What autism tells us about development of savant skillsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ALTHOUGH SAVANT syndrome is not an officially recognised medical diagnosis, Darold Treffert, an American…Thu Jul 02 2009 - 01:00
Sequencing of the potato genome will mean better spudsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE GENOME OF an organism is all the genetic information in the chromosomes of the organismThu Jun 25 2009 - 01:00
To attract future scientists, more than perceptions must changeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MY COLUMN OF June 4th on the difficulty of attracting the brightest students into careers in science, …Thu Jun 18 2009 - 01:00
Power of the 'God Particle'UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MATTER IS MADE of fundamental building block particles and the theoretical framework describing their …Thu Jun 11 2009 - 01:00
To attract more science students we must look at rewardsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: DISCOVER Science and Engineering (DSE) is Ireland’s national science awareness programme and Forfás has…Thu Jun 04 2009 - 01:00
Mystery of the universe confounds our understandingUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE FUNCTION of science is to explain the natural worldThu May 21 2009 - 01:00
Bad buzz for dwindling colonies of honeybeesUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ONE THIRD of global agricultural production depends on pollination by the European honeybee, Apis mellifera…Thu May 14 2009 - 01:00
Is the Pope right on condom use and Aids in Africa?UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids), caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), continues…Thu May 07 2009 - 01:00
A cure for illness and an early warning for onset of diseaseUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: STEM-CELL RESEARCH, currently the hottest topic in biology, is developing at lightening speedThu Apr 30 2009 - 01:00
Is this woman 130 years old? She doesn't look a day over 120UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE HUMAN LONGEVITY record held by Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 in Arles, France at the age of 122…Thu Apr 23 2009 - 01:00
Why Everest's 'death zone' claims so many livesUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: THE SUMMIT OF Mount Everest is the highest point above sea level on earth and, consequently, climbing …Thu Apr 16 2009 - 01:00
Closing the salary gap is the way to give science the wow factorUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: A NEW CAMPAIGN is underway in the UK to show people how science benefits their everyday lives and how …Thu Apr 09 2009 - 01:00
How a sweet golf swing could hurt your hearingUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: ALTHOUGH I haven’t played golf for several years, I am preparing to start again and I was looking through…Thu Apr 02 2009 - 01:00
Exploring the seven myths of medicineUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: I RECENTLY CAME across a very entertaining article entitled “Mixed Messages: Medical Myths”, by RC Vreeman…Thu Mar 26 2009 - 00:00
Bellamy wrong on climate changeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: DAVID BELLAMY, well-known presenter of TV nature programmes over the years, was interviewed about climate…Thu Mar 19 2009 - 00:00
Airport security is a flight of fancyUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: I FLEW BACK to Cork from Heathrow last NovemberThu Mar 12 2009 - 00:00
Carbon footprint solution in dietUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WE ARE all frequently exhorted to reduce our carbon footprint; that is, the amount of greenhouse gases…Thu Mar 05 2009 - 00:00
No time to waste on going nuclearUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: FEARS ABOUT greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and about security…Thu Feb 26 2009 - 00:00
How survival of the fittest idea fuelled Nazi ideologyUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: LAST WEEK I described the theory of evolution through natural selectionThu Feb 19 2009 - 00:00
Why work will always expand to fill the available timeUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: PARKINSON’S LAW – “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” – was coined in 1958…Thu Feb 05 2009 - 00:00
Global warming concern offers relief at cusp of new ice ageUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WE HEAR A lot these days about climate change, all in the context of a perceived man-made forcing of climate…Thu Jan 29 2009 - 00:00
Stem-cell technique rated the top discovery of last yearUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: IN DECEMBER the prestigious international journal, Science, prepared a list of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs…Thu Jan 22 2009 - 00:00
Why dismissing climate change sceptics is bad scienceUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: A FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTIC of science is that everything is revisable in the light of new persuasive…Thu Jan 15 2009 - 00:00
Revealing solar secrets with a swinging pendulumUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WHEN I WRITE articles explaining biological evolution or criticising attacks on evolution, such as intelligent…Thu Jan 08 2009 - 00:00
No excuse for human embryonic stem-cell researchUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM-CELL (HESC) research is back in the news in IrelandThu Dec 04 2008 - 00:00
Why science professions need a shot in the armUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Science is fascinating - so how come people aren't queuing up to study it?Thu Nov 27 2008 - 00:00
Too few births to prop up EU populationPopulation projections indicate our children will inherit big troubleThu Oct 23 2008 - 01:00
Going bananas for the world's most remarkable fruitUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: As well as providing a chunk of our RDA of vitamins, bananas are a staple crop for millions of farmersThu Apr 17 2008 - 01:00
'God Helmet' unveils the secrets of Buddhists and nunsUNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MODERN IMAGING techniques can look at the human brain in real time and see what parts are activated as…Thu Mar 13 2008 - 00:00
How ecology has a huge influence on myth, culture and historyUnder the Microscope: My article this week is, for a change, in the format of an interview I did with Dr Paddy Sleeman, Department…Thu Oct 13 2005 - 01:00
Remarkable contribution made by Parsons family of Birr CastleUntil recently I would have been hard pressed to name a notable feature of Co OffalyThu Jun 23 2005 - 01:00
Our future prosperity depends on an engagement with scienceUnder the Microscope: Our civilisation runs on science-based technology and important public debates regularly arise that have…Thu Jun 16 2005 - 01:00
Ancient flutes show music always soothed the savage breastUnder the Microscope: Music has a biological basis in the brain, where several regions are involved in particular aspects of…Thu Feb 24 2005 - 00:00
Scientists have ways of making you laughUnder the Microscope: This week I am providing some light relief before winter sets inThu Oct 14 2004 - 01:00
So who wants to be a millionaire?Under the Microscope: You will be familiar with the television quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Today I offer you a …Thu Jul 22 2004 - 01:00
Equality of the sexes is revealed in ancient dietUnder the Microscope: Since the 18th century, a tradition has grown in anthropology that pictures women playing a dominant role…Thu Jun 03 2004 - 01:00
Quips and quotes from a few quick thinkersUnder the Microscope: This week, for a little diversion, I have put together a collection of humorous quotations and stories…Thu Aug 28 2003 - 01:00
No need to be afraid of genetic engineeringThis year is the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of the genetic material DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick…Thu May 15 2003 - 01:00
Canaries' collapse could spell disasterThe Canary Islands are well known to all as a popular sun holiday destinationThu Feb 06 2003 - 00:00
Canaries' collapse could spell disasterThe Canary Islands are well known to all as a popular sun holiday destinationThu Jan 30 2003 - 00:00
Canaries' collapse could spell disasterThe Canary Islands are well known to all as a popular sun holiday destinationThu Jan 23 2003 - 00:00
Unearthing the secret history of fake fossilsA remarkable hoax involving fake fossils was carried out in Wurtzburg, Germany in the early 18th centuryThu Nov 21 2002 - 00:00
Reading the book of natureDespite having little formal education, Michael Faraday (1791-1867) became one of the greatest scientists who ever livedSat Aug 24 2002 - 01:00
Ultimate question of mind over matterThe universe seems to be full of matter and energy, both the same thing really since matter and energy are inter-convertible …Thu Aug 01 2002 - 01:00
What's the antimatter?Matter is the stuff the world is made of. It takes up space and it has massThu Jul 25 2002 - 01:00
Keeping the faith in scienceI recently debated science and religion with Professor Richard Dawkins on the TV3 programme, AgendaThu Jun 13 2002 - 01:00
The Earth's precious life liquidWater, the most precious liquid on Earth, is essential for life and constitutes 75 per cent of the mass of living thingsThu Mar 28 2002 - 00:00
An end to the world as we know itHumankind made tremendous advances in science and technology, medicine and health, universal education and general material welfare…Thu Mar 07 2002 - 00:00
Intuition gets the bulletMuch of the world as revealed by science runs counter to what we would redict from intuitionThu Jan 31 2002 - 00:00
A trip through time travel theoryAlbert Einstein's theories of special relativity (1905) and general relativity (1915) revolutionised the way science looks at…Sat Sept 08 2001 - 01:00
