The seven deadly sins of statistical misinterpretation, and how to avoid them

Mar 30, 2017 05:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

Statistics is a useful tool for understanding the patterns in the world around us. But our intuition often lets us down when it comes to interpreting those patterns. In this series we look at some of the common mistakes we...

Momentum isn't magic – vindicating the hot hand with the mathematics of streaks

Mar 28, 2017 11:33 am UTC| Science

Its NCAA basketball tournament season, known for its magical moments and the March Madness it can produce. Many fans remember Stephen Currys superhuman 2008 performance where he led underdog Davidson College to victory...

Space Science Series

Something big exploded in a galaxy far, far away: what was it?

Mar 27, 2017 16:24 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

At 10:49pm Western Australian time on February 2 this year, cosmic gamma rays hit the NASA satellite, Swift, orbiting the Earth. Within seconds of the detection, an alert was automatically sent to the University of WAs...

Green chemistry is key to reducing waste and improving sustainablity

Mar 27, 2017 16:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

The development and evolution of the chemical industry is directly responsible for many of the technological advancements that have emerged since the late 19th century. However, it was not until the 1980s that the...

Science festivals: knowledge making an exhibition of itself

Mar 27, 2017 16:13 pm UTC| Science

Science was once seen as the stuffy domain of pale male scientists who spent far too much of their time in the laboratory concocting potions in test tubes while avoiding sunlight and human interaction. Occasionally they...

How science is helping the police search for bodies in water

Mar 24, 2017 07:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Science Law

Police divers have started searching a canal in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, hoping to find the remains of schoolgirl Moira Anderson who disappeared, suspected murdered, in 1957. The operation follows an investigation by...

Let me entertain you – that's how to get a science message across

Mar 23, 2017 06:15 am UTC| Science

Communicating science to the public can be hard. Climate change is the most notorious example, but the public debates around vaccinations and evolution have also exposed a lack of understanding of how the public engages...