News archive
February 2009
24February 2009
Tackling miracle-cure web scams Sense About Science welcomes the OFT’s new website initiative on miracle cures. Read more
20 February 2009
Manchester VoYS Standing up for Science Media workshop Our next workshop is being held in Manchester on Friday 27th March. Application by CV and covering letter by Friday 13th March. Read more
9 February 2009
Making Sense of GM Sense About Science has published a public quide on what is the genetic modification of plants and why are scientists doing it? Read more
5 February 2009
Standing up for Science 2 - the nuts and bolts VoYS have launched their latest publication to help other early career scientists, engineers, medics and others who want to promote good science and fight misinformation. Read more
2 February 2009
Publish or be damned: peer review, the public and you What does peer review do for science? Is maverick science rejected? Does peer review matter to the public?
Workshop for early career researchers, AAAS Annual Meeting, Chicago, Sunday 15th February. Read more
January 2009
16 January 2009
Nuclear Fusion Click the Nuclear Information Library for an updated statement on the search for new energy sources Read more
5 January 2009
Detox Dossier ‘Detox’ has no meaning outside of the clinical treatment for drug addiction or poisoning. Today young scientists and engineers are publishing a dossier on their hunt for the evidence behind detox claims made for products and diets, and beginning a campaign to alert the public. Read more
December 2008
27 December 2008
Science & Celebrities 2008 People in the public eye are often drawn to promoting theories, therapies and campaigns that make no scientific sense. Two years on we review progress: are celebrities checking their science ‘facts’? Read more
24 December 2008
‘Research, publishing it, reviewing it and talking publicly about it’ Workshop 2009 We are continuing to pilot our new workshops on Research, publishing it, reviewing it and talking publicly about it for early career scientists and engineers. The next one is on Friday 23 January, 2009(Find out more). Application is with CV and covering letter by Thursday 15 January. To find out more information or apply please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Read more
17 December 2008
MRI and EU regulations Read an update on MRI and EU regulations. Read more
11 December 2008
Christmas Reading Room 2008 is now open! Sense About Science’s famous Christmas Reading room is now open! We’ve collected reading recommendations from some of Sense About Science’s Trustees, Advisory Council, Staff and friends and if you buy your Christmas gifts from Amazon using the Sense About Science link, part of the proceeds go to Sense About Science. Read more
November 2008
18 November 2008
Job Opportunity: Public Liaison We have a vacancy for the role of Public Liaison. Application deadline is the 24th November. Read more
10 November 2008
I’ve got nothing to lose by trying it - A guide to weighing up claims about cures and treatments Published today, it explains how to tell the beneficial from the bogus in the face of the miracle cure stories, new wonder-drugs and breakthrough therapies that are increasingly promoted. Read more
October 2008
25 October 2008
Evidence-Based Medicine Matters “Only since the advent of scientific medicine has life expectancy leapt forward…” Read comments from over a hundred different people on why evidence-based medicine matters to them. To mark forty years since the Medicines Act (1968) doctors, scientists, nurses, patients, professional societies, journal editors, patient groups and other members of the public are providing compelling stories about why evidence-based medicine mattered then and matters now. Read more
10 October 2008
The Peer Review Education Resource for Key Stage 4 teachers is now live! Sense About Science has launched an online education resource that provides insights into what scientific knowledge is, how it is acquired and the questions to ask of scientific information in the public domain. Read more
6 October 2008
Making Sense of Radiation - A guide to radiation and its health effects Scientists, engineers and medical professionals have come together to counter public misinformation about radiation and health effects. They say that the public discussion is confusing, with people left struggling to weigh up which claims to take seriously. Many people have become anxious about exposure to non-ionising forms of radiation, from mobiles, Wi-Fi and masts. The scientists also fear that people are now being encouraged to spend their money on all manner of unnecessary products that claim to protect from EMFs. Read more
3 October 2008
Job Opportunity: Communications Officer - full time We have a vacancy for a Communications Officer. Application deadline is 17th October. Read more
September 2008
2 September 2008
Should pregnant women avoid perfumes? Professor Richard Sharpe puts the record straight on recent media reports of his research. Read more
11 July 2008
Are mercury fillings dangerous? The Daily Mail published a story titled ” ‘Hidden danger’ of mercury leaking from dental fillings”. Professor Aubrey Sheiham, Professor of Dental Public Health from the Department of Epidemiology at UCL, replies. Read more
2 July 2008
Comment on new Consumer Protection Regulations Frank Swain and Leonor Sierra argue that the new Consumer Protection Regulations could devalue the true meaning of ‘scientifically-proven’ Read more
10 June 2008
Chlorinated water and birth defects Recent articles in the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Mail claimed that new research suggested “drinking tap water while pregnant may double the risk of serious heart or brain defects in the unborn child”. Read more
29 May 2008
MRI and Safety Radiologists respond to misleading comments about the effects of MRI scanner. Read more
28 April 2008
Does mother’s diet affect a baby’s sex? A recent study suggested that a mother’s energy intake around conception can exert an influence on the sex of the baby. How such an effect is exerted is unknown, but the chances are that diet influences which sperm fertilises the egg rather than affecting survival/implantation of the fertilised egg. Read more
3 April 2008
Brain Gym Sense About Science has been receiving calls from parents and teachers who are concerned about the use of ‘Brain Gym’ - a programme of teacher-led physical exercises claimed to improve cognitive abilities - in primary schools. Read more
11 March 2008
Making Sense of Testing Health tests can do more harm than good for the ‘worried-well’... Read more
10 March 2008
Lecture 2008 “What is Science and Why Should We Care?”, by Professor Alan Sokal, was held on Wednesday 28th Feb at University College London. Read more
27 February 2008
Alan Sokal Podcast In a podcast released today, Alok Jha interviews Alan Sokal. You can tune in via the Guardian website. Read more
25 February 2008
Manchester Standing up for Science Media Workshop Friday 18th April We are holding our next VoYS Standing up for Science Workshop on Friday 18th April at Manchester University. Applicants need to apply with a covering letter and CV and the deadline for applications is Friday 28th March. Please click here for more details Read more
21 February 2008
Alice discovers her inner elf Thanks to your donations, Alice was able to discover her inner elf, as she was coerced into dressing up as one of Santa’s little helpers for our end-of-year funding drive. Alice entertained small children and amused tourists as she posed for pictures in Piccadilly Circus… Read more
3 January 2008
Celebrities and Science 2007 People in the public eye are often drawn to promoting theories, therapies and campaigns that make no scientific sense. One year on we review progress: are celebrities checking their science ‘facts’? Read more
August 2008
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Last updated: July 13 2009