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Theme : science
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Who should fund science?
A lapse in concentration took my eye to the Times on Monday. In the "Science Notebook," Terence Kealey keenly argued that there is no need for the state to fund science. The economy would chug along nicely with just corporate science. IBM would still produce computers and Pfizer would still produce drugs. Science policy fans will remember a version of this argument, before it was refrozen, in the pages of New Scientist ten years ago. Keith Pavitt from the Science Policy Research Unit presented...
from : jackstilgoe
7th June 2006
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Drug Lords
Outside the House of Lords, I was chatting to a policeman. He told me that a lot of people had been coming to watch the debate. He told me that he was particularly interested in the issue, as his son - he was very proud of his son - had behavioural difficulties. They had offered Ritalin, but he and his wife had refused. Son was now doing his A-levels, had just got his GCSEs with all As and Bs. All it had taken was early understanding of the problem and the help of some good teachers. Drugs not...
from : jackstilgoe
21st April 2006
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Knowing and Doing
I'm dead excited about a new project we've just begun on experts and the public. The good folk of Defra have asked Demos and Liverpool University to consider how lay people can play a part in expert scientific advice.Many moons ago, when memories of BSE, GM, mobile phones and MMR were still fresh, I looked at this kind of thing as an academic. Social scientists have been saying for years that we need to think about expert advice differently. Thankfully, our project is being led by Alan Irwin...
from : jackstilgoe
24th March 2006
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Tomorrow's people?
Hot on the heels of our Better Humans? report, this week the James Martin Institute at Oxford University is hosting a mega-conference on human enhancement and life extension. There are some outstanding speakers - scientists, philosophers and policymakers - from Europe, the US and Asia. The conference got underway yesterday and runs until Friday. The whole event can also be viewed as a webcast
from : jameswilsdon
15th March 2006
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land of many clocks
The UNCTAD report on investment and technology policies for competitiveness (a little light bedtime reading!) notes that Korea is an 'old tiger'. It's two economic miracles - one of whiplash-inducing catch-up growth, and then again its recovery from the 1997 crisis, are well-known. And yet it's going for a third, which they hope will take off on a platform of ubiquitous IT and RFID infrastructure. But will this give the old tiger new stripes? I'm not predicting whether they've hit on a...
from : mollywebb
12th March 2006
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Courting 'Asia's Other Powerhouse'
And where is the UK in this whirlwind of political and economic tourism? Well, we make our fair share of scoping trips. A Demos team has just returned from seven weeks in India studying dynamics of science and innovation for The Atlas of Ideas. The Telegraph reports today that the City of London is opening its first office in India, and the London Stock Exchange is looking to set up a link with the Indian stock market in Mumbai. It looks likely that the Chancellor will use his Budget on 22nd...
from : kirstenbound
6th March 2006
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Better and better
Two more comment pieces prompted by our Better Humans? collection have appeared in the past couple of days.Dylan Evans in yesterday's Guardian calls for the creation of new equivalents to the 'savage reservations' in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, where 'Freed from the oppressive technologies that regulate life in the World State, the inhabitants develop individuality, independent thinking and initiative.'And in today's FT, Richard Tomkins speculates on the drawbacks of eternal life.
from : jameswilsdon
28th February 2006
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What would Jesus say?
The website Christianity Today has posted a thought-provoking critique of our 'Better Humans?' collection. We're grateful to them for drawing our attention to a dilemma raised by human enhancement that we hadn't previously considered: namely what will happen 'When Jesus returns...in power and glory to call us to account, what will he find? Will he find faith upon the earth? Will he even find men and women? Or will he say, as he searches for fellow members of homo sapiens, the species he made...
from : jameswilsdon
23rd February 2006
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Corruption, or the means to fight it?
Are Japan and Korea more corrupt than we thought? Or are they finally cracking down on corruption that's been going on for years - a good sign? The Livedoor scandal that's being compared to Enron highlights the need for legal reform which will clarify the interactions between government and business. And Korean business is caught bribing politicians. "It is urgent for Samsung and other business groups to put an end to their improper connections with powerful politicians, the main obstacle to...
from : mollywebb
13th February 2006
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Who wants to live forever?
de Grey's claims may seem far-fetched, but even government research published this week acknowledges the possibility of significant increases in life expectancy in the coming decades.We can't predict the future. But we can start a public discussion about the possibility of dramatically extended lifespans - and the consequences for society.
from : samhintonsmith
8th February 2006
