Go boldly forth with 'Endeavour'AS THE SPACE SHUTTLE programme draws to a close, it is timely to ponder the future of manned space explorationThu Feb 11 2010 - 00:00
Future imperfectTHE HISTORY of scientific research is littered with failures that did not deliver the expected outcomesThu Jan 07 2010 - 00:00
Future imperfectTHE HISTORY of scientific research is littered with failures that did not deliver the expected outcomesThu Jan 07 2010 - 00:00
Spot the planetFOR AS long as humans have looked at the night sky we have speculated on the possibility that other planets harbour intelligent…Thu Dec 17 2009 - 00:00
In defence of academic salariesSALARIES IN the public sector are under scrutiny as the budget loomsThu Nov 26 2009 - 00:00
Evolving evidenceNOVEMBER 24th will mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection , …Thu Nov 19 2009 - 00:00
Taking a risk in the long runRUNNING MARATHONS is quite popular – more than 12,500 runners took part in the Dublin City Marathon on October 26thThu Nov 12 2009 - 00:00
When is a theory not a theory?THE TERM “conspiracy theory” commonly means a fringe theory that explains an event as the secret machinations of powerful Machiavellian…Thu Nov 05 2009 - 00:00
Charting progress in our understanding of lifePERHAPS THE greatest remaining mystery in science is the mechanism whereby life spontaneously arose on earth about 3Thu Oct 29 2009 - 00:00
Test shows Shroud of Turin a relic of the Middle AgesTHE TURIN shroud is a linen cloth (4.42m x 1.13m) bearing an image of a man many believe is the crucified Jesus ChristThu Oct 22 2009 - 01:00
Caution: playing football may damage your brainTHE SPORT that immediately springs to mind when you consider the risk of head injury is boxingThu Oct 15 2009 - 01:00
A genius who took the alchemy out of chemistryROBERT BOYLE (1627-1691), the “Father of Chemistry”, was the most influential scientist born in IrelandThu Oct 08 2009 - 01:00
Mysterious moisture hints at extraterrestrial lifeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ON SEPTEMBER 25th, the journal Science published two landmark papers on the presence of water on Mars …Thu Oct 01 2009 - 01:00
How we won out over the 'cavemen'THE NEANDERTHALS were a type of primitive man who lived throughout much of Europe and western Asia for more than 200,000 years…Thu Sept 24 2009 - 01:00
Working out won't cut it for the joulesUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: IT IS WIDELY believed that regular aerobic exercise is a good way to lose weightThu Sept 17 2009 - 01:00
When it comes to aliens, Yeti and God, forget sciencePETER MEDAWAR, the British immunologist and 1960 Nobel Laureate, described science as “incomparably the most successful enterprise…Thu Sept 03 2009 - 01:00
Irrational fear of risk lessens our enjoyment of lifeLiving fully means taking risks, and it’s pointless trying to hide away from themThu Aug 27 2009 - 01:00
How to win over climate scepticsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: DESPITE REPEATED warnings from the scientific establishment of the disastrous consequences if we don’t…Thu Aug 20 2009 - 01:00
Of moving statues, dancing mania and convent hysteriaUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE SKIN-COVERING ordinarily reserved for rational social behaviour is surprisingly thin – remember the…Thu Aug 13 2009 - 01:00
Why is it so difficult for women to become professors?UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MY ATTENTION was recently caught by a publication from the European Molecular Biology Organisation (Embo…Thu Aug 06 2009 - 01:00
A century of transistors, nuclear weapons and spaceUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: TODAY I LIST 10 scientific discoveries of the 20th century that, in my opinion, have had the biggest effects…Thu Jul 30 2009 - 01:00
Quotes of the sages down through the agesUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THIS WEEK, for your summer entertainment, I hand over this column to the words of some famous thinkers…Thu Jul 23 2009 - 01:00
Evidence suggests it was cats who chose humansUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE DOMESTIC cat may be the most popular pet, with more than 600 million in homes worldwideThu Jul 16 2009 - 01:00
The man on the moon is one of the facts of lunar lifeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: IT SEEMS that the young Earth had no moon, but soon after the Earth formed, a Mars-sized rogue planet …Thu Jul 09 2009 - 01:00
What autism tells us about development of savant skillsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ALTHOUGH SAVANT syndrome is not an officially recognised medical diagnosis, Darold Treffert, an American…Thu Jul 02 2009 - 01:00
Sequencing of the potato genome will mean better spudsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE GENOME OF an organism is all the genetic information in the chromosomes of the organismThu Jun 25 2009 - 01:00
To attract future scientists, more than perceptions must changeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MY COLUMN OF June 4th on the difficulty of attracting the brightest students into careers in science, …Thu Jun 18 2009 - 01:00
Power of the 'God Particle'UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MATTER IS MADE of fundamental building block particles and the theoretical framework describing their …Thu Jun 11 2009 - 01:00
To attract more science students we must look at rewardsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: DISCOVER Science and Engineering (DSE) is Ireland’s national science awareness programme and Forfás has…Thu Jun 04 2009 - 01:00
Mystery of the universe confounds our understandingUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE FUNCTION of science is to explain the natural worldThu May 21 2009 - 01:00
Bad buzz for dwindling colonies of honeybeesUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ONE THIRD of global agricultural production depends on pollination by the European honeybee, Apis mellifera…Thu May 14 2009 - 01:00
Is the Pope right on condom use and Aids in Africa?UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids), caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), continues…Thu May 07 2009 - 01:00
A cure for illness and an early warning for onset of diseaseUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: STEM-CELL RESEARCH, currently the hottest topic in biology, is developing at lightening speedThu Apr 30 2009 - 01:00
Is this woman 130 years old? She doesn't look a day over 120UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE HUMAN LONGEVITY record held by Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 in Arles, France at the age of 122…Thu Apr 23 2009 - 01:00
Why Everest's 'death zone' claims so many livesUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE SUMMIT OF Mount Everest is the highest point above sea level on earth and, consequently, climbing …Thu Apr 16 2009 - 01:00
Closing the salary gap is the way to give science the wow factorUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: A NEW CAMPAIGN is underway in the UK to show people how science benefits their everyday lives and how …Thu Apr 09 2009 - 01:00
How a sweet golf swing could hurt your hearingUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ALTHOUGH I haven’t played golf for several years, I am preparing to start again and I was looking through…Thu Apr 02 2009 - 01:00
Exploring the seven myths of medicineUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: I RECENTLY CAME across a very entertaining article entitled “Mixed Messages: Medical Myths”, by RC Vreeman…Thu Mar 26 2009 - 00:00
Bellamy wrong on climate changeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: DAVID BELLAMY, well-known presenter of TV nature programmes over the years, was interviewed about climate…Thu Mar 19 2009 - 00:00
Airport security is a flight of fancyUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: I FLEW BACK to Cork from Heathrow last NovemberThu Mar 12 2009 - 00:00
Carbon footprint solution in dietUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WE ARE all frequently exhorted to reduce our carbon footprint; that is, the amount of greenhouse gases…Thu Mar 05 2009 - 00:00
No time to waste on going nuclearUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: FEARS ABOUT greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and about security…Thu Feb 26 2009 - 00:00
How survival of the fittest idea fuelled Nazi ideologyUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: LAST WEEK I described the theory of evolution through natural selectionThu Feb 19 2009 - 00:00
Why work will always expand to fill the available timeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: PARKINSON’S LAW – “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” – was coined in 1958…Thu Feb 05 2009 - 00:00
Global warming concern offers relief at cusp of new ice ageUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WE HEAR A lot these days about climate change, all in the context of a perceived man-made forcing of climate…Thu Jan 29 2009 - 00:00
Stem-cell technique rated the top discovery of last yearUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: IN DECEMBER the prestigious international journal, Science, prepared a list of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs…Thu Jan 22 2009 - 00:00
Why dismissing climate change sceptics is bad scienceUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: A FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTIC of science is that everything is revisable in the light of new persuasive…Thu Jan 15 2009 - 00:00
Revealing solar secrets with a swinging pendulumUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WHEN I WRITE articles explaining biological evolution or criticising attacks on evolution, such as intelligent…Thu Jan 08 2009 - 00:00
No excuse for human embryonic stem-cell researchUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM-CELL (HESC) research is back in the news in IrelandThu Dec 04 2008 - 00:00
