Science In Public
Science writers, communicators, media, training, and public relations
These topics and more on day two of the national physics conference – Tuesday 9 December
[Read more…] about Four degree rise, shrinking X-ray microscopes and spider web fibre optics
Artworks inspired by science are on display and under discussion at the national physics and optics congress at the Australian National University in Canberra from 7 to 11 December. The congress theme is ‘The Art of Physics’.
[Read more…] about The art of science in jewellery, metal, tape and music
Speakers available for interview in Canberra. Photos available. Stories embargoed until conference presentation.
[Read more…] about Education stories at the national physics congress
There are also some remarkable role models of women in physics speaking at the conference including: string theory guru Lisa Randall, SKA astronomer Lisa Harvey-Smith, Bronwyn Dolman studying weather and footballers’ hamstrings; Elisabetta Barberio looking for dark energy in a gold mine; quantum computing guru Michelle Simmons and many others. [Read more…] about Women in physics still going backwards
[Read more…] about Obama’s energy guru, 11 dimensions, women in physics going backwards
The winners of the 2014 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are:
Sam Berkovic and Ingrid Scheffer have changed the way the world thinks about epilepsy. They will receive the $300 000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. Their discoveries of the links between epilepsy and genes have opened the way to better targeted research, diagnosis, management and treatment for many forms of epilepsy. Laureate Professor Sam Berkovic AC and Professor Ingrid Scheffer AO are associated with the University of Melbourne, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Austin Health. Read citation in full. [Read more…] about Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science 2014
Sam Berkovic and Ingrid Scheffer have changed the way the world thinks about epilepsy, the debilitating condition that affects about 50 million people.
Twenty years ago doctors tended to regard most forms of epilepsy as acquired rather than inherited. In other words, they believed epilepsy was mostly due to injury: the result of things like a crack on the head in a car accident, a bad fall in the playground, a tumour, or something having gone wrong in labour. Parents felt responsible, and the resulting guilt was enormous. [Read more…] about The genetics of epilepsy: bringing hope to families: 2014 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
Genes are not enough to explain the difference between a skin cell and a stem cell, a leaf cell and a root cell, or the complexity of the human brain. Genes don’t explain the subtle ways in which your parents’ environment before you were conceived might affect your offspring. [Read more…] about Regulating genes to treat illness, grow food, and understand the brain: 2014 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year
Matthew HillForty per cent of the energy consumed by industry is used to separate things—in natural gas production, mineral processing, food production, pollution control. The list is endless. Each offers an application for Matthew Hill’s crystals. He has demonstrated that the space inside metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)—the world’s most porous materials—can be used as an efficient and long-lasting filter. [Read more…] about Australian crystals set to take over industry: 2014 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
Geoff McNamaraFrom the moment students step into ‘Mr Mac’s Lab’, they’re greeted by dinosaurs, skeletons, spacecraft and a model galaxy that hovers overhead. Their eyes can’t help but gravitate towards the huge solar system at the back of the room. No matter where they look, Geoff McNamara wants his students learn something about science—whether the students realise they’re learning or not. [Read more…] about A taste of real-world science to take to the real world: 2014 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools