Science Education & Policy

The 20th Century: When Free Trade Was Fair Trade

As thousands flock to ‘Fairtrade Fortnight’ events all over Britain, Free Trade Nation, a new book by Professor Frank Trentmann, Director of the Economic and Social Research Council-funded Cultures of Consumption programme, shows that ethical consumerism w ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 24 2008 - 11:31pm

Should Evolution Be Taught In High School?

Microbiologist Carl Woese is well known as an iconoclast. Indeed, few biologists have so thoroughly shaken the tree of life as he did when he proposed that there are not two major branches-- prokaryotes, whose cells lack nuclei, and eukaryotes who possess ...

Article - T. Ryan Gregory - Feb 24 2008 - 12:23pm

Urban Ecology: Measuring The Megacity’s Footprint

If you are reading this, chances are that you live in a city – one, perhaps, on its way to becoming a megacity with a population that exceeds 10 million or more. If not, you and most of the world’s population soon will be, according to global population de ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 24 2008 - 5:18pm

Attention Polluters: Carbon Hero Is Watching You

A new tool called "Carbon Hero" was regional prize winner in the 2007 European Satellite Navigation Competition, sponsored by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme. It uses satellite navigation technology to track journeys and tells people their ca ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 25 2008 - 4:39pm

Under-Achieving Kids: Low Intelligence Or Poor Working Memory?

Children who under-achieve at school may just have poor working memory rather than low intelligence according to researchers who have produced the world's first tool to assess memory capacity in the classroom. The researchers from Durham University, w ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 27 2008 - 11:11pm

Are Tax Rebates Better For The Economy If You Call Them Tax Bonuses?

On Feb. 13, 2008, the president signed a $168 billion stimulus package designed to give $300, $600 or $1,200 checks to more than 100 million Americans. It was the second time in seven years that lawmakers agreed to return additional tax money in hopes that ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 28 2008 - 7:15pm

Suicide Rate In Scottish Men Falls Sharply

In the 1980s and 90s, Scotland was known for its alarmingly high suicide rate. But since 2000, suicide rates have fallen sharply. A study published in the online open access journal BMC Public Health found this reduction is associated with a significant dr ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 28 2008 - 7:34pm

How Useful Is The Environmental Performance Index (EPI)?

For countries without their own environmental monitoring systems, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) can be useful for working out where there is a need for action in environmental policy making, but otherwise there are already better ways of gettin ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 29 2008 - 10:29am

Wood Supply Analysis Report Outlines Responsible Forest Thinning

One thing has long been clear. Not thinning forests has been a disaster for the environment. Groups normally at loggerheads have reached a consensus on responsible forest management and it identifies the potential volume of wood resources available from mo ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 29 2008 - 1:47pm

Study: Positron Emission Tomography Says Endorphins And "Runner's High" Not A Myth

Throughout the world, amateurs, experts and the media agree that prolonged jogging raises people's spirits. And many believe that the body’s own opioids, so called endorphins, are the cause of this. But in fact this has never been proved until now. Re ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 3 2008 - 10:30am