Fallout after my science and religion columnWhat I said was inaccurately portrayed and my intentions misinterpretedThu Aug 01 2019 - 06:03
Why man’s best friend should be treasuredDogs give us great pleasure and companionship, they give us the precious gift of unconditional love and they teach us to appreciate non-human animal lifeThu Aug 01 2019 - 00:00
Philosophers claim global warming makes having children immoralIf we were to accept the argument and act ‘morally’, the world’s population would die out – as a solution to climate change, it seems a bit nutsThu Jul 18 2019 - 00:00
Did early scientists owe a debt to the slave trade?Naturalists in need of samples took advantage of the routes taken by slave shipsThu Jul 04 2019 - 06:00
Is dark matter composed of black holes?The embarrassing gap in science’s understanding of the universe may soon be filledThu Jun 20 2019 - 01:00
How to recognise alien lifeLife on other planets may not be carbon- and water-based but the familiar principles of natural selection will almost certainly applyThu Jun 06 2019 - 00:00
Science would be well advised to avoid picking fights with religionPromoting science to replace religion often has the opposite effect, and scientists would be well-advised to stop picking futile fightsThu May 16 2019 - 13:48
Plants are worthy of same compassion we show animalsIncredibly versatile life forms that dominate the planet deserve greater respectThu May 02 2019 - 01:00
The mirror test of self-awarenessOnly a handful of species have been shown to possess the ability of visual self-recognitionThu Apr 18 2019 - 01:00
Hyping the microbiome may have unpleasant side effectsData is piling up but a theory with which to interpret it remains to be developedThu Apr 04 2019 - 01:00
Israeli cancer treatment could be something specialCompany’s efforts to address issues around cell mutations met with scepticismThu Mar 21 2019 - 04:00
Earth’s population may start to fall from 2040. Does it matter?William Reville: As populations age and are not replenished, societies could be strainedThu Mar 07 2019 - 01:00
Humans are not ready to take red meat totally off the menuOur diets may be bad for our health, but a vegetarian world would create new problemsThu Feb 21 2019 - 06:00
Apes can be lazy and never get fat. We can’t. How come?Understanding the difference explains why modern lifestyles damage our healthThu Jan 31 2019 - 06:00
Patient care and enzyme release appear crucial to placebo effectResearch points to biochemical basis for perplexing but powerful medical treatmentThu Jan 17 2019 - 01:30
New doctrine threatens freedom of speech in universitiesBowing to fear of causing offence undermines fundamental principle of free enquiryThu Jan 03 2019 - 01:00
Did life begin on Earth in volcanic pools?Confirmation of hypothesis could guide exploration for life on other planetsThu Dec 20 2018 - 06:00
New eugenics proposals must be interrogated very carefullyWilliam Reville: Social pressure on parents to go along with genetic enhancement of offspring would be greatFri Nov 30 2018 - 14:14
Self-esteem is great – so long as it is rooted in realityWilliam Reville: The misguided US self-esteem fad lingers on this side of the AtlanticThu Nov 15 2018 - 05:00
Is religion good for children?Harvard study indicates religious upbringing helps adolescents navigate life’s challengesThu Nov 01 2018 - 01:00
We know Earth is special. So are we alone in the galaxy?The Milky Way is extremely unlikely to contain another technological civilisationThu Oct 18 2018 - 01:00
Are humans naturally monogamous or polygamous?Balance of evidence indicates we are biologically inclined towards monogamyThu Oct 04 2018 - 01:00
The dodgy science of wiping your backsideWilliam Reville: Predatory journals can contaminate scientific literatureThu Sept 20 2018 - 01:00
Biological elitism: the result of tinkering with human genomes?Despite ethical unease, germ-line modification will surely find mainstream acceptanceThu Sept 06 2018 - 07:00
How human cells can be reprogrammed to renew our bodiesScientists hope to use pluripotent stem cells to replace organs that have failedThu Aug 16 2018 - 01:00
Are genetically modified organisms safe?Green criticism has undermined public and political confidence in GMOs but science proves they are no riskier than more traditional methodsThu Aug 02 2018 - 00:00
Suicide: the best strategies attempting to counter this major problemWe have been surprisingly passive in Ireland in responding to issueThu Jul 19 2018 - 01:00
Searching for planets beyond our solar systemThe discovery of extra-terrestrial intelligence would be truly transcendingThu Jul 05 2018 - 01:00
Next big debate in Ireland will be about assisted suicideDo you agree that all lucid adults should have the legal right to end their own lives?Thu Jun 21 2018 - 01:00
How to live 10 years longerFive lifestyle practices can dramatically lower mortality rates, research showsThu Jun 07 2018 - 06:00
First drinking ‘protects your heart’. Then it ‘shortens your life’. Who to believe?Health researchers should tread carefully to avoid the alcohol-guidelines morassThu May 17 2018 - 01:00
The power and the limits of scienceScience’s success in understanding the natural world motivates some scientists to claim that it is all-powerful and will eventually explain absolutely everythingThu Apr 26 2018 - 14:05
Paul Kammerer may have been an honest scientistRecent re-examination of his work suggests that he may have discovered epigenetic inheritance, a phenomenon not recognised until long after his deathThu Apr 12 2018 - 15:54
Hopes for successful obesity treatment flicker at last‘Quite simply, we have found support for the existence of internal bathroom scales’Thu Mar 29 2018 - 16:08
When government is the biggest funder of scientific endeavourThe formula for optimum distribution of funding between basic and applied research is not being applied at presentMon Mar 12 2018 - 11:25
To bee or not to bee‘Much more attention must be paid to how beehives are deployed and account must be taken of the effect on local pollinators’Thu Feb 22 2018 - 15:11
Why producing bulls**t requires few convictionsScience is not immune to allure of BS, and we’re not as good at detecting it as we thinkThu Feb 15 2018 - 03:00
Explaining consciousness: the mind-matter connectionThe old answer to the problem of how the world existed before the advent of conscious observers was that God was watching itThu Feb 01 2018 - 00:00
Which to choose, burial or cremation?We should not allow cremation to drive cemeteries out of existence and to hide death from usMon Jan 15 2018 - 14:16
The problem with mollycoddling university studentsHigher education is to broaden horizons, not to simply embrace a homogenous view of the worldThu Dec 21 2017 - 00:00
Why we believe what we want to believeMany people have a deep-seated and powerful emotional need to support their favourite ideology or worldviewTue Dec 19 2017 - 12:26
Dedicated followers of fissionNational Children’s Science Centre is aimed at stimulating children’s natural curiosity and encouraging them to explore and discoverThu Nov 30 2017 - 14:30
How best to persuade people who do not accept scientific consensusSince emotion plays a large part in motivating those who reject the consensus, then science communicators should also use emotion in making their caseThu Nov 09 2017 - 16:44
Self-driving cars will overtake human drivers in no timeWilliam Reville: As software improves, the supremacy of such vehicles will become clearThu Nov 02 2017 - 06:00
Learning the truth of educationSchools are viewed as instruments of social engineering as much as institutions for the transmission of knowledgeThu Oct 12 2017 - 17:42
Plunging sperm counts provoke alarmScientist warns continued sperm count decline in men ‘may lead to human extinction’Tue Sept 26 2017 - 15:13
Is the current effort to combat climate change a utopian project?Why the changes to human behaviour necessary to ease climate change will have to be directed by governmentThu Sept 14 2017 - 11:27
Equal opportunities for female academics requires social and structural changeA formula must be devised to ensure women are not handicapped in the promotion stakes because of time devoted to having and raising childrenFri Sept 01 2017 - 11:09
Democracy in danger – what to doWilliam Reville: Why politicians should increasingly justify policies on moral rather than economic or electoral groundsThu Aug 17 2017 - 01:00
The penis story that didn’t stand upWilliam Reville: Reputable social science journal fell for paper ‘deliberately constructed to be complete, comical nonsense’Fri Jul 21 2017 - 11:30
