New Zealand’s leading ‘blue skies’ research fund boosts Kiwi science, but could be tweaked for greater efficiency, says a new study. An evaluation conducted by researchers at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research institute has found that Marsden funding increases the scientific output of the funded researchers. Compared to similar groups that do not receive funding, a team that […]
MoreA $25,000 scholarship was set up recently by cosmetics maker L’Oréal and UNESCO to recognise women in science in New Zealand and the inaugural fellow has just been named – Dr Christina Riesselman, a geologist at the University of Otago. I got to know Dr Riesselman when she completed our two-day Science Media SAVVY course […]
MoreAround the world there’s growing pressure on blue skies research as cash-strapped governments look for quick answers to complex questions. In Israel, I spoke to numerous Nobel Laureates who bemoaned this state of affairs. They told me that they would not have made their discoveries if they hadn’t been given the remit to follow their curiosity. […]
MoreGordon Wallace, University of Wollongong We can rebuild him. We have the technology. – The Six Million Dollar Man, 1973 Science is catching up to science fiction. Last year a paralysed man walked again after cell treatment bridged a gap in his spinal cord. Dozens of people have had bionic eyes implanted, and it may […]
MoreSciblogs editor and Science Media Centre director Peter Griffin spent a week in Israel attending the World Science Conference and visiting some of the country’s most innovative technology startups. Check back here for new posts documenting the insights he gained from the ‘startup nation’. Also check out Peter Griffin’s interview with Radio New Zealand about […]
MoreStuart Wyithe, University of Melbourne Astronomy is entering an exciting new era of exploration. Extremely large optical telescopes, including the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which is due to be built in Chile in 2021, will allow studies of stars and galaxies at the dawn of the universe, and will peer at planets similar to ours […]
MoreWhen you drink from a tap in Israel, chances are that you are taking a mouthful of the Mediterranean. As I explained in my last water-themed post, around 60 per cent of Israel is desert and the rest of it is pretty dry too. The Dead Sea on the east border of the country is […]
More“Do you ever feel tired during the day? Do you suffer from mild headaches?” The questions were coming thick and fast from Gabi Arad, of Israeli medical device maker Itamar, which is based in the ancient Roman town of Caeserea, halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. The previous night I’d worn to bed Itamar’s US$5,000 […]
MoreA group of scientific institutions in the UK and Europe have today sent an open letter to Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, expressing dismay at Scotland’s proposal to ban GM crops in the country. Here’s the letter in full… 17th August 2015 Dear Mr Lochhead Your announcement that the […]
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PETER GRIFFIN 
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