Author Archives: health

New discoveries map out CRISPR-Cas defense systems in bacteria

With the aid of highly advanced microscopes and synchrotron sources, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained seminal insight into how bacteria function as defence mechanisms against attacks from other bacteria and viruses. The study, which has just been published in the journal, Nature Communications, also describes how the defence systems can be activated… Read More »

Fact-checking – by itself – is inherently flawed on health care topics

Fact-checking has become one of the buzziest buzzwords in journalism. There are more than 100 fact-checking projects around the world. It’s been trotted out to counter alleged “fake” news.  And to monitor the accuracy of political leaders who stretch the boundaries of believability. April 2 has been proclaimed International Fact-Checking Day. Indeed, genuine fact-checking may play an important… Read More »

What on earth is that?

As I ride my e-scooter through Warsaw and past the bronze statue of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, I start to wonder what he would make of one of our modern conveniences. As Alistair Crombie, the Australian science historian, once noted, Copernicus was “the supreme example of a man who revolutionised science by looking at the… Read More »