Nobel Prizes honour breakthroughs
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On the science radar...
Singing mice learn new tunes, hormone boosts honesty, clever navigating slime, domestic football violence and mouth-urinating turtles.
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Is science good for the economy?
Should the Government fund science - or get out of the way so the private sector can do it profitably? How do you actually measure the impact of scientific research?
 | | Dr Julia Lane |
Those are some of the thought-provoking questions US economist Dr Julia Lane has floated this week during her visit for the New Zealand IceFest.
The former programme director of science and innovation policy for the National Science Foundation sat down with Nine to Noon's Katherine Ryan to talk science, innovation and what governments should consider when they decide what funding mix they should get for applied science and longer-term blue skies research.
Sciblogger Dr John Pickering sums up her arguments in this post. Among the points Dr Lane makes (as reported by Pickering):
- "The principle reason for governments to invest in science is for the public good. If there are high returns expected, then this is a place for the private sector not the government."
- Better funding models seem to be ones that fund individuals and groups rather than projects.
Fellow Sciblogger Aimee Whitcroft attended a presentation by Dr Lane that dealt with the difficulties of gauging the benefits of investing in science - and how our perceptions of benefits are changing. Again, Dr Lane reinforced her point that publicly-funded science should be science for the public good, rather than profitable areas of science.
Reports Whitcroft: "Rather, government should be funding work which has strong public value, if not strong direct dollar value. Such as ARPANET in the US. Additionally, some basic research will fail, and it's good to let people know about that - it's of value to both industry and science, to prevent people reinventing circular objects."
Dr Lane has a long association with New Zealand having completed her undergraduate degree at Massey University in 1977.
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Obesity NZ's 'growing problem'
A conference in Auckland next week will be focusing on the complex issue of obesity.
Experts from around the world will be gathering in Auckland next week for the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) Annual Scientific Meeting.
The meeting, running from the 18-20th October, will explore some of the factors behind the obesity epidemic as well as examining potential solutions.
The Science Media Centre will be holding an online media briefing with some of the key local and international speakers from the conference next Wednesday. Registered journalists will be receiving details soon.
A public lecture, "Our Children's Children: What is (y)our role?" will be one of the highlights of the Meeting, featuring the most up-to-date knowledge and discussions delivered by world-renowned experts, chaired former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.
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Quoted: New Zealand Herald
"The problem with "I'm entitled to my opinion" is that, all too often, it's used to shelter beliefs that should have been abandoned. It becomes shorthand for "I can say or think whatever I like" - and by extension, continuing to argue is somehow disrespectful.
"And this attitude feeds, I suggest, into the false equivalence between experts and non-experts that is an increasingly pernicious feature of our public discourse."
Dr Patrick Stokes (Deakin University)
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Sciblogs highlights
Some of the highlights from this week's posts:\
Measuring the value of science - Aimee Whitcroft examines the current problems with how we measure the value of science and - more importantly - the solutions to them.
misc.ience
Getting to a BLISful state a long and winding road - The latest chapters in the saga of the Otago spin-off company BLIS are chronicled by Peter Kerr.
sticK
007 Billion - Crowdsourcing Intel - Forecasting expert Robert Hickson looks at the US government's forays into co-opting the public as a network of 'spies'.
Ariadne
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Research highlights
Please note: hyperlinks point, where possible, to the relevant abstract or paper.
Microbes poles apart: An analysis of bacteria in the Antarctic and and Arctic oceans has highlighted the differences and similarities between microbes at opposite ends of the Earth. An international team of scientists, including a New Zealander, have found that bacteria living in the oceans' depths near the South Pole shared genetic similarities with their North Pole cousins. However, bacteria living closer to the surface exhibited greater genetic diversity. The findings hint at how deep undersea currents can influence the genetics of polar ecosystems.
PNAS
DNA 'half-life': Despite the massive technical achievements in the profiling of DNA, little is known about the mode and rate of DNA degradation. Based on mitochondrial DNA from 158 radiocarbon-dated fossils of the extinct New Zealand moa, a new study shows DNA breaks down at a relatively predictable rate. This initial research opens up the possibility of using the degradation of genetic material as a way to date biological samples. The authors also note that their findings debunk claims of 'million-year-old' DNA samples.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
The cost of conservation: Funding to preserve global biodiversity will have to increase by an order of magnitude if world governments are to meet their conservation obligations by 2020, according to a new report from international scientists - including a New Zealander. Establishing and maintaining protected areas could cost up to US$76.1 billion annually. These are daunting numbers, but consider that the total funding required is less than 20 percent of yearly global spending on soft drinks. It's also a tiny percent (1-4 percent) of the total value of ecosystem services provided by these species and habitats.
Tomatoes linked to fewer strokes: Eating tomatoes and tomato-based foods is associated with a lower risk of stroke, according to a Finnish study of over 1,000 middle-aged men. Tomatoes are high in the antioxidant lycopene and the study found that people with the highest amounts of lycopene in their blood were 55 percent less likely to have a stroke than people with the lowest amounts of lycopene in their blood.The study also looked at blood levels of other antioxidants, but found no association between them and risk of stroke.
Neurology
Facebook spreads the word on STIs: Social media may be the key tool to get sexual health messages out to a teenage demographic. Researcher found that promoting safe sex messages through Facebook increased awareness and safer sexual behaviour among teens, at least in the short term. A related commentary article warns that for such interventions to be effective they will require input from a new field of experts including social media specialists, marketers, and software developers.
American Journal of Preventative Medicine
Black glass Moroccan meteorite: Last summer, a meteorite from Mars plunged into the Moroccan desert. A new analysis of the meteorite shows that the rock was ejected from the surface of Mars 700,000 years ago. In particular, the researchers found an abundance of black glass within the rock that may contain Martian soil. It is the fifth Martian meteorite to be collected after a witnessed fall to earth.
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Policy updates
Some of the policy highlights from this week:
Legal highs framework: At a press conference this week Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced a new framework for legal psychoactive substances to be introduced next year. Retailers will have to bear the cost of safety testing.
Environmental report cards: The Ministry for the Environment has published five new updates or 'Report Cards' on environmental indicators, including air quality and recreational water quality. |
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Upcoming sci-tech events
For these and more upcoming events, and more details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar. |
Analysis of single quantum particles, revealing how intracellular signalling proteins work and turning adult cells into stem cells were among the achievement recognised by this year's Prizes.