The man who explained our living planetJames Lovelock’s Gaia theory made him a hero to the green movement but he also became a powerful critic of environmentalismThu Oct 19 2023 - 06:00
Building and detonating the atomic bomb: A difficult decision for US in second World WarOppenheimer film resurrects question – should atomic bombs have been developed and used?Thu Oct 05 2023 - 06:00
Molecular hydrogen therapy – a promising new approach to human healthPeer-reviewed research suggests H2 therapy can help combat top 10 ailments listed by the American Centre for Disease ControlThu Sept 21 2023 - 07:00
Science, tech, engineering and maths degrees will not take over university educationIncreasing recognition that graduates from arts/humanities are also employable in the tech sector for various reasonsThu Sept 07 2023 - 11:38
The human cost of electric car batteriesGlobal move towards electric vehicles rides on the back of exploiting poor African workers in DRCThu Aug 17 2023 - 06:52
Would you ‘kill’ one person to save five? Famous thought experimentsThought experiments are fascinating. Here are four examples that illuminate certain philosophical, scientific and philosophical ideasThu Aug 03 2023 - 05:00
The western world is besieged by criticisms - academics must be free to investigate Powerful new pressures, such as ‘wokeism’ and cancel culture, should not be allowed to stifle scrutiny or debateThu Jul 20 2023 - 06:00
The Loch Ness monster unites sixth-century Irish monk St Columba and the SNP in distasteWhat explains all the sightings of a giant plesiosaurus-like creature in the Scottish lake?Thu Jul 06 2023 - 05:00
Scientific fun: Have a summer laugh at some formula gags Why split the atom when you can split your sides with mirth?Thu Jun 15 2023 - 05:00
Research making rapid progress towards reversing ageingHaving successfully reversed ageing in mice, scientists plan to start work on non-human primates and then move on to humansThu Jun 01 2023 - 06:00
How will we react when the aliens arrive?Our most urgent preoccupation must be how to establish reliable two-way communicationThu May 18 2023 - 06:00
Academic freedom the very touchstone of real and rigorous debateGrowing campus culture of intolerance towards expression of legitimate opinions deemed to be on ‘wrong’ side of a range of issues is a very worrying developmentThu May 04 2023 - 07:00
The notion of endemic conflict between science and Christianity is a mythWilliam Reville: I am unaware of any unresolved clashes between mainstream Christianity and scienceThu Apr 20 2023 - 06:14
Why is Africa the least food-secure continent in the world?Education and economic development should solve the continent’s agricultural problem. Both of these areas are trending in the right directionThu Apr 06 2023 - 06:00
Younger people in wealthier countries no longer feel that having children is fulfillingJapan will plunge over economic and social cliff unless country reverses its population declineThu Mar 16 2023 - 12:20
Why do we swear so much?Swearing heightens attention and recall, and also enhances pain relief. Maybe that’s why people from all races, classes and education levels swearThu Mar 02 2023 - 06:00
Milestone reached on road to nuclear fusionBreakthrough fuels hope that abundant energy source may not always be 30 years awayThu Feb 16 2023 - 06:00
Ozone layer success story provides hope on climate changeStill, it must be acknowledged that global warming is a much tougher nut to crackThu Feb 02 2023 - 06:00
Our virtually infinite human ingenuity is reason for optimismWe can have well-justified hope that hard work plus ingenuity will solve the global warming problemThu Jan 19 2023 - 06:00
Ideological criticism of science takes root in universitiesDecolonisation of science just one example of ways universities genuflect to sociopolitical ideologiesThu Jan 05 2023 - 06:00
Tut and Ötzi: The world’s most famous mummies, one a mighty ruler, the other a migrant farmerAnalysis of genome and gut microbiome set to provide remarkable insights into Iceman, discovered in Ötztal Alps in 1991Thu Dec 15 2022 - 16:01
Tackling global warming with the circular economyConsumer-driven, profit-based model of ‘take, make, waste’ has to changeThu Dec 01 2022 - 05:00
The relentless rise of Homo sapiensSapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — splendidly told story about our evolutionary historyThu Nov 17 2022 - 06:07
On apologising for the historical sins of scienceGalton is remembered most for eugenics, the study of human inheritance with the aim of improving the human species through selective breedingThu Nov 03 2022 - 05:00
Why science remains silent on the morality of abortionScience cannot assign a moral value to the developing human zygoteThu Oct 20 2022 - 06:00
Ireland needs to bite the bullet on nuclear energySmall modular reactors can be mass-produced at relatively low cost and riskThu Oct 06 2022 - 06:00
Jumping to conclusions … the inside track on reasoning and decisionsThe merits of spending a little time on reflection before making that decisionThu Sept 15 2022 - 05:56
The big problem with organic farming is it cannot produce enough food to feed the world’s populationAlthough the synthetic fertiliser ban was not the sole cause of Sri Lanka’s economic crash, it was a significant factorThu Sept 01 2022 - 05:31
Climate anxiety can stop people vigorously tackling global warmingWe should support politicians who pursue climate action and punish them electorally if they fail to actThu Aug 18 2022 - 05:52
Is Google’s new chatbot a person?LaMDA is sentient and self-conscious — in other words, it has the chief characteristics of a humanThu Aug 04 2022 - 07:00
Aspects of Irish science and cultureThe essential difference in approach between scientists and artistsThu Jul 21 2022 - 06:51
Could head transplantation be a path to immortality?Under development by a team of surgeons, the project raises a host of philosophical and bioethical issuesThu Jul 07 2022 - 05:58
A fire in the sky: our planet’s relationship with the sunIn its absence, life on earth would be impossible, but the effects of the sun are not entirely benignThu Jun 16 2022 - 05:44
Sucking carbon dioxide from the air just one way we can control global warmingHuman ingenuity is providing ways to get us past this pressing problem – which we caused in the first placeThu Jun 02 2022 - 05:01
The creative sweet spot: you can find it in your (very early) sleepResearch shows accessing a hypnagogic state as you drift into sleep can unlock creativityThu May 19 2022 - 03:00
The clever enigmatic octopus and what we know about the species so farGiven the animal’s capacity to learn about the world, their short life span is a mysteryThu May 05 2022 - 01:00
Exploring the birth of the universe from the far side of the moonMoon-based telescopes should be able to resolve the immediate events after the big bangThu Apr 21 2022 - 01:00
Protecting the Earth from killer asteroidsSpace is filled with potentially dangerous objects whose paths scientists can alterMon Mar 28 2022 - 15:29
New research may open door to treating Alzheimer’s and other dementiasPlugging leaks in the blood-brain barrier could prevent or even reverse dementia onsetThu Mar 17 2022 - 05:00
The sophisticated life of plants deserves far greater attentionLessons from their world may help human species increase its chance of long-term survivalThu Mar 03 2022 - 01:30
Fundamental questions science cannot yet answerMystery of life on earth and beyond extends to the Big Bang, dark matter and much moreThu Feb 17 2022 - 06:00
How the sea otter stays warm: a mystery that was recently solvedUnlike larger marine animals, species has no fatty blubber to rely on to retain body heatThu Feb 03 2022 - 01:05
Ideas in philosophy on human extinction are toxic seeds that must be dealt withSuffering is an unavoidable part of the human condition but can serve useful purposesThu Jan 20 2022 - 06:00
Our meritocratic educational system serves us wellMeritocracy has flaws but critics have yet to come up with a superior systemThu Dec 16 2021 - 06:00
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide not fit for purposeWhen these options are available, those in severe distress can feel pressured to make a choiceMon Dec 13 2021 - 16:35
‘Following the science’ is not enough in a pandemicMaking policy is the task of Government, not to shelter behind ‘objective science’Thu Dec 02 2021 - 01:00
Left-wing authoritarianism mirrors far right, research findsMore similarities than differences between left-wing and right-wing authoritarianismThu Nov 18 2021 - 06:00
Grade inflation: lowering standards in higher educationIt is denied as a serious problem but could cause reputational damageThu Nov 04 2021 - 06:00
Tackling our high anxiety over climate changeFurther global warming will cause more trouble, but there is much we can still doThu Oct 21 2021 - 06:00
There is an unequal human sex ratio of males to females at birthAll countries with strongly skewed sex ratios at birth in favour of males have cultures that display a preference for sonsThu Oct 07 2021 - 01:13
