My plan to blog nightly from the Royal Society / Australian Academy of Sciences FoS meeting in Perth, which started promisingly, was stymmied rather by the packed and punishing schedule. Add on >24h travelling either end of a 4 day meeting, and I’ve basically been away from a keyboard for a week. But, I did want to give some closing thoughts on the whole process. First, anyone who is at all environmentally aware will feel pangs of guilt about flying... Read more

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Just don’t ask me what day it is. I know I arrived in Perth, WA, yesterday afternoon, and have been fully involved in this Frontiers of Science meeting ever since, but I’m damned if I know if it’s Sunday, Monday, or Saturday just now. But I know it’s been really really good, in a way that standard scientific conferences can’t match, so I thought I’d share with you a bit of the magic. So, FoS meetings work like this (and... Read more

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In these tough economic times™ lots of things that we care about, and which rely on public funding, are coming under increased scrutiny. The case for science has been well made elsewhere – I’m sure you’re aware of the Science is Vital campaign, and if not you should be. You should also take a look at Shrigley’s equally impassioned, and equally watertight case for the arts (it’s very funny too). Given the threats to both of these sectors, it is... Read more

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