Dick Ahlstrom

Dick Ahlstrom

Dick Ahlstrom is a contributor to The Irish Times. He is the former Science Editor

Prof Denis O’Sullivan. Analysed moon rocks brought back by Neil Armstrong on board the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Photograph: Eric Luke
Prof Denis O’Sullivan: the Irishman who shone light on cosmic rays

The physicist, who died in February, worked with Nasa to protect astronauts from radiation

The US FDA has moved to stop seven companies from promoting silver-based products with claims they can be used to treat Covid-19. Photograph: iStock
Garlic water won’t cure coronavirus, no matter what the internet says

Avoid online advice from dodgy sources, the situation is scary enough without fake news

A scientific study found the richness of bumblebee species declined rapidly between 2000 and 2014. File photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Why we should all care about the loss of bees

The decline of the insects could make things even worse as we face a sixth great extinction

During the last ice age a tundra environment stretched from what is now France to Canada and south to China. This huge habitat included mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, bison, reindeer, horses, elk and predators including cave lions and wolves
How to get the carbon dioxide we shoved into the atmosphere back out again

Researchers believe that ‘rewilding’ vast areas of Arctic tundra might be the answer

All it took was a 60-year drought to wipe out Nineveh, capital of the great Neo-Assyrian Empire and the largest city in the world until its fall in 612 BC.
Doomsday Clock counting down remaining time left for civilisation

Symbolic timepiece shows two minutes to midnight, closest to apocalypse since cold war

The 27km-long Large Hadron Collider at Meyrin, Switzerland. Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, is the world’s largest laboratory for research into particle physics. Photograph: Ronald Patrick
Another year of climate change, genetics and Irish scientific ambition

Ireland must continue to internationalise its research by joining key scientific bodies

Prof He Jiankui: his modification was in the germline, the cells that bring about the next generation and the next and the next. Photograph: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Lulu and Nana are the result of a defiant experiment in human gene modification

The scientific community criticised the work of Chinese scientist He Jiankui for crossed a red line in genetics research

What used to be frozen is now thawing and is doing so remarkably quickly
We might as well join the ranks of the climate naysayers

There’s an essential ingredient missing from Lapland this year. Snow.

During European heatwaves between July 29th and August 3rd, the melt run-off in Greenland was estimated at 55 billion tonnes, about 40 billion tonnes more than the average for those days between 1981 and 2010. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty
The end of the world could be upon us. Why are we doing nothing?

The world’s governments need to begin preparing for existential risk scenarios

Confusion over trying to guess where Brexit is likely to dump us all serves to undermine the UK’s ability to attract talent. File photograph: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
Brexit rot already working its way through British science

Nobel prize winner leaves as reality of disconnecting from EU funding network sets in

Former US first lady Lady Bird Johnson (polka-dot dress), her husband former president Lyndon B Johnson (dark suit) and former vice-president Spiro T Agnew (holding glass, far right) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, watching the launch of Apollo 11 on its mission to carry out the first manned lunar landing. Photograph: National Geographic/Getty Images
That famous step for mankind took place amid riots, protests and scandals

Even as Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon the city of York, Pennsylvania, was convulsed by a race riot

The society was founded by Thomas Prior, above, and 13 friends, all male and all from the middle classes of the Protestant ascendency
RDS gives big tech a run for its money in the innovation stakes

The society, founded in 1731, has always had innovation as its central focus

Dr John McKeon established the company in 2000 when working in a Dublin asthma and allergy clinic.
Irish company’s allergy programme not to be sneezed at

Founder surprised at lack of awareness over trigger factors that cause breathing distress

“We are damaging the web of life and the way that species interconnect and interact, but we don’t know to what end or how the damage we are causing will impact on ourselves.” Photograph: John Giles/PA Wire
Threat of mass extinction looms as million species face decline

UN report shows human activity is driving life on Earth towards a catastrophic end

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty
Synthetic biology leap does not have to lead to monstrous outcomes

These technologies must be kept out of the hands of people who would misuse them

While the majority of neurons are already in place at the time of birth, neuron production continues in certain brain regions. Photograph: iStock
Science finds you can teach an old dog new tricks

Study shows brain cells and new knowledge continue to be produced well into old age

When Nasa needed help for their moon mission they came to Dublin looking for Denis O’Sullivan. Photograph: Eric Luke
Ireland’s stellar contributions go under the radar

Recognition of formidable history in space and science always eclipsed by success in arts

Some bacteria have become totally resistant to all our antimicrobials. And now we have to begin responding to potentially dangerous organism arising in nature
Scientists say the spread of antimicrobial resistance is a ‘global disaster’

Medics and vets have seen agents such as the MRSA hospital bug and ‘totally drug-resistant TB’ survive treatment and come back str(...)

Learning by building: Lego in bygone days was a dedicated building toy with just a few different brick sizes to work with but plenty of room for imagination and the creation of something different each time. Photograph: Getty
Building toys teach innovation, a lesson missing from screen games

Humble train sets offer a better challenge to children than ‘passive’ smartphone play

Nasa’s InSight lander on the surface of Mars. Photograph: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/via Reuters
Mars mission succeeds as Trump threatens to bring Nasa down to Earth

Funding for InSight programme at risk if US president proceeds with ‘space force’ plan

Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Universities Association jointly fund an agency, Knowledge Transfer Ireland, set up specifically to see scientific discoveries commercialised
Precious few research discoveries will generate a lucrative reward

But researchers should be keenly aware of the financial potential of commercialisation

How many of us are of the view that we are not receiving the salary we deserve?. Photograph: iStock
If the tech sector is so well-paid, why are so many staff dissatisfied?

Virtually everyone in one UK recruitment firm’s survey felt underpaid for their work

The Amazon logo and stock price information at the Nasdaq market site in New York on September 4th, the day Amazon became a trillion dollar company. Photograph: Reuters
Should we be fearful of the dominance of trillion dollar companies?

The sophistication of data analysis systems continues to grow, as does our willingness to allow tech giants to permeate our daily (...)

“Research costs lots of money with the expense of spotting, developing and proving the safety of promising drugs running into the billions.” Photograph: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images
Big pharma’s usefulness a bitter pill for some to swallow

Success of pharma giants relies on quality of research and ability to develop new drugs

Tesla founder Elon Musk caused an international news sensation when he made vile allegations without any foundation against one of the divers involved in the Thai cave rescue. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty
Why are high-flyers prone to plumbing depths?

Elon Musk is just the latest high achiever to overstep bounds of social acceptibility

A water tanker near Vartry Reservoir in Co Wicklow. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Panicked response to water crisis won’t fix Dublin’s leaky network

Drought conditions have left soils as dry as cardboard and water sources running low

For some years now, since the economy recovered, we have heard repeatedly about a shortfall in the numbers of computer graduates.
Sourcing science funding: What is this €100m SFI project?

Scheme is 10-year effort to increase postgrad students working in various IT industries

OxyMem co-founders Prof Eoin Casey and Dr Eoin Syron. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
Irish SME flush with success after waste water research

OxyMem wins innovation award for project that took nearly 15 years to come to market

There are a number of methods used to edit the DNA of any organism, and it is possible to be highly specific and precise when you go in to make a genetic change
Genome editing is a revolution that is arriving fast

Dick Ahlstrom: It will be possible for labs to make ‘corrections’ to eliminate the risk of gene-based diseases even before birth

FenuHealth co-founders Annie Madden and Kate Madden set up a successful equine health company built on work done as students taking part in the Young Scientist competition.
Research remains key to Irish tech entrepreneur pipeline

State and private supports can help start-ups but good business ideas come from research

Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creates a sand sculpture in honour of the late Stephen Hawking, at Puri beach in India, this week. Photograph: STR/EPA
Stephen Hawking was an arch communicator despite his disabilities

Physical challenges could not halt the innovative theories and new thought that flowed from him to us

The idea of global warming was developed by the Irish scientist and Carlow man, John Tyndall (1820-93). Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
We are not a shining example of how best to protect the planet

So what can Ireland do to reduce CO2 release given that 97 per cent of the energy we use comes from carbon fuels

International consortium Gencomm is seeking to turn into hydrogen excess power produced by wind-energy installations.
Research project aims to turn excess wind energy into hydrogen

Project linked to NUI Galway seeks to utilise surplus power generated by wind turbines

“There are a number of key elements of the proposals that cause, or should cause, a degree of alarm in educationalists.”
Funding plan for third level a recipe for disaster

Plan to link funding to ‘key national priorities’ ignores underlying problems

No one wanted to see mug shots of the political hopefuls competing for space on the street lights and telephone poles with the Christmas decorations
A lot riding on Brexit endgame for Irish scientific endeavour

Dick Ahlstrom: Let there be no repeat of the recent unedifying political point-scoring

Science Week 2017: In an hour-long television feature, A Robot Stole My Job, presenter Anne-Marie Tomchak took viewers on a highly engaging tour through the world of robots and artificial intelligence and how robots that can learn might change the dynamic between machine and human
Science Week offers parents a look at alternative paths for students

Ireland tends to focus on the arts but our scientists and their careers are world class

Satellites allowed us watch as storm Ophelia approached Ireland. Image: NOAA via AP
Technological tools vital for preparing to cope with superstorms

Highly advanced early-warning systems were in place in advance of storm Ophelia

Prof Wendelin Werner’s work ‘represents one of the most exciting and fruitful interactions between mathematics and physics in recent times’
Hamilton Lecture: Random mountains and random distances, by Prof Wendelin Werner

‘It is about asking simple natural questions, and the answers are not always those that our intuition would guess’

Academic researchers and companies such as ESB Networks have been working on developing ways to feed renewable power back into the national grid. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
It’s like awaiting rural electrification in the 1950s all over again

Stop telling country dwellers how great high-speed broadband will be – just deliver it

The Makayabella drugs bust off Cork coast. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Revenue needs new home for tonnes of seized contraband

Government is looking for firms to bid for warehousing and transport project

Writer warns we must acknowledge the weaknesses and limitations of forecasts if a business hopes to live up to its predicted expectations
Ireland sixth in European league of new business owners, survey shows

Start-up rate similar to that in the US and is high compared to European countries

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Films and television portray business owners thinking on their feet before making an instant choice in the face of rapidly changing conditions. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Latter-day Darwins evolve more effective decision-making

Descendant of scientist and wife have developed a slow but reliable way to make choices

Dr Ruairi Friel, CEO of Westway Health, the NUI Galway spin-out which is taking on the global challenge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Photograph: Aengus McMahon
Galway game-changer in fight against antibiotic resistance

Researchers have come up with way to wipe out bacteria without the risk of resistance

President Donald Trump has said he will pull the US out of the accord and allow more fossil fuel production. Photograph: Getty Images
TDs need to be told we expect them to act on climate change

Future generations will be in retreat if we fail to make Paris Agreement work

President Donald Trump has said he will pull the US out of the accord and allow more fossil fuel production. Photograph: Getty Images
TDs need to be told we expect them to act on climate change

Future generations will be in retreat if we fail to make Paris Agreement work

Charles Darwin was 40 by the time he was ready to publish ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’. Photograph: Richard Milner Archive
Creative advantage of youth an age-old question in science

Forties become the new 20s for physicists as Nobel-winning work takes longer to achieve

“If you are the guy watching your hair thin and gradually disappear you are not going to be happy about it and will be cheering on the scientists.”
Baldness trumps malaria? Funding shows something out of kilter

Our shared global responsibilities to one another are not reflected in the numbers

Social media network concept on phone. Photograph: iStock
Why does a torch app need to access my contacts list?

Big brother is already watching over us – but what kind of brother will he be?

Understanding the science issues will help you make your mind up and expose the false claims that build up
Learning the truth through science

President Trump’s comments on climate change are a stark reminder why we all need to understand science at some level

Plumes coming from the new incinerator at Poolbeg. “No waste has been burned, no smoke emitted,” said a spokesman for US operator Covanta. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Poolbeg plumes are nothing to get steamed up about

Incinerator blowing harmless steam to clean pipes, and not burning waste, says Covanta

Even our pets are driven by incentivisation. It is all part of pack dynamics. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto
How investing money can spur our creativity

The pursuit of delivering something new, better, faster or unique is built into us

Yeast is well known in bread-making and brewing, but scientists believe it could form the basis to replace products such as plam oil, petrochemicals and cosmetics.
Is humble yeast the next new wonder product?

Irish researchers at UCC seek to push yeast engineering to a whole new level

Server room with modern mainframe equipment in data centre
Supercomputers may boost life expectancy by 10 years

Major gains are expected from the emergence of personalised medicine, care specifically tailored to match your genetic make-up

The new research answers several questions including how supermassive black holes managed to form so quickly after the Big Bang
Supermassive: Irish scientist offers explanation for black holes

Astrophysicist John Regan publishes revolutionary findings in ‘Nature Astronomy’

The sole winning Irish entry to the Wellcome Image Awards for 2017. Over an eight-week period, 92,915 tweets were collected to study the communication of #breastcancer. This graph shows how Twitter users, each represented by a dot called a node, are connected through their retweeting and sharing of this hashtag. Computer analysis has been used to convert this 3D data into a 2D pattern. Credit: Eric Clarke, Richard Arnett, Jane Burns, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Breast Cancer: Graphic visualisation of tweets wins award

Wellcome Image Awards: Irish academic team used 92,915 tweets with ‘#breastcancer’

Electrolysis: Researchers at Trinity have found that something unexpected happens when you take a really close look – tiny bubbles form that have surprising properties. Illustration: Woodcut engraving (1877)/Getty
Tiny bubbles and the importance of pursuing useless knowledge

Quantum electrolysis behaviour may not have an obvious application – just like radio

Prof Fergal O’Gara, director of the Biomerit Research Centre at University College Cork.
UCC researchers discover weapon to fight antibiotic resistance

Team applies to patent discovery that allows antibiotics disrupt ‘biofilm’ protection

A dental plaque deposit on this Spanish Neanderthal’s teeth reveals consumption of poplar, a source of aspirin. Photograph: Paleoanthropology Group MNCN-CSIC
Neanderthal dining preferences discovered by scientists

Ancient Spanish and Belgian dental plaque shows meat-eater and vegetarian habits

Prof Dervilla Donnelly (left) was taken aback by her selection for the award: Photograph: Eric Luke
Leading Irish scientist honoured by Royal Irish Academy

Cunningham Medal recipient Prof Dervilla Donnelly is first woman to receive award

The rock structure that held the fossils at the Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt in Canada. Photograph: Dominic Papineau
Fossil discovery may give new start date to life on Earth

Researchers must now prove that the fossils, found in Canada, are biological in origin

Bumblebees new to this insect premiership can be taught the trick using a demonstrator bee that already knows how to get the reward. Photograph: Getty Images
Ronald-bee-nho? Scientists teach bees how to play football

Scoring goals gives the bee a reward and they can improve on what they have learned

The 10-a-day portion list includes an apple, a small banana, a pear, a mandarin, three tablespoons of spinach, peas, broccoli or cauliflower. A portion weighs in at 80g. File photograph: Eric Vidal/Reuters
Eat 10 fruit and vegetables a day and live longer, study suggests

Disease risks fall as intake of vegetables and fruit increases, Imperial College team finds

John Regan, Aoife Gowen and Anil Kokaram are among the scientists in Ireland to have benefited from Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Marie Curie fund helping to develop scientific leaders in Ireland

Hugely successful programme expects to support 100,000th fellow in 2017

Thousands of exoplanets orbiting stars have been discovered but few are the Earth’s size. File photograph: Getty Images
Star revealed with seven Earth-sized planets in orbit

Trappist-1 is 40 light years away but scientists believe orbiting planets may support life

A new study of longevity trends in 35 industrialised countries shows that people in all countries can expect to be living longer. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA Wire
Living for 90 years may become new normal, study shows

Irish men born in 2030 set for life expectancy of 84 years with women reaching 87

Cancer death rates in men have declined by eight per cent over the past five years, but cancer deaths among women have only fallen by four per cent, a new study shows. Photograph: PA
Cancer death rates to continue slow decline across EU

New study finds improvement is slower in women because of rising lung cancer deaths

Batman Begins: Researchers are closing in on technology deployed to power the flying cape in the film Batman Begins.
Scientists at NUI Galway crack formula to Batman’s flying wings

Caped Crusader’s capacity for flight moves a step closer after latest advance in research

Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, speaking at the agency’s End of Year statement 2016 and the launch of its 2017-2020 strategy. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Enterprise Ireland goes where venture capital won't

Agency invests €32m in companies, many in science, technology, engineering and maths

Trinity College Dublin’s Prof Kingston Mills: The vaccine “is the greatest ever medical invention for preventing human diseases”. Photograph: David Sleator
Trump risks lives casting doubts about vaccines, says researcher

Prof Kingston Mills claims social media are being used to erode confidence in vaccines

Hearts’ Aaron Hughes and Hibernians’ Brian Graham battle for a header during a Scottish Cup match at Tynecastle earlier this month. File photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Heading the ball may lead to an increased risk of dementia

New research finds brain damage associated with the disease in retired soccer players

Prof Michel Destrade, chair of applied mathematics in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics at NUI Galway. Photograph: Aengus McMahon
How heading a football over time can lead to brain damage

Human body did not evolve to cope with most important organ moving inside skull

John Ward, a Traveller making tinware near Galway, in 1971. Photograph: Pat Langan.
Travellers as ‘genetically different’ from settled Irish as Spanish

Study finds Travellers emerged as distinct group up to 200 years before Great Famine

Aircraft surveying in Co Galway. Credit: Sander Geophysics Ltd and Geological Survey Ireland
Leinster goes platinum: a survey from the sky

A nationwide geological survey is helping to find Ireland’s hidden treasure – and hidden dangers

Trinity College Dublin professor in genetics Aoife McLysaght. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
TCD geneticists in breakthrough on autism and epilepsy

Move could open up new treatment options for difficult to treat conditions

Dr Barry Doyle: front centre, with colleagues from the Vascular Engineering Laboratory at the University of Western Australia
Bioprinting hope for treating heart disease

‘We hope to begin by printing organs that are alive and can be implanted into animals, to help us work towards one day being able (...)

Dr Paul Cotter is filmed by the BBC for ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’. Photograph: Leila Finikarides/BBC Television
Irish scientist to analyse fermented foods on BBC programme

Teagasc’s Dr Paul Cotter will appear on ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’ on Wednesday night

Receiving their Royal Irish Academy gold medals on Tuesday were Louis Cullen (left), professor emeritus in history at Trinity College Dublin, and Fergus Shanahan, professor and chairman of the department of medicine at University College Cork and director of the APC Microbiome Institute. Photograph: Johnny Bambury
Royal Irish Academy honours Louis Cullen and Fergus Shanahan

Research professors from Trinity and UCC awarded gold medals for achievements

Prof Mark Ferguson, director-general of Science Foundation Ireland, said Brexit offers great opportunities for Ireland to attract leading UK scientists. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Research under way to attract UK scientists to Ireland

Science Foundation Ireland among funders planning for exodus of scientists post-Brexit

Artist’s impression of Saccorhytus Credit: Jian Han, Northwest University, China
Sea creature with large mouth and no anus is ‘our earliest ancestor’

540 million year old fossils reveal ‘very first stages of evolution’, say researchers

Science Foundation Ireland conducted a survey among young people to see what they thought about Stem and found that the student’s primary concern when choosing their college course was “fitting in” with others, not the subject material.
CAO 2017: Will Stem resurgence continue?

High dropout rates in science and maths at third level must also be addressed

The substance is so important that without it you could not fight the flu virus. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA Wire
Irish research may lead to new way of attacking viruses

TCD scientists believe biochemical could play role in boosting weakened immune system

UCC professors John Cryan and Ted Dinan, leaders of the research on prebiotics and stress. Photograph: Catherine Buckley/APC Microbiome Institute
Irish-based scientists find a way to beat stress by eating

UCC researchers have developed a dietary method of combatting worry and anxiety

Bees foraging in Limerick this week. They may be tricked into breeding too early by the weather. Photograph: John Breen
Ireland’s bees face disaster following mild winter

The insects have started early due to the weather, but a cold snap could wipe out hives

Chinese president Xi Jinping and US president Barack Obama formally commit to the Paris agreement in September 2016. Photograph: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Climate statistics paint a bleak picture for the environment

As temperatures and CO2 levels rise, Donald Trump is set to go back on Paris agreement

An innovative soft robotic sleeve which can help a heart to beat has been developed by researchers including Dr Ellen Roche (above) of National University of Ireland Galway.
Galway bioengineer designs pump to help beat heart failure

Dr Ellen Roche pioneers sleeve for placing around heart which beats in synchrony with it

Central to the work, which involved Trinity College Dublin, St James’s Hospital, the Coombe hospital and the University of Hull, was the isolation and study of cancer stem cells. Photograph: Getty Images
Irish researchers make stem-cell cancer breakthrough

Scientists discover way to make radiotherapy more effective in oesophageal cancer care

Shay Walsh, managing director BT Ireland (left) and Richard Bruton, Minister for Education (right) with Overall BT Young Scientist & Technologist of the Year 2017 Shane Curran from Terenure College with his project qCrypt: The quantum-secure, encrypted, data storage solution with multijurisdictional quorum sharding technology in the Technology section, at the 2017 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Young Scientist: Terenure College student (16) wins for data project

Shane Curran develops encrypted data storage system ‘guaranteed to remain secure’

Ian McDonagh from Merlin College with his project on the Cures and Folkways of the Irish Traveller at this Years BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Traveller cures could help reduce HSE costs, student finds

Ian McDonagh carries out survey of herbal cures and healers used by Traveller community

Liam O’Meara (13) from Castletroy College Limerick with his traffic sensor exhibit at BT Young Scientist & Technology exhibition. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons
Stop the lights! Young scientist gets traffic moving

Student’s traffic light sensor moves drivers through intersections safely and more quickly

Primary school pupils at the RDS Primary Science Fair in Dublin. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Left-handed people are more ambidextrous, pupils find

The study is one of dozens of class projects at this year’s RDS Primary Science Fair

Mike Brown, professor of planetary astronomy, points to the gold ring showing the orbital path of Planet Nine at Caltec in California. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon via Getty Images
Planet Nine: a study in celestial shyness

Most astronomers are sceptical about the existence of Planet Nine, but mathematical models suggest there is something unseen out t(...)

Emily Murphy from St Mary’s Secondary School Mallow with her project on the production and combustion of fuel pellets made from waste coffee grounds at this Years BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Young scientist finds coffee offers second boost of energy

Cork schoolgirl Emily Murphy says method could reduce waste and provide fuel source

President Michael D Higgins addresses the opening ceremony at the 2017 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. Photograph: Alan Betson
Lights, sound and liquid nitrogen at BT Young Scientist launch

President Higgins praises students as he officially opens 2017 exhibition at Dublin’s RDS

Aimee O’Neill and Margot Moore, first year students from Loreto Foxrock, join James Soper of the Ultimate Science Show at the launch of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibitioin, at the RDS. Photograph: Eric Luke
Students set for eureka moment ahead of Young Scientist event

Almost 1,150 student exhibitors are preparing to display 550 projects at the RDS

Arctic Ocean: There is no doubting the reality of human-induced climate change, says Prof Brian Ó Gallachóir, professor of energy policy and modelling at the environmental research institute at UCC. Photograph: Arterra/UIG via Getty Images
No pause in warming of oceans, new studies warn

Seas have been heating up for 75 years as notion of ‘global warming hiatus’ overturned

The team ran brain scans on people with ASD and on healthy volunteers, looking for any differences between the two.
Dublin-based scientists find an area of the brain linked to autism

Team believes discovery points towards new therapies

The researchers say full-sugar soft drinks account for a third of UK teens’ sugar intake, and are a major cause of increasing rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes
Researchers say sugar-free no better for weight than sugar-full

Diet alternatives cannot promise weight loss and may trigger weight gain, says study

Olivia Buckley from John The Baptist Community School in Limerick investigated whether yoghurt is good for foals. Photograph: Liam Burke/Press 22
Using nappies to tackle floods among Young Scientist projects

Annual show with 550 research projects set to attract 50,000 visitors to RDS in Dublin

This whole discovery thing about research is over rated.
On balance: Four reasons why we shouldn’t invest in scientific research

. . . and none of the reasons make any sense

Valitacell chief executive Dr Terry McWade: co-founded the company with Dr Jerry Clifford.
Valitacell ramps up its targeting of big pharma

UCD-based Irish biological drug firm lists GE and MedImmune among clients

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