Archive for July, 2012

Technology firm Fujitsu is to invest in a new research programme at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute at NUI Galway.

The programme, which is supported by the Government through IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, will focus on researching new models and commercial opportunities for web-based data.

The research will be led by Prof Stefan Decker, director of the institute and one of the leading scientists in the Semantic Web field. “This programme will create high-end research jobs in Ireland, adding to our team of scientists here. With a strong focus on innovation and research, we expect that more job opportunities will arise as the research progresses,” said Prof Decker.

For more information, click here

New research published in the journal Nature finds diet may be key to promoting diverse communities of beneficial bacteria in the guts of older people. The findings provide exciting new opportunities for the food industry as there is now the scientific basis for developing foods to promote healthier ageing.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney has welcomed the outputs of this important research; ‘The Irish food industry will directly benefit from the scientific knowledge generated on foot of this research and be in a position to develop new food products to enhance the health of older citizens in the ever increasing ageing population. These new products will also help to achieve the targets set for Ireland’s agri-food industry under Food Harvest 2020’.

The discovery was made by a multidisciplinary team of scientists from University College Cork and Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark.

For more information, click here

Galway students will be in for a cosmic treat this September as the particle physics laboratory CERN is to bring its Accelerating Science travelling exhibition to the city, CERN’s director-general Rolf-Dieter Heuer announced in Dublin last Friday during the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF).

Aimed primarily at secondary school students, the exhibition apparently starts off by giving a history of the universe. Visitors to it will also get a chance to activate a model of the LHC to learn more about how a particle detector works and to find out what happens when particles collide in the LHC.

For more details click here

The Science Squad and Newstalk’s Futureproof presenter Jonathan McCrea will be in Meeting House Square this afternoon (Friday 13th of July) with two shows at 4.30pm and 5.30pm, enlisting the help of passers-by to help him find out how the human mind works.

With the help of expert psychologists, Jonathan and the Futureproof crew have researched, plotted and schemed to create a series of social experiments designed to find out just what makes people tick!

For more information click here

Black holes are regions of space where gravitational forces are so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes have captured the imagination of the public like no other astrophysical entity and been readily absorbed into science fiction. However, despite endless conjecture, they still remain mysterious objects. So what do we really know about black holes?

Saturday July 14, 2012

For more information on this ESOF2012 event click here

Can we use genomic tools to select healthier livestock?

Thursday 12th July

Recent and rapid advances in genomic tools and statistical methods, together with the increasing amount of genetic and phenotypic data recorded now allow us to accurately define the genomic regions associated with disease resistance in livestock. The identification of animals ‘resistant’ to a specific disease can then be used in selection schemes, with the aim to develop a more robust, healthier livestock population. This would be followed by a reduction in the use of veterinary medicines such as antibiotics or anthelminthics, slowing down the development of resistance to these drugs

Speakers include Teagasc researcher Donagh Berry, who featured in Programme 3 of The Science Squad

For information about this ESOF event click here

Tiny but Mighty: How today’s nano-materials will lead to tomorrow’s technologies

Thursday 12th July

Prof Jonathan Coleman, CRANN TCD and SFI’s Reseacher of Year 2011, introduces nanoscience and nanomaterials for a lay audience. This will lead into a description of some of the research on-going in Prof Coleman’s group with an emphasis on the practical applications of this work. Finally, collaborations with industry will be discussed and the possibility of commercialising such research explored.

Prof Jonathan Coleman featured in Programme 2 of The Science Squad

For information about this ESOF event click here

ESOF 2012 Highlight – The Great Debate on the Battle to Feed a Changing Planet

Dublin Convention Centre Auditorium – Friday 13th July, 2012

“The Great Debate” will engage and raise awareness among not only a live audience, but also media and the public outside the auditorium, on one of the most challenging scientific topics of the 21st century: how to simultaneously achieve global food security while also combating the effects of food production on climate change.

For more information click here

As the leading Irish agri-food research organisation, Teagasc is proud to sponsor ESOF 2012 Dublin and Dublin City of Science 2012, and is organising a major programme of scientific events to mark this special year for science in Ireland.

Launching this evening (Thursday 5th July) and running until 14th July, the “UCD Imagine Science Film Festival” will showcase feature films, shorts and documentary films that incorporate accurate scientific facts into compelling visual narratives to demystify the sciences in an entertaining and engaging way.

Hosting an exciting programme of events and screenings at  dynamic locations throughout the city, the festival will draw the cinema going public into a participative experience with debates, Q&A sessions and post-screening events. Explore science from a whole new perspective! View the screening and events schedule here.

Dublin City of Science 2012 – Some Other Event Highlights

• July 4th 2012 will go down as a historic day in science with CERN’s announcement that the “evidence of Higgs overwhelming”. But what exactly is the Higgs boson?  Why is it considered so important?  How does the LHC produce and detect it? And what is Ireland’s involvement in all this? Find out on Saturday 14th July at “Higgs: the key to understanding our universe”

• From 23rd June – 6th August, The Ark’s “Awakening Curiosity” is an interactive art exhibition for children and families, with a playful twist of science and featuring artworks that have been inspired by biodiversity and the natural world. Discover everything from floating nests built with materials scavenged from the city, to a suspended shoal of recycled metal fish and a laser animation of a snail trail.

• From 22nd June – 8th Sept 2012, check out “Hack the City” at the Science Gallery, where Dublin’s citizens and visitors will be turned into scientists and research participants through the use of SmartPhones and social media.

For more information about all of the events running this summer check out Dublin City of Science 2012.