Author Archives: Stephen

Here is a Man Who Stood Up

Posted on 4 March 2011 by Stephen

In many ways Travis Bickle, the disturbed taxi driver in Scorsese’s famous film, is a model of public engagement. For one thing, he really thinks about his audience. He rehearses in front of a mirror so that he will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Carl Sagan, communication, science, Skepticism, Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle | Comments Off on Here is a Man Who Stood Up

The Perutz Effect

Posted on 27 February 2011 by Stephen

I have Jim Franks of Newton TV to thank for the opportunity to sit around a table with some of the current scientists at the world-famous MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology to talk about the legacy of its founder, Max … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, Max Perutz, Protein Crystallography, science, Science & Media, video | Comments Off on The Perutz Effect

Prize Your Imagination

Posted on 25 February 2011 by Stephen

On Wednesday last I was fortunate to find myself an outlier among the great and the good at the Wellcome Trust Image Awards for 2011, where hefty glass slabs were being handed out by Adam Rutherford as prizes to imaginative … Continue reading →

Posted in albumin, moleclues, Protein Crystallography, science | Comments Off on Prize Your Imagination

An Inconsistent Truth?

Posted on 13 February 2011 by Stephen

The Science Museum in London is a national shrine to human ingenuity. Its existence is a testament to the value that our society places on inquiry and innovation, its worth paradoxically underscored by the fact that, even in these impecuious … Continue reading →

Posted in AltMed, History of Science, science, Science Museum, Traditional Medicine | Comments Off on An Inconsistent Truth?

Small and Very Far Away

Posted on 9 February 2011 by Stephen

As Father Ted might have explained it to Dougal, this one is very small: Atom but that one is far away.

Posted in Astronomy, cosmos, Father Ted, molecules, Protein Crystallography, proteins, science | Comments Off on Small and Very Far Away

Interesting Times

Posted on 1 February 2011 by Stephen

“May you live in interesting times”, goes the Chinese curse. Chinese scientists are certainly living in interesting times (as reported today in Nature) but they are unlikely to see it as a curse. The budget of the Chinese Academy of … Continue reading →

Posted in science, Science & Politics, Science policy, scienceisvital | Comments Off on Interesting Times

The shove that dare not speak its name

Posted on 24 January 2011 by Stephen

The following is a commentary that has been published today (in a slightly edited form) in Chemistry and Industry. Only the excellent need apply. Such was the message on research funding from nobelist Sir Paul Nurse, incoming president of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Excellence, Pressure, science, Science & Politics, Science Funding, Temperature, Volume | Comments Off on The shove that dare not speak its name

The Importance of Being Confident

Posted on 22 January 2011 by Stephen

The government is worried about the economy and rightly so. It’s in a bit of a state. When Value Added Tax was raised by 2.5% to 20% at the turn of the year, there were nervous glances to see what … Continue reading →

Posted in science, Science & Politics, Science policy, scienceisvital | Comments Off on The Importance of Being Confident

Burying Pigs and Information

Posted on 9 January 2011 by Stephen

Ben Goldacre wrote a short blogpost today to bemoan the habit of many media outlets of not linking to the primary sources for their reports and headlines. He was referring to stories that have appeared today about Asian gangs abusing white … Continue reading →

Posted in animal welfare, foot-and-mouth disease, science, Science & Media, Science & Politics, science communication | Comments Off on Burying Pigs and Information

Padding times three

Posted on 7 January 2011 by Stephen

Henry started it by banging on about his iPad. Somehow the subject of blogging came up and I mentioned the BlogPress app, so here I am testing it out. I used it once on MT4 but this is my first … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, filler material, Fun, iPad, Protein Crystallography, quora | Comments Off on Padding times three