Monthly Archives: December 2019

2019 in 31 photographs

Posted on 31 December 2019 by Stephen

My computer tells me I took over 3,700 photographs in 2019. Yikes! However, I have winnowed them down to just 31, should you care to take a look. I have been fortunate this year to travel far and wide – or … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life, travel | Comments Off on 2019 in 31 photographs

Books read in 2019

Posted on 30 December 2019 by Stephen

In a kinder, happier age, when I used to write regularly for the Guardian’s science blog network, I would post summaries of the books I had read at the end of each year. Since the network closed in 2018 I … Continue reading →

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My carbon bootprint

Posted on 27 December 2019 by Stephen

What was your carbon footprint for 2019? Mine was more of a bootprint, almost entirely because of flying. International travel has long been considered one of the perks of academic life, something that lifted the job out of the ordinary … Continue reading →

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In which my mother stands behind me, and I mother in turn

Posted on 26 December 2019 by Jennifer Rohn

The winter always belonged to my mother and me. We both loved the late autumn, when the last of the leaves plastered the pavements in a smear of color, and our breath fogged the morning air. November also usually brought … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic bliss, Joshua, Nostalgia, The ageing process, work-life balance | Comments Off on In which my mother stands behind me, and I mother in turn

Leaning In or Leaning Out: Who does What (and Why)?

Posted on 22 December 2019 by Athene Donald

Girly swot Brenda Hale, otherwise known as the outgoing President of the Supreme Court with an impressive taste in brooches (see figure), was quoted recently as saying: “I encountered many young men from public school backgrounds who felt entitled to … Continue reading →

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Post-Election Christmas Reading List

Posted on 16 December 2019 by Athene Donald

The general election is now done and dusted. The UK’s future is determined, for good or ill. Scientists (along with everyone else) now must work out how to interact with the new policies, new ideas and – if some of … Continue reading →

Posted in ARPA, Brookings Institute, David Willetts, Further Education, Science Funding, Science policy | Comments Off on Post-Election Christmas Reading List

Time for reflection

Posted on 15 December 2019 by Stephen

I think of Sunday as the last day of the week, not the first. Today, at the end of a hard week on political and personal fronts (though why the political and personal should be seen as separate I am … Continue reading →

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The changing face of science

Posted on 15 December 2019 by Steve Caplan

This past week, I attended the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) & European Molecular Biology Organization’s annual meeting in Washington, DC. This is a meeting that I have been attending since 1997, almost every year since then—for 22 years. … Continue reading →

Posted in annual meeting, ASCB, ASCB 2019, DC, EMBO, meetings, post-doc, poster, Research, science, student, talk, Washington, Washington DC | Comments Off on The changing face of science

If music be the food of love, rock on

Posted on 8 December 2019 by rpg

One of the problems of having so many websites is knowing which particular wibble goes to which one. And generating enough content to keep them fed, of course. Confessions has been neglected of late—not because I want to, or am … Continue reading →

Posted in cider, magirism, Me, Meta, Science-less Sunday | Comments Off on If music be the food of love, rock on

Travelling Hopefully to 2.4% GDP

Posted on 6 December 2019 by Athene Donald

David Willetts, for a number of years the Minister of State for Universities and Science, now an FRS, President of the Advisory Board for a think-tank (Resolution Foundation) and writer (most recently, A University Education), has just published a pamphlet … Continue reading →

Posted in David Willetts, Dominic Cummings, Fraunhofer Institutes, Richard Jones, Science Funding | Comments Off on Travelling Hopefully to 2.4% GDP