Archive by date | June 2009

The Nature Big Science Debate: A Biological Century?

On Monday 8 June, Nature is hosting The Big Science Debate: A Biological Century? The event starts at 7 p.m. at Kings Place 90 York Way, London NI. Physics, biology and chemistry have all helped define the twentieth century. Many world-changing innovations from physics include electric power, the microchip and the internal combustion engine. In biology and chemistry, an agricultural revolution has helped to feed a growing population. But some of these advances have also helped to create climate change and a rate of species-loss not seen since the last mass extinction. What will physics and biology look like 50 years from now? And what might the impacts be?  Read more

New books from NPG and Palgrave

Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World is the title of a new book by Eugenie Samuel Reich. The book tells the story of Jan Hendrick Schön ‘s discovery of a plastic that worked as a superconductor – hailed as a scientific triumph before revelations that his discoveries were fake. (See here for Nature’s editorial about the journal’s retraction of seven papers by Schön.) This book analyses the fraud and considers pressures that force unscrupulous behaviour from science’s rising stars.  Read more

Eppendorf and Nature announce 2009 young European investigator award

The Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators is presented to young scientists for outstanding achievements in the field of biomedical research based on methods of molecular biology. The award is presented in partnership with the scientific journal Nature. Last year’s winner was Simon Boulton of Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute, for his work on genome instability and cancer. A list of previous winners is available here. The deadline for applications for the 2009 award is 30 June, and details of how to apply can be found at Eppendorf’s website. Applications must include a title summarizing the submitted work, a curriculum vitae, a publication list, PDFs of up to three of the candidate’s published papers, and a 300-word (maximum) essay summarizing the submitted papers.  Read more