholars this can be equated to the fact that we can’t possibly be creative or, in Thomas Carlyle’s words (in 1833), … Continue reading

Posted in British Science Association, Communicating Science, CP Snow, Michael Berkeley, Music, Private Passions, Science Culture | Comments Off on Compartmentalising our Passions

Cervical cancer is not porn – Knox County schools shouldn’t cave to ignorance

My hometown has made the international news. Is this for the fact that Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero was one of the few Tennessee mayors to fully support same-sex marriage? Or for the fact that Ms. Dolly Parton, our great lady … Continue reading

Posted in censorship, Knox County School System, Knoxville Tennessee, the immortal life of henrietta lacks | Comments Off on Cervical cancer is not porn – Knox County schools shouldn’t cave to ignorance

Multitasking in the Public Eye

I spent much of the last week in Belgium. A long-scheduled trip, I spent a couple of nights in Brussels and one in Leuven. With Cambridge-Brussels being easy and streamlined (usually at least) via Eurostar, this should have been a … Continue reading

Posted in BBC, British Science Association, Communicating Science, Justin Webb, LERU | Comments Off on Multitasking in the Public Eye