The key to our humanity isn't genetic, it's microbial
Dec 16, 2018 10:35 am UTC| Insights & Views Science
What if the key to perfecting the human species were actually … yogurt? The fantasy of trying to perfect humanity through genetics was recently reignited by the announcement of the Chinese scientist claiming to...
It's not so easy to gain the true measure of things
Dec 15, 2018 16:43 pm UTC| Science
I teach measurement the quantification of things. Some people think this is the most objective of the sciences; just numbers and observations, or what many people call objective facts. Lord Kelvin, a famous British...
The contest for the worst air pollutant
Dec 15, 2018 16:31 pm UTC| Nature Science
In its report published on June 28, 2018, the French Agency for Health Safety (ANSES) presented a list of 13 new priority air pollutants to monitor. Several air pollutants that are harmful to human health are already...
Opening Pandora's Box: Gene editing and its consequences
Dec 08, 2018 17:28 pm UTC| Science
Today, the scientific community is aghast at the prospect of gene editing to create designer humans. Gene editing may be of greater consequence than climate change, or even the consequences of unleashing the energy of the...
Why biodiversity is key to our survival
Dec 08, 2018 17:27 pm UTC| Science
Diversity, be it genetic, morphological, behavioural or ecological, is at the heart of many controversies. It fascinates us or worries us, depending on the context. But what is biological diversity? How useful is it, how...
Dec 04, 2018 17:36 pm UTC| Science
Its 4 a.m., and Ive been up for about 20 hours straight. A loud alarm is blaring, accompanied by red strobe lights flashing. A stern voice announces, Searching station B. Exit immediately. It feels like an emergency, but...
There's no simple answer to what counts as 'science' in teaching reading
Dec 04, 2018 17:07 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
What is the best way to teach children to read? This apparently simple question has, in fact, has been the subject of robust and often polarised debate. Recently the New York Times ran an opinion piece titled Why are we...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal – and why it won’t go back
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight