Author Archives: Stephen

More on Willetts’ Speech

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Stephen

In the days following Willetts’ big science policy speech, there had been a piece in Nature by Daniel Sarewitz and letters from disgruntled physical scientists to the EPSRC that in different ways highlighted the role of scientists in directing research funding. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics | Tagged | Comments Off on More on Willetts’ Speech

Moving Molecules

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Stephen

Regular readers will know that molecules are my thing, that my scientific endeavours are devoted to revealing the intricate architecture of proteins — the molecular machines that sustain life. They will also know that I have at times struggled with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Protein Crystallography, Science | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

From the pedestal – take 3

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Stephen

Earlier this week I had an interesting email from Jesse Shore, President of Australian Science Communicators, about a blog post I wrote back in 2010. Jesse has kindly agreed to let me post our brief correspondence so I’ll let him … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Case for Support

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Stephen

If you are a scientist and you want some money to spend on research, as part of the grant application you have to write a case for support. It has to be good. You need to describe why the problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Work and Energy

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Stephen

It has been a quiet week in lab woebegone*. Though we have been working to pack up everything for a move across campus in mid-January, Christmas has intervened to scatter us to our homes, where traditionally we have the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Jam Yesterday

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Stephen

On a grey day back in October I made my way along Albemarle Street to the Royal Institution for the filming of DemoJam, a lively and light-hearted program of science produced by Jonathan Sanderson and the rest of the gang … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Protein Crystallography, Science | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

First Anniversary

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Stephen

A year ago today Occam’s Typewriter made its debut on the blogosphere and I published my first post at the new home of Reciprocal Space. It’s been a good twelve months. OT has established itself as a home thoughtful and … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 21 Comments

Real and False Economy

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Stephen

Last week I went to Germany to talk to a pharmaceutical company about my work on the blood protein, human serum albumin. It set me thinking. But first I need to tell you about albumin. Albumin is a surprisingly abundant … Continue reading →

Posted in Protein Crystallography, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Incoming

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Stephen

I gave a talk a couple of weeks ago at a Biochemical Society meeting on the subject of the Research Excellence Framework, the process that will assess UK academic research quality for the purpose of determining how a large tranche … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Alive to the prospects for libel reform

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Stephen

The campaign for libel reform has been grinding away for several years now but there was still a buzz of expectation as we gathered in Committee Room 10 in the House of Commons last Wednesday evening. By 6 pm the … Continue reading →

Posted in Libel Reform, Science & Politics | Tagged | 13 Comments

Let’s democratise the bejesus out of libel reform

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Stephen

This week the Guardian made the astonishing revelation that a man who is heir to the throne by an accident of birth and who is the representative on Earth of precisely no-one has been enjoying the right of veto over … Continue reading →

Posted in Libel Reform, Science & Politics | Tagged , , , | 32 Comments

Libel Reform: steps forward

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Stephen

Today sees the publication of a very important report on libel reform. The report is from the Parliamentary Joint Scrutiny Committee, which has been considering the government’s draft defamation bill in the light of oral and written evidence from interested … Continue reading →

Posted in Libel Reform, Science & Politics | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments