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Category: science

As a passionate supporter of the advancement of women and recognition for their immense contributions to our world, I was thrilled to learn of a fascinating new initiative that launched today, in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. This unique AI-powered web experience called Women Who Changed Science highlights the achievements of female Nobel Prize winners who broke new ground in physics, chemistry and medicine. Raising awareness of their tremendous impact, the initiative aims to empower the next generation of scientists.

Women Who Changed Science is an outgrowth of a new collaboration with Nobel Media and Microsoft and is one of Microsoft’s ongoing initiatives to build female inclusion and diversity in STEM fields. This new endeavor trains a lens on the inspiring journeys and contributions of female Nobel Prize winners who’ve significantly impacted our world for the better.

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Medical advances and living standards have extended the average human longevity from 48 years in 1955 to 71 years today, and the elderly are now the fastest growing segment of society. But while our life spans are improving, our health spans are not, writes science journalist Sue Armstrong in “Borrowed Time: The Science of How and Why We Age” (Bloomsbury), out now.

“Over the past 50 years, health care hasn’t slowed the aging process so much as it has slowed the dying process,” she writes, quoting gerontologist Eileen Crimmins.

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Still, Estonia’s research prowess is an example of how quickly a small country can turn its scientific fortunes around with international support and well-designed domestic policies — and its success has drawn attention from other nations looking to build their scientific capacity. Latvia, for instance, borders Estonia and joined the EU at the same time. “We started from a very similar position,” says Dmitrijs Stepanovs, Latvia’s deputy state secretary and director of the higher-education and science ministry, but “now we are far behind and must try to catch up.”

A small nation found strength in research after joining the European Union.

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The points he makes here are things many of us have told people many times over and now it will be part of a tv show for mainstream audiences.

He’s executive producer of the National Geographic Channel’s “Breakthrough” series, exploring scientific fields on the brink of discovery.

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Looks like an interesting new book.

01:34 Group selection: what it is and why it’s controversial
16:58 David defends group selection against its strongest critics.
28:09 Does group selection have a socialist dark side?
38:21 Razib on how a scientist went in a “dark direction”
47:19 Using evolutionary science to solve real-world problems.
56:23 How understanding evolution can make you a better teacher.

Razib Khan (Unz Foundation, Gene Expression) and David Sloan Wilson (Binghamton University)

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Recorded on December 02, 2009

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