Competing researchers don't usually co-author discussion papers – unless, perhaps, they're discussing their rivalry. Such is the case with Jacob Corn and Jin-Soo Kim. On Monday, the genome editing researchers (from the University of California, Berkeley and Seoul National University respectively), ...
More »Education, customised to your genome, is coming
Personalised learning in schools is all the Gonksi-fueled rage, but what it if meant more than individualised learning plans and assessments? What if it meant mapping curricula to students' genomes? This may sound like the plot of a sci-fi film; ...
More »University education a waste of time and money: economics prof
Though the government's university funding freeze attracted sector-wide scorn, at least it relieved universities from having to relentlessly justify graduating increasing numbers of students amidst a tepid job market. But what if, demand-driven byproducts aside, the teaching element of universities remains ...
More »Gaming or gambling? Often, they coalesce
Legendary: Game of Heroes is a free "intense and strategic puzzle role-playing game," its developer, N3twork, provides. "Build a team of legendary heroes, go on quests and defeat monsters. Your Legendary adventure begins today!" Although aimed at players aged 12 ...
More »Trawling genetic databases for criminals risky: forensic scientists
When the Golden State Killer, who committed at least 12 murders, 50 rapes and 100 burglaries in California from 1974 to 1986, was finally caught in April, law enforcement and forensics experts celebrated. Naval veteran Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested after DNA, ...
More »People ‘very concerned’: professor alarmed by new research code of conduct
A medical researcher has warned countries like China are eclipsing us in terms of research integrity mechanisms. Professor David Vaux, deputy director and joint division head at Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, claims this is because the revised Australian ...
More »Feminists, others defend academic accused of sexual harassment
Avital Ronell, a 66-year-old NYU academic, is being investigated in relation to a sexual harassment complaint made against her by a male PhD student. And there is outrage. But hold the confirmation bias: the outrage is against the accuser, and, ...
More »Sexual harassment in STEM: Will time ever be up?
Since the Harvey Weinstein allegations were publicised in October last year, it seems the world has shifted. For the first time, women appear to be asserting their power over sexual harassers and abusers, and are being validated for doing so. Among the swathe ...
More »Locked up and learning: prisoners the new model uni students
At a glance, Robert Buckley doesn't seem that atypical for a student. He is mature-aged, having only commenced study after a career in the army, and has almost completed a five-year double degree in Engineering and Business. Buckley's striking difference, ...
More »Cats guzzling over one million reptiles a day: study
Feral cats are raising a skink with the discovery that they're mass reptile killers. Researchers from the government's Threatened Species Recovery Hub, which comprises 10 universities and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, analysed around 10,000 cat dietary samples. What they found shocked them. ...
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