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Monthly Archives: March 2026
Equity for Women Around the World
It is always good to be stretched beyond one’s own comfort zone, even if by definition it is an uncomfortable thing to do. Recently, I found myself stepping up to the podium to talk following four successive philosophers, whose take … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in education, Equality, UNICEF, Wendy Hall, Women in science, Women in tech
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In which we tell a story: on metaphors in science and life
There is such a stark divide between those who understand scientific complexity and those who urgently need or want to. The onus falls on the former to translate their messages in a comprehensible way. Perhaps it’s a radical claim, but … Continue reading Continue reading
In which we build the perfect scientist
They say it takes a village to raise a child. But I’ve been wondering recently what it takes to raise an independent scientist. Specifically, I’m thinking of the ‘valley of death’ between a postdoc and a well-functioning group leader with … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in academia, careers, Domestic bliss, Nostalgia, Research, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, work-life balance
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Unintended Consequences
We appear to be living in a world currently beset by unintended consequences, or at least a world in which the main proponent does not seem to have thought about the consequences the rest of us now have to live … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in empathy, Ijeoma Uchegbu, Rita Colwell, Science Culture
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The Internet is Made of Cats
Nowadays most people have the computing power in their pockets to summon, at will, the entirety of human knowledge, but, people being people, they use it to have arguments with complete strangers and post pictures of their cats. I have … Continue reading Continue reading
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There’s Always Another Forgotten Woman
It’s International Women’s Day and across the internet many stories will be spreading of amazing women – in science and in many other arenas – who either don’t, or haven’t, got the attention they deserve. The Royal Society is continuing … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Girton College, Ida Freund, Newnham College, periodic table, Women in science
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In which we’ve lost the scientific argument
Today in the United States, researchers are marching in Washington DC and across the country in a Stand Up for Science National Day of Action. Their problems are admittedly a lot heavier than ours here in the UK, although a … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Nostalgia, Policy, Politics, Science Is Vital, Science talking, students, Teaching
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Intimations of Mortality
Less than a week after the death of my friend, the palaeontologist Hans-Dieter Sues, I learn today that another friend, the zoologist Alan Wilson, has also passed. Hans died at home — peacefully, but unexpectedly. He was 70. Alan died … Continue reading Continue reading
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Blue Suede Shoes
I’d washed the car for the occasion, but it rained again on Friday, liquefying the mud that had started to dry in the potholes, so that by the time I got to Lincoln I wondered why I’d bothered. The day … Continue reading Continue reading
Looking Back, Moving Forward
This post is crossposted from the Royal Society’s own blog, appearing on March 2nd 2026. From March 2025 to March 2026, The Royal Society has been commemorating the 80th anniversary of the election of the first women Fellows and honouring … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Hertha Ayrton, Kathleen Lonsdale. Margery Stephenson, portraits, Royal Society, Women in science
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