Science related stories and commentary
Each new movie that comes out from Peter Jackson’s visual effects workshop Weta Digital seems to showcase some breathtaking new effect that pushes out the boundaries of what can be achieved with visual effects. With the Lord of the Rings films, it was the particularly clever use of motion capture to create the eerily realistic […]
MoreThe vast majority of scientists in this country undertake research that is funded by the tax payer and as such, they are often required to prepare reports and give advice to government departments and ministers. The pursuit of evidence-based policy in government is essential and something that should be encouraged. But what happens when the […]
MoreThe long-awaited final report of the 10 year-long, 20 million pound Interphone study into whether mobile phone use can cause brain cancer is set to be published before the end of the year, according to reports from the UK over the weekend. The results are expected to cause some concern for the mobile industry and […]
MoreDetails just in on the Prime Minister’s newly established science prizes. Check out the website devoted to the prizes here. The jewel in the crown is the Prime Minister’s Science Prize itself – its worth $500,000 – to an individual or team undertaking breakthrough research in New Zealand. $100,000 goes to the individual or team […]
MoreAs Sciblogger Shaun Hendy has pointed out, the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology has issued a feedback document on its priorities for science and technology and called for submissions on how to make the science system deliver more for New Zealand. In the introduction to the paper, Science Minister Wayne Mapp wastes no time […]
MoreThe Times of London is ramping up its science coverage with a monthly magazine on science and the environment called Eureka. The magazine will be included in the Times for UK readers and luckily for the rest of us is being made available in a rather nice e-zine format. The Times has a long tradition […]
MoreWell that certainly wasn’t the wind! Five minutes ago I’m sitting at my computer doing some work and my desk starts to jiggle. The water in the glass of water beside me is trembling. My apartment seems to lurch slightly like someone has backed a car into it. And that’s it, another quake felt in […]
MoreThe Marsden Fund, bolstered by a $9 million top-up in funding announced in this year’s Budget, today hands out a record sum of cash to researchers around the country. The full list of successful grants is available here. Check back here through the day for reaction and analysis from our Scibloggers and for further analysis […]
MoreThis week a high-profile group of scientists had a letter published in New Scientist that calls for the Nobel prizes for science to be revamped because the awards are too narrow to reflect the breadth of modern science. The Nobel Prize winners will be announced next week. A few choice quotes: Many of these fields, […]
MoreNature reports today some interesting research which suggests the big Boxing Day earthquake of 2004, which caused devastation around the Indian Ocean when the resulting tsunami slammed into coastal towns, may also have weakened the San Andreas faultline 8000km away in California. Researchers examining the data produced by highly sensitive devices buried deep beneath the […]
More
PETER GRIFFIN 
You must be logged in to post a comment.