Connecting Science and Society
Latest Articles
Teaching Change: Bioculturally Grounded, Place-based Environmental Education in Hawaiʻi
With ongoing climate change, land use change, and changing disturbance regimes that negatively impact Earth’s ecosystems, it is critical that educators convey the importance of safeguarding the natural environment to younger generations to prepare them to face current and future environmental challenges. Teaching Change comprises a collection of innovative programs aimed at strengthening the relationship between youth and nature in Hawaiʻi while also inspiring Hawaii’s youth to become the next generation of natural resource scientists and managers. Teaching Change addresses this mission through immersive, place-based, outdoor Field Courses for local students, and Teacher Training Workshops for local teachers.
Dr Philip Myers – A Family Affair: Exploring Early Star Formation
We know much about fully-formed stars, such as our Sun, but the very earliest processes of star formation are still a mysterious area of astrophysical research. The original idea that a single new-born star (or ‘protostar’) forms within a single molecular cloud core has been dispelled by the discovery of new-born pairs, triplets, or even larger groups of protostars in cores. Dr Philip Myers of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian has been observing and interpreting protostar formation for many years using a range of sophisticated telescopes and theoretical models.
Dr Shadia Habbal | Dr Miloslav Druckmüller – Hiding the Sun: Coronal Discoveries during Total Solar Eclipses
Extending far beyond its surface, the Sun’s corona hosts a variety of intricate structures and behaviours. Yet because the Sun is so much brighter than its surrounding environment, these properties can be incredibly hard to spot under typical observing conditions. In their research, Dr Shadia Habbal at the University of Hawaii and Dr Miloslav Druckmüller at Brno University make use of one of the most well-known astronomical phenomena to solve this issue: total solar eclipses.
Professor Matthias Weigelt – The Psychology and Ethics of Maximising Performance in Competitive Sports
In sporting performance, developing a competitive edge over opponents is essential. Professor Matthias Weigelt at the University of Paderborn, Germany, specialises in the application of psychological theory and methods to the understanding and enhancement of athletic performance. Read on to discover how by taking a cognitive neuroscientific approach to understanding deceptive actions in sports, Professor Weigelt is unravelling the processes underlying expertise in responding to head fakes in basketball with critical ethical implications.
Professor Gerhard Rammes – Investigating the Links between General Anaesthesia and Alzheimer’s Disease
General anaesthesia may increase the build-up of amyloid beta, a protein implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Professor Gerhard Rammes and his team at the Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany, along with Dr Martina Bürge at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, UK, are researching the potential benefits of one specific anaesthetic, xenon, which in addition to having lower neurotoxicity than many other anaesthetics may also offer neuroprotective effects. These findings may have critical implications for personalised medicine in patients with dementia.
Professor Patricia Erickson | Professor Andrew Hathaway – Cannabis Use: The New Normal?
As more countries begin to decriminalise and legalise cannabis, understanding attitudes towards its use will be essential in anticipating the risks and benefits of these legislative changes. Professor Patricia Erickson of the University of Toronto and Professor Andrew Hathaway of the University of Guelph provide new insights into the attitudes and practices of both cannabis users and non-users in order to better understand the ongoing normalisation of cannabis use.
Latest Publications
Scientia Issue #127
STRENGTHENING THE STEM COMMUNITY THROUGH INCLUSIVE EDUCATION In this critical issue of Scientia, we showcase an inspiring array of projects, each seeking to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education worldwide....
Scientia Issue #126
SHAPING A BETTER WORLD THROUGH SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH In this captivating edition of Scientia, we showcase a diverse selection of research achievements across the humanities and social sciences, from history to linguistics, and...
Scientia Issue #125
CELEBRATING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION IN GENETIC SCIENCE This important issue of Scientia showcases the vital work of scientists in the field of genetics, the branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity....
Editor’s Pick
Professor Matthias Weigelt – The Psychology and Ethics of Maximising Performance in Competitive Sports
In sporting performance, developing a competitive edge over opponents is essential. Professor Matthias Weigelt at the University of Paderborn, Germany, specialises in the application of psychological theory and methods to the understanding and enhancement of athletic performance. Read on to discover how by taking a cognitive neuroscientific approach to understanding deceptive actions in sports, Professor Weigelt is unravelling the processes underlying expertise in responding to head fakes in basketball with critical ethical implications.
Professor Christine Larson – Understanding Brain Function, Cognition, and Emotion in Psychopathology
Mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders significantly impact on the quality of life of sufferers, their physical health and psycho-social functioning. Given the high prevalence and extent of impairment inflicted on affected individuals, the economic cost to public health is substantial. Professor Christine Larson at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA, seeks to identify new and more effective targets for intervention by better understanding the relationship between brain function, cognitive processing, and emotion.
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Connecting Science and Society Through Comedy
Sometimes, science can feel like a joke. Experiments don’t work, simulations produce physically impossible outcomes, and a question that you thought would take two weeks to answer instead can take two years. All too often we hide the messiness of science, presenting progress as linear rather than admitting the missteps and follies along the way. But surprises and setbacks shape the story of science as a human endeavour, and if we are unwilling to share this side of science, to laugh at ourselves, we risk alienating society from science altogether.
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