Opinion
The Chief Medical Officers – the definitive voices of science (apart from all the others)
Over the past year Vallance and Whitty, as well as Anthony Fauci from further afield, have become household names. Separating fact from fiction, the phrase ‘next slide please’ echoed in our collective memories as we huddled round the television watching the Downing street briefings like listening to Churchill on the wireless, an analogy that annoyingly…
Navigating Science in the Media
This month I read an online article entitled ‘The 5G network is spreading coronavirus’ and it must be correct because it was written by a “scientist”, someone whose opinion we tend to trust. Plentiful scientific explanation and jargon, to a reader that doesn’t have a background in science, only serves to make the article seemingly…
Undoing Scientific Wrongdoings: Is Journal Retraction Enough?
Following a spate of recent high-profile journal retractions, some scientists are questioning the integrity of the peer-review process and how flawed articles can be published in high-impact journals. But what happens when a journal article is retracted, and is it too late to truly disregard the details it contained? Let’s take a deeper look into…
Is Boris Johnson’s 10-Point Climate Plan Up to Scratch?
By Evan Turner The environment is in crisis. The next few decades are crucial to mitigate catastrophic risks and next year the COP26 Climate Conference will be held in Glasgow. The world is looking to the UK to set the tone, and there is growing public and private sector support for green technologies and acknowledgment…
Queer Specimens: Why is science still so interested in finding an explanation for same-sex attraction?
I still remember the day I was diagnosed with lesbianism. I’d been displaying the symptoms for some time – frantically reading the ‘Personal Life’ section on various actresses’ Wikipedia pages, binge-watching ‘The X Files’ to moon over Scully, the penchant for striped t-shirts, tote bags and novelty earrings – and after I told the doctor…