Category Archives: Science

26Jan/26

The Science of Sex and the Fiction of Gender

January 26, 2026ScienceDonna Haraway, Emily Martin, Feminism, Feminist philosophy, Feminist theory, Gender, Gender role, Gender roles, Hilary Rose, Judith Butler, Julie Bindel, LGBTQ, Narrative, Rosalind Arden, Social constructionism, Sociology of genderadmin

Jan. 26, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — This source features a multidisciplinary discussion hosted by the Institute of Art and Ideas regarding the biological and social definitions of sex. A panel of experts, including a journalist, a biologist, and a sociologist, examines whether traditional scientific classifications of male and female are influenced by cultural gender biases. By referencing the work of Judith Butler, the program questions if even evolutionary narratives are shaped by human fiction rather than objective fact. Ultimately, the debate seeks to determine if reimagining human identity beyond these binary constraints is a necessary progression or a misguided political objective. Continue reading →

26Jan/26

The Biological Mind vs. The Digital Machine: Cracking the Code for Thought

January 26, 2026ScienceAnimal anatomy, Artificial intelligence, Brain, Cognition, Cognitive neuroscience, Computational neuroscience, Consciousness, Digital electronics, Logic gate, Max Tegmark, Neuroscience, Organs, Roger Penrose, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, Wetware computeradmin

Jan. 26, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — This theory explores the philosophical and scientific debate regarding whether the human mind functions like a digital computer. While neuroscience traditionally views the brain as a computational machine, the text highlights significant biological differences, such as the complex, fluid nature of neurons compared to rigid logic gates. Distinguished experts, including Roger Penrose and Max Tegmark, examine if consciousness and perception can be truly captured through mathematical models or if living thought is fundamentally unique. Ultimately, the discussion questions whether artificial intelligence reflects the true essence of the cosmos or if it remains a limited imitation of organic sophistication. This inquiry serves as a centerpiece for the Institute of Art and Ideas, bringing together elite thinkers to bridge the gap between physics and philosophy. Continue reading →

14Dec/25

R&D and collab in Africa

December 14, 2025ScienceClimate change mitigation, Costigan, Foundation for Science and Technology, Jim Skea, Ottoline Leyser, Science policy, UK Research and Innovation, United Kingdom, Willettsadmin

Dec. 14, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ — The FST journal, Volume 24, Number 2, published by the Foundation for Science and Technology in December 2025 focuses on several critical topics in science and technology policy within the UK and globally. Key themes include an event report on R&D collaboration in Africa, emphasizing shared growth and mutual benefit, and an in-depth conversation with Dame Ottoline Leyser, the recently retired Chief Executive of UKRI, discussing the future and function of UK research councils and funding. Continue reading →

08May/25

Conclave: the chemistry behind the black and white smoke

May 8, 2025ScienceAir pollution, Combustion, Creative Commons, Fire, Flame, Mark Lorch, Papal conclave, Pollution, Pope, Potassium chlorate, Smoke, Smoke composition, Smoke screen, Soot, United Kingdomadmin

Mark Lorch, University of Hull

This week, 133 cardinals have gathered in the Vatican to elect a new leader of the Catholic church. During their deliberations, the only indications of their progress are the regular plumes of smoke wafting from a freshly installed chimney perched on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.

Continue reading →

28Oct/24

A new ‘race science’ network is linked to a history of eugenics that never fully left academia

October 28, 2024Scienceanthropologie, Creative Commons, Enoch Powell, Eugenics, Eugenics in the United Kingdom, France, Francis Galton, Germany, Intelligence researchers, Lars Cornelissen, Mankind Quarterly, Neue Anthropologie, Pioneer Fund, Pseudoscience, Richard Lynn, Scientific racism, Technological utopianism, United Statesadmin

Lars Cornelissen, Independent Social Research Foundation

The Guardian and anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate have revealed the existence of a new network of far-right intellectuals and activists in an undercover investigation. Called the Human Diversity Foundation (HDF), this group advocates scientific racism and eugenics. Although it presents itself as having a scientific purpose, some of its figureheads have political ambitions in Germany and elsewhere.

Continue reading →

04Sep/24

Clarivate Launches Generative AI-Powered Web of Science Research Assistant

September 4, 2024ScienceArtificial intelligence, Clarivate, Clarivate Plc, Cybernetics, Generative artificial intelligenceadmin

Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today released the Web of Science™ Research Assistant. The new generative AI-powered tool helps researchers find key papers faster, handle complex research tasks and visualize connections. The chat interface combined with the Web of Science knowledge graph allows researchers to get more out of their interactions with 120 years of trusted publication and citation data in the Web of Science Core Collection™. Continue reading

30Jul/24

Akamai Research: Web Attacks Targeting Applications and APIs Up by 49% in the Last Year

July 30, 2024ScienceAKAM, Akamai Technologies, Akamai Technologies Inc., API, Cloud computing, Cloud infrastructure, Content delivery networksadmin

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud company that powers and protects life online, today released a new State of the Internet (SOTI) report that shows how growth in demand for applications and APIs has transformed them into lucrative targets for threat actors. In Digital Fortresses Under Siege: Threats to Modern Application Architectures, Akamai notes that it observed more than 26 billion web attacks against applications and APIs in June 2024 alone, and that these attacks surged by 49% over the last year. Read more

15Dec/23

Kenyan digital IDs: paused again

December 15, 2023ScienceE-government, Huduma Kenya, Huduma Namba, Identity document, Kenya, Magadi, NAIROBI, Nita Bhalla, Politics and technology, Public administrationadmin

By Nita Bhalla | East Africa Correspondent

Dec 14, 2023, / Thomson Reuters Foundation/ — A high court in Kenya has halted the rollout of a new national digital identification programme, saying authorities failed to assess the risks from processing citizens’ personal data. Continue reading →

15Nov/23

How music heals us, even when it’s sad – by a neuroscientist leading a new study of musical therapy

November 15, 2023ScienceAGES, Aristotle, Benjamin Rush, Bulgaria, Creative Commons, Dimana Kardzhieva, dopamine, Frances Rauscher, Jonathan Smallwood, Leigh Riby, Ludwig van Beethoven, Martha, Mary Priestley, Newcastle, Northumbria University, Oliver Sacks, oxytocin, Riby, Sam Fenwick, Samuel Mathews, Shania Twain, Shania: Still the One, Steve Vai, Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky, Thayer Gaston, United Kingdom, United Statesadmin

Leigh Riby, Northumbria University, Newcastle

When I hear Shania Twain’s You’re Still The One, it takes me back to when I was 15, playing on my Dad’s PC. I was tidying up the mess after he had tried to [take his own life]. He’d been listening to her album, and I played it as I tidied up. Whenever I hear the song, I’m taken back – the sadness and anger comes flooding back.

Continue reading →

02Nov/23

Dr. Reed McNeil Izatt, American Chemist, Dies at 97

November 2, 2023ScienceAlexander Spowart Izatt, Izatt, Logan, Marian McNeil Izatt, McNeil, Reed McNeil Izatt, Salt Lake City, Utahadmin

Reed McNeil Izatt was born October 10, 1926, in Logan, Utah, the son of Alexander Spowart Izatt, Jr. and Marian McNeil Izatt. He died peacefully surrounded by his loving family on October 29, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Continue reading