The Lay Scientist: Scapegoat Science November 7, 2009
Posted by sarah in: politics, science . Add a commentThe financial crisis of 2008 was heralded as the end of the West’s love affair with free-market capitalism. The combined crashes of banking industry and real estate market should have been the final nail in the coffin for the unbridled power of corporations, who for decades have flaunted all social responsibility in search of profit. Why is it then, as we see the dust slowly settling, that nothing appears to have changed?
Earlier this week I signed up to write some guest posts on another science blog, The Lay Scientist. Edited by Martin Robbins, this blog has some excellent writing around all aspects of science, health, policy, environment, religion and much more. From Twitter I gather that Martin et al got a big nod from The Times this week, so I’m extra chuffed that I get to post there.
So if you want to read the rest of this post, follow the jump! And yes, it does go on to talk about science.
How not to shoot down aircraft in the name of science November 3, 2009
Posted by sarah in: astronomy, new astronomy, science . 2comments
Astronomers and air travel maintained a peaceful coexistence for over a century. That is, until astronomers started firing powerful lasers into the atmosphere -sky dwellers, human or otherwise, are no big fan of those. Bodies like the Federal Aviation Administration and US Space Command have imposed restrictions on the use of the high-powered lasers astronomers now routinely fire into the atmosphere to assist with their observations, to prevent anything or anyone flying across the sky from potential harm from the lasers. While astronomical lasers aren’t powerful enough to physically damage an airplane, they could easily injure pilots or passengers, and damage sensitive imaging equipment on Earth-observing satellites.
Last week scientists from the University of California at San Diego reported on their work to develop an integrated aircraft warning system for astronomical telescopes, that gives accurate warnings about approaching aircraft and helps minimise the observatory downtime due to passing planes.
(more…)
