The Office of the Chief Scientist today releases the Health of Australian Science report and it’s an intriguing read.
The report was compiled to help the office and the public understand the current state…
You want the truth? You can't handle the … wait: it's actually quite simple.
Daveblog
Calling something a “scientific truth” is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it carries a kind of epistemic (how we know) credibility, a quality assurance that a truth has been arrived at in an understandable…
Good science policy will help bridge gaps in our relationship with Asia.
Kalexanderson
AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government.
Today, Dr Sally Gras considers the…
Making sure what's intended is what's heard can be more difficult than it seems.
Melvin Gaal (mindsharing.eu)
As scientists, one of our responsibilities should be to promote clarity. A lot of problems are caused by an incorrect or incomplete understanding of terms we regularly, and even lovingly, use.
When I…
Scientists and politicians rely on each other – so how best to develop that relationship?
mayhem
“Our lack of ability to position our argument in the public means science has not influenced public debate as it should.” So said Australian National University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young at…
The level of political discourse is descending to new lows … but why?
Garrettc
Given the importance of science and technology to modern life, particularly in developed nations, why don’t we see more scientists in leading governmental positions?
This dearth is particularly stark…
The Gonski review on school funding is made public on Monday. But how does the division of resources between the government, independent and Catholic sectors affect how students learn in the practical…
Art reflects back the crisis we've created.
Simon Hennessey: Sunset over Metropolis
“Artists are shape-shifters and in this there is a perennial, ferocious hope; the hope which transforms, which whispers of possibility, of vision, of change and radical healing. Existing art about climate…
Just because an idea seems ridiculous, doesn't mean it's not worth discussing.
moirabot/Flickr
Last week I published an opinion piece in Nature attempting to crystallise debate on a number of issues in Australian environmental management: bushfires, weeds, feral animals, management of Aboriginal…
If the US Research Works Bill passes, public access to US research will be restricted.
Flickr/the Firebottle
Over the Christmas period, a short Bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives. The Research Works Act aims to make it illegal to require researchers to make their work publicly available…
With limited resources, the right approach is imperative.
Madilyn Peiper
To its credit, the Australian Government is making a concerted push into science outreach with the tritely-named Inspiring Australia program. This includes $5 million in funding through the equally tritely…
If speaking up helps avoid devastating bushfires, scientists should take the risk.
AAP
Scientists are increasingly expected to engage with the media to communicate their findings. My research leads me to believe Hobart is at risk from a severe bushfire disaster – but what are my responsibilities…
You may be home late if the entire universe is your test tube.
morgantj
THE STATE OF SCIENCE: How does science work? And how can we experiment on things that don’t fit in a lab? Dr Will Howard examines the many faces of the scientific method.
As adults, our understanding…
ASKAP sun up antennas
Swinburne Astronomy Productions/CSIRO
Newly-minted Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt reflects on the state of Australian science. The feted astronomer is optimistic about the future and the contribution science can make to improving lives…
Peter C. Doherty picks up his Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1996.
AFP
By the time someone gets to the stage of being considered seriously for a Nobel Prize in the sciences, it’s likely they will be very well known in their own research field; their particular discovery…
Science takes brains – but perseverance and luck often play a vital role.
AdamNF
The progress and success of any society, and in fact civilisation, is the result of its collective knowledge.
It’s hard to fathom the amount of knowledge gathered through millennia of human evolution…
Australia ranks poorly for the number of graduates emerging with a science degree.
epSos.de
Australia faces many big challenges – in the economy, health, energy, water, climate change, infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and the preservation of our precious biodiversity.
To meet these, we…
Dr Bernado de Bernardinis told residents to go home and enjoy a glass of red. Now he's in the dock.
AFP PHOTO/ TIZIANA FABI
This week, a committee of six scientists (including Dr Enzo Boschi, formerly president of Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) and one government official, whose role was to advise…
We can't afford to leave so many of our best brains behind.
Kaneda99
Why are there fewer women working in science than men?
Things have certainly improved, with participation in many branches of science at undergraduate and graduate levels now broadly balanced between…
The BBC is finally at one with science on climate change.
BBC One Wales
On Wednesday the BBC Trust released their report “Review of impartiality and accuracy of the BBC’s coverage of science”. The report has resulted in the BBC deciding to reflect scientific consensus about…
It is possible to make a difference, so be courageous.
Joe Dunckley/Flickr
Environmental scientists are partly motivated by a desire for better management of the Earth’s resources. They usually aim to effect change by going about their research quietly, and hoping that government…
Al Gore's launched a new campaign, but is anybody listening?
Juampe López/flickr
By Will J Grant, Australian National University and Rod Lamberts, Australian National University
With the momentum of his Inconvenient Truth gradually fading, Al Gore has launched a new climate change action campaign – the Climate Reality Project.
The centrepiece of the campaign is a day of action…
Sure, life's a beach, but education broadens your horizons.
Stoofstraat
It seems the popular Aussie cultural outlook is not compatible with the rigorous nature of science. In fact, it would seem “tall poppies” need to be taller, and that “no worries” is actually a worry, because…
Demanding climate data won't provide a new window into global warming.
nasa hq photo/flickr
When it comes to obtaining research data, Canadian academic Steve Easterbrook said it best:
“Any fool knows you don’t get data from a scientist by using FOI requests, you do it by stroking their ego a…
How we frame the climate change debate is important.
Modified image: HamishM/muffet/flickr
Mike Hulme of the University of East Anglia, the institution at the centre of “Climategate” and the focus of a recent data Freedom of Information request, responds to Clearing up the Climate Debate.
There…
Chubb: "You've got to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth."
AAP/Alan Porritt
Welcome to In Conversation, our series of discussions between leading academics and major public figures in Australian life.
In this, the second instalment, Rod Lamberts, deputy director of the Australian…
Christopher Monckton deliberately misleads the public on climate change.
AAP
CLEARING UP THE CLIMATE DEBATE: Associate Professor John Abraham puts Christopher Monckton’s climate claims to the test.
This summer, the people of Australia will yet again be treated to a circus tour…
A jury of one's peers should assess scientific claims.
CLEARING UP THE CLIMATE DEBATE: Director of the Global Change Institute, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg submits some climate “sceptics” to peer-review and finds them wanting.
Peer review is the basis of modern scientific…
When the rich are scared to talk, something's clearly going wrong.
Paul Miller/AAP
Iconic Aussie entrepreneur Dick Smith is feeling intimidated. Not by growing population pressures, nor by climate change or carbon prices, but by the bullies at News Limited.
In a recent interview, Smith…
Are carbon campaigns failing miserably on strategy?
jondoig/Flickr
By Will J Grant, Australian National University and Rod Lamberts, Australian National University
Braying climate naysayers are annoying; but so are all those well-intentioned carbon tax advocates who fail to address the core problems and make the same mistakes time and time again.
If we’re going…
Be honest: when's the last time you googled "science"?
teotwawki/Flickr
By Rod Lamberts, Australian National University and Will J Grant, Australian National University
Ask us what we mean by “science” and you’ll find us a little circumspect. In fact, we think the word “science” is close to useless.
This might seem odd, given we work at the Australian National Centre…
Anyone expecting undying gratitude from scientists should think again.
MacGeekGrl/Flickr
The post-budget political rhetoric to me reinforces the underlying, ongoing, disdain that this, and indeed many previous, governments have for science-related matters in Australia.
Minister Carr is reported…
Could artists and scientists be enjoying a more fruitful union?
Ben Stansall/AFP
When art and science come together, the relationship tends to be uneven, and too often art becomes the unintended junior partner.
As researchers working at the interface between art and science, we have…
Scientists need to do a better job of communicating with non-scientists.
Brewbooks/Flickr
Do scientists have a language problem? Do policy makers have hearing issues?
It would certainly seem so. Of late there have been frequent lamentations about scientists' failure to make their case to the…
Getting the results science needs might mean no more Dr Nice Guy
Ion Chibzii/Wikimedia Commons
By Rod Lamberts, Australian National University and Will J Grant, Australian National University
War has been declared, and those who recognise the fundamental role science plays in everyday life need to decide where they stand.
Building on the budgetary and rhetorical slights of recent months, rumours…
By Rod Lamberts, Australian National University and Will J Grant, Australian National University
Science has long had an uncomfortable relationship with Australian politicians. Indeed, throughout the decade of the Howard government, Australia’s scientists, researchers and higher education folks became…
Too much focus on balance doesn't present the true picture.
AAP
While the evidence for climate change continues to strengthen, public acceptance of the science keeps declining. Closing the gap could be a question of better communication.
At the commencement of the…
Barren: the public is being let down on climate change reporting.
By Brian McNair, Queensland University of Technology
Foundation Essay — In his recent statements on the poor state of the Australian debate on global warming (meaning discussion of its causes, and how to deal with it in policy terms) Professor Ross Garnaut…
Why is science so hard to communicate?
Andrew Huff/Flickr
Foundation Essay — Getting certain points across can be difficult. And yet democracies don’t function properly in the absence of broad, public discussion based on well-sourced information.
Especially…
