“Canadian company @Recon_Africa drills for oil in the Okavango delta”

August 5, 2021 Elisabeth Kosters Environmental and Earth Sciences, Science in Society

This title is paraphrased from several headlines over the last few months. There was public outrage over the fact that Recon Africa was allowed to drill in elephant migratory territory in northeastern Namibia. Much was also written about the company being suspected of being dishonest about its objectives and basis for investment. The Globe and Mail’s Geoffrey York (@geoffreyyork) wrote no fewer than four articles about the issue (here, here, here and here; all other…

Space and sound (music from the Milky Way)

August 5, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

A May 17, 2021 posting on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio Ideas programme blog describes and hosts embedded videos and audio clips of space data sonfications and visualizations, After years of attempts and failures to get a microphone to Mars, NASA’s [US National Aeronautics and Space Administration] latest rover, Perseverance, succeeded. It landed in February carrying two microphones.For Jason Achilles Mezilis, a musician and record producer who has also worked for NASA, listening to the haunting Martian wind…

Moon dust at the nanoscale

August 4, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Before getting to the moon dust, it seems the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has undergone a communications strategy transformation. For example, there’s this whimsical video about the NIST’s latest on moon dust, An April 28, 2021 news item on phys.org offers a little more whimsy and moon dust from the NIST, Like a chameleon of the night sky, the moon often changes its appearance. It might look larger, brighter or redder,…

Litus, a University of Calgary spin-off company, and its lithium extraction process

August 3, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

This company is very secretive. Other than some information about the technology everything else is a mystery. From an April 28, 2021 news item on mining.com, Litus announced the launching of LiNC, a patent-pending lithium extraction solution initially developed at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.In a press release, the company said that the nanotechnology composite material within LiNC has very strong ionic affinity and lithium selectivity in the presence of high concentrations of…

Help scientists identify why dead frogs are unexpectedly turning up across eastern Australia

August 2, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Australian scientists are calling on citizen scientists to help them understand why frogs in eastern Australia are dying in what seems to be record numbers. Here’s more from a July 28, 2021 essay by Jodi Rowley (curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum at the University of New South Wales [UNSW]), and Karrie Rose (Australian Registry of Wildlife Health – Taronga Conservation Society, University of Sydney) for The Conversation (can also be found as…

Dear Students Of Fall 2021

July 31, 2021 Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

As the fall semester quickly approaches, I thought it might be helpful to once again post an open letter to students who have registered or are registering for classes. In particular, I hope this helps to answer some of the questions or concerns they might have (at least when it comes to the courses IContinue reading "Dear Students Of Fall 2021"

Interior Infinite: carnival & chaos, a June 26 – September 5, 2021 show at Polygon Art Gallery (North Vancouver, Canada)

July 26, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

This is a long read and covers a lot of ground including: a couple of highlights from the ‘Interior Infinite’ show, a reference to how modern galleries came to be what they are, the tension of hosting the unruly (carnivalesque) in a ‘white cube’ (art gallery), a brief history of Mikhail Bakhtin, and more. If you’re looking for a succinct article about ‘Interior Infinite’, I highly recommend Dorothy Woodend’s June 30, 2020 article (‘Interior Infinite’:…

A smart shirt at the Canadian Space Agency

July 23, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

Caption: Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques tries the Bio-Monitor, a new Canadian technology, for the first time in space (January 16, 2019). The innovative smart shirt system is designed to measure and record astronauts’ vital signs. Credit: Canadian Space Agency/NASA Here’s a biosensor announcement from an April 27, 2021 Experimental Biology (annual meeting) news release on EurekAlert, A technology-packed tank top offers a simple, effective way to track astronauts’ vital signs and physiological changes…

2021 Visualizing Science contest

July 22, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

The Canadian Science Publishing contest: Visualizing SCIENCE 2021 edition opened on July 20, 2021 with a deadline of August 17, 2021 at 23:59 (ET). Fame, glory, and a couple of bucks could be yours should your image find favour with the judges. Here’s more about the contest from the Visualizing SCIENCE webpage, An image can capture a moment, communicate a message, and evoke emotion. From selfies and sketches to micrographs and modelling outputs, the Visualizing…

‘Nanotraps’ for catching and destroying coronavirus

July 21, 2021 Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering

‘Nanotraps’ are not vaccines although they do call the immune system into play. They represent a different way for dealing with COVID-19. (This work reminds of my June 24, 2020 posting Tiny sponges lure coronavirus away from lung cells where the researchers have a similar approach with what they call ‘nanosponges’.) An April 27, 2021 news item on Nanowerk makes the announcement, Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of…

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