Science in Society

History of Science, Science in Society, Science Art & Illustration, Science in Fiction, Science Issues & Philosophy, Skepticism, Science Book & Film Reviews, Pseudoscience Criticism, “Myth Busting,” Humour Science Careers, Career Development, Journalism, Academia, Publishing, Ethics, Funding, Archeology, Social Anthropology

Ph.D. Seminar – Ali Al Hadwer

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Join us on Tuesday, April 19 at 9 am (via Zoom) for a seminar by Ph.D. candidate (Computational Sciences), Ali Al Hadwer. While Cloud-based Big Data Analytics (CBDA) have been successfully used by business and the health industries, Ali has focused his research energy investigating and modelling factors that influence the adoption of CBDA withinContinue...

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Ph.D. Defence – Jarrett Phillips

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Join us on May 5, 2022, at 9:00 am for the defence of Ph.D. candidate, Jarrett Phillips. Jarrett will present a novel algorithm called HACSim that is used to estimate the sample size necessary for capturing haplotype variation. This work provides researchers with a new tool to better understand variation within species – with applicationsContinue...

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The Importance Of Safety

Dan Gillis Communication, Education and Outreach, Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
I recently made the decision to resign from the University of Guelph Senate. It is not, at least for me at this time, a safe space. I realized this over the course of the last semester when each scheduled senate or senate subcommittee meeting since September brought with it an incredibly overwhelming sense of anxietyContinue reading "The Importance Of Safety"

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You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone!

Staffan Lindgren Biology and Life Sciences, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Science in Society
A blog about senses. Doesn’t that look good? It was a meal I ordered in Port Hardy a few years ago. It looked good, and it tasted good. To determine that, you would use four of your five senses. We mostly take our senses for granted as we grow up. Once in a while I have given some thought in passing about how much more difficult life would be if I lost my sight or…

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How to go about mining in Nova Scotia?

Elisabeth Kosters Environmental and Earth Sciences, Science in Society
In my previous blog post, I criticized the Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS) for displaying a lack of environmental, social and cultural awareness. I received many positive reactions, but not from MANS of course. Its executive director Sean Kirby responded with an all too familiar sounding broken-record statement. That weak response, displaying a lack of deeper insight, is exactly why I have a problem with MANS. But of course I shouldn’t expect anything else…

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Stories about some of my (favourite) photographs

Staffan Lindgren Biology and Life Sciences, Environmental and Earth Sciences, Science in Society
Photography used to be a rather hit and miss affair for several reasons. When I first started trying my hand at photography, skill requirements were light years more demanding than with today’s digital cameras. An average iPhone today takes better general photographs than many of the SLR’s I used as a teenager. Back then, the number of times I received developed photographs that were all under- or over-exposed, or out of focus is something I…

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Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS): Bullying, Propaganda, and a complete disregard for threatened natural habitats.

Elisabeth Kosters Environmental and Earth Sciences, Science in Society
Last week I attended the virtual “Nova Scotia Precious and Critical Mineral Show” of the Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS). It was a technical symposium of two half days, each of which was introduced by a government official. The Monday morning was kicked off by brand new Minister of Natural Resources Tory Rushton and the Tuesday morning by Director of the NS Geological Survey Diane Webber (the only woman of the event). There were…

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

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…

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Dear Students Of Fall 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"

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Follow up to the Charles M. Lieber affair and US government efforts to prosecute nanotech scientists

Maryse de la Giroday Science in Society, Technology and Engineering
Rebecca Trager in a March 5, 2021 news article for Chemistry World highlights support for Charles M. Lieber (Harvard professor and chair of the chemistry department) from his colleagues (Note: Links have been removed), More than a year after the chair of Harvard University’s chemistry department was arrested for allegedly hiding his receipt of millions of dollars in research funding from China from his university and the US government, dozens of prominent researchers – including…

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