Science related stories and commentary
I just stood in the cold on the National Mall in Washington D.C. along with 600,000 people to listen to Barack Obama’s inauguration speech. Factions of the media have analyzed it as a very “progressive” or “liberal” speech. I didn’t take that away from it. For me it was a very American speech. It was […]
MoreWhat a mess the US Government has got itself into over the Aaron Swartz affair. The heavy handedness that the US attorney’s office pursued the hacker, entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder has shades of the efforts to extradite Kim Dotcom to face copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering charges in the US. But this is a […]
MoreAs we close out a year of scientific discoveries, many of which attracted discussion here on Sciblogs, its worth looking at some of the big science-related stories that captured public attention in 2012. My colleagues at the Australian Science Media Centre has done most of the work for me – issuing just before Christmas a […]
MoreSir Peter Gluckman, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor has released an interesting discussion paper today looking at peer review and its role in influencing what sort of research gets funded in New Zealand. Those who have been through the Marsden or Health Research Council wringer will find it particularly interesting. Many scientists have told […]
MoreIf you haven’t seen the latest 007 installment Skyfall, do so – it is great. It is also pretty violent as the climax plays out like a version of the three-way graveyard gunfight in The Good the Bad and the Ugly. But how violent are the Bond films, which after all, are rated “as suitable […]
MoreHave you seen that show on National Geographic channel? The one where people devote vast amounts of time, energy and money to preparing for the end of the world? Some of them build bunkers to hide out in when peak oil causes massive social unrest around the world. Others are preparing for the aftermath of […]
MoreSo another one of our high-flying Kiwi tech firms is about to be gobbled up by off-shore investors. News broke this morning that Endace, the successful security and networking company founded by businessman Selwyn Pellet and listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market, has been approached by “California networking solutions firm Emulex with […]
MoreI popped out for a meeting this afternoon and came back to the office to discover a tornado had torn through the street I grew up in, Waimarie Rd, in Whenuapai, just a stone’s throw from the airforce base perimeter. My parents were out shopping at the time thankfully, but still can’t get back into […]
MoreRight now, hundreds of diplomats and trade experts from around the Asia Pacific region are ensconced at Sky City convention centre in Auckland for top-secret negotations as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. The level of secrecy alone is of great concern and to some, anti-democratic, let alone what is actually being concocted in the latest draft agreement. […]
MoreI spent an enjoyable morning at the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes where the glow of last night’s premiere of The Hobbit was obviously still buoying attendees – particularly the Prime Minister, who at one stage suggested there were “cauldrons of opportunity” in science. The PM’s Science Prizes spell the end of the science awards season, […]
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PETER GRIFFIN 
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