Readers' reactions
...Philip Stott argued that rainforests are not essential to our survival on this planet Helen Woodward Sudent at the Open University Even if Philip Stott is partially right in saying we do not...
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Cutting Edge
Well into the next century, thousands will still be suffering Chernobyl's legacy: contaminated soil poisoning the food chain 'It was estimated that radiocaesium concentrations in fish in Lake...
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Guidelines are needed to help recruit experts
Sir Aaron Klug is right (page 15) that there are too few disinterested experts to supply the many scientific advisory committees. The scarcity is acute in biotechnology and information science but...
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Time for society to see old people in a new light
An ageing population is cause for celebration and should not be equated with helplessness, argues Brian Groombridge In the past few months the business press has agonised about the brain drain of...
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Why I......wanted to get little-known academics onto television
Henrietta Foster Producer of the Channel 4 series Millennium Minds, a discussion of some of the world's most influential thinkers When I was first asked to put together a proposal for Millennium...
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Costing the universe
Mars Polar Lander is this week's costly space failure. Yet John Zarnecki argues we should spend more on space research What is next in the following sequence - Mars '96, Cluster, Mars Climate Orbiter...
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The myth about media studies
Media studies is no cop-out subject, but one that attracts high-calibre students, says Ivor Gaber "Unfortunately, the myth has grown up that glamorous media jobs are there for the taking for those...
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Breaths of fresh air
As Oxford's latest spin-off seals a deal to exploit asthma research, Kam Patel looks at what business incubation units can do Asthma researchers at Oxford University have entered a deal with...
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Wellcome bias stirs up unions
Daresbury scientists are up in arms about the likely siting of a new X-ray source in Oxfordshire. Kam Patel reports The Wellcome Trust's case for locating the United Kingdom's new Pounds 175 million...
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Tipping depends on personality
To tip or not to tip - it is a question that often baffles and embarrasses the international traveller abroad. A new study, however, has found there are strong cultural clues that could guide the...
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Dickens knew his disorders
Charles Dickens was not only a brilliant social observer but was also well ahead of his time in his observations of neurological disorders. A study of the Victorian author's works has revealed...
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Windy problem is solved
The answer was blowing in the wind. Experts have for the first time calculated the mathematically correct way to fly a flag and fill a sail. Alistair Fitt and PhD students Martin Pope and Tim...
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Star Turn
Tony Tysome hums and cackles with students on a blue gym mat while a world expert in voice training sets the right tone It seems as if I have stumbled into a clearing in some magical forest,...
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A case of mistaken identities
Nadia Lovell describes her experience as a 'white' woman teaching 'black' students in Britain about African history and culture. My first experience of teaching theories of religion at a British...
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Agony aunt
Q More and more of my time is taken up by meetings, which are increasingly interfering with my teaching preparation. Can anything be done to speed them up? A Sally Brown, Director of membership...