Sci&Tech History

Most collaborations between companies and academic researchers are initiated by industry scientists looking for specific technologies or expertise, notes Anthony Boccanfuso, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP), a consortium aimed at improving collaboration between universities and industry. But that doesn’t mean university researchers have to sit and wait for the phone [...]

“Rigid technologies don’t translate successfully from the North to the South.” (Akrich, 1992) Often, wells are drilled by NGOs purely on the basis of geological survey. However, in a country like Zimbabwe such wells do not always work. Even though the water that the well produces may be abundant and clear, and even though the new well [...]

“FOR the sake of basic human interests, the Indonesian government declares that genomic data on bird-flu viruses can be accessed by anyone.” With those words, spoken on August 3rd, Siti Fadilah Supari started a revolution that could yet save the world from the ravages of a pandemic disease. That is because Indonesia’s health minister has [...]

“We have to launch “New Deal” to create jobs, and to rescue the suffering from the crisis (which is partially caused by wrong approach, wrong prescription and wrong policies), including the weakening of the purchasing power because of fuel price increase. We have to bring hope to our people, and free them from fear and insecurity for [...]

A pamphlet distributed recently by the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission (IPOC) states: “Compared to tropical forest, oil-palm plantations possesses several environmental advantages, it consumes more carbon dioxide (CO2) and releases more oxygen (O2) than tropical forest, which is beneficial to the environment.” Few serious scientists would support the claim that oil-palm plantations store more carbon than [...]