Archive: Science

Why can't science and politics get along?

Politicians have a patchy record on paying attention to scientists – to the detriment of us all.

BHA: Science and Pseudo Science

What distinguishes real science from pseudo-science, flim-flam and bullshit? Is parapsychology a science? Is Young Earth Creationism science? Is pseudo-science on the rise in British schools? Join speakers Chris French, Andy Lewis, James Ladyman and Stephen Law for the answers.
BHA: The Forgotten Legacy of Arabic Science

The British Humanist Association is pleased to announce theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili as the 2013 Holyoake honorary lecturer, taking a look at the rich scientific heritage of Arabic science, focussing on the period when it was at the forefront of innovation and advance.
ESRC: Science minister to present 'Portraits of Britain' prizes

How can you capture the meaning of 'social sciences' and 'society today' in a single picture? What does social science mean to you, and how would you portray the social sciences in one image? This was the challenge of Portraits of Britain – a photographic competition organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Festival of Social Science.
BHA: Can science solve every mystery?

Can science answer every question? Should scientists show a little humility and acknowledge there are questions that only religion can answer? Are science and religion “non-overlapping magisteria”, or is science capable of showing that religion is false? And what, exactly, do philosophers do?

Coalition has been 'worse for science'

"Particularly weak ministers" struggling to get to grips with the basics
Swindon, we have a problem: UK 'underfunding' galactic-sized space ambitions

MPs have expressed concern after discovering Britain's booming space sector, which the government hopes will grow fourfold by 2030, is being overseen by just 44 staff - mostly based in Swindon.

Comment: The badger cull is an act of deceit and neglect

People who should know better have given up on scientific research.
Comment: The government's backing of GM foods is short-sighted and wrong

A senior scientific adviser to David Cameron has called for rules on GM crops to be relaxed, but it is nothing more than an expensive blind alley that will leave the UK trailing behind the rest of Europe.

Comment: Let's keep politics out of climate change education

The place of climate change in science education could fall by the wayside. Let's keep politics out of the curriculum.
Comment: MPs either don't understand – or care about - science

Heathrow and the badger cull suggest government and MPs remain entirely uninterested in science.

Comment: Tabloid scare stories and the end of the world

Why do tabloids get so hysterical over swine flu and the millennium bug, but downplay the risks of climate change?
UK immigration policy 'deeply damaging' to science

Plans to limit non-EU migrants to five years in the UK have been branded "deeply damaging" to Britain's scientific community.

The decline of the Bunsen Burner

Scientists of the future are being discouraged by over-zealous health and safety concerns at school, a committee of MPs has said.
Research regulator? MPs demand peer-review watchdog

A new watchdog should be created to ensure the integrity of scientific research in the UK, an influential committee of MPs said today.

Michael Gove on mathematics and civilisation

Full text of Michael Gove speech at the Royal Society on maths and science.
Spending review: Science backed amid cuts

Funding for Britain's science sector has avoided cuts in the comprehensive spending review.

Willetts defends science funding against his boss

David Willetts made the case for continued science funding today in his first major speech in government.
Government keeping scientists at 'arms length'

The government is treating science as "a peripheral policy concern," an influential committee of MPs has said today.

Lord Sainsbury resigns as minister

Lord Sainsbury has resigned from his role as science minister, citing personal reasons.
Govt should not 'disguise' policies with science

Ministers should not disguise policies based on their beliefs as being based on scientific evidence, the science and technology committee has said.

Science 'will change the world'

Britain must become a more "scientifically literate society" if it is to remain competitive and tackle key challenges such as climate change, Tony Blair urged today.
Tories urge innovation prizes to boost business

The government should introduce 'innovation prizes' to persuade firms, scientists and organisations to come up with new technology, the Conservatives have urged.