TalkScience
TalkScience is a series of events hosted by the British Library,
providing opportunities to inform, engage, debate and network with
scientists and all those who use scientific information.
Wednesday 22 July 2009, 18.00
- 20.30
Price £5 (booking required)
Venue: British Library Restaurant
Refreshments included
Scientific findings in a digital world:
What is the genuine article?
A discussion with John Wilbanks
- In an age of digital content and communication,
does the notion of the scientific‘article’ remain
relevant? Is the 300-year old approach to structuring findings
– from abstract to references – still valid in the
era of the multi-media research object?
- How should new types of content such
as video protocols and embedded datasets
be peer-reviewed, and does it matter?
- Will opening access to the outputs of
scientific research really improve innovation?
- Does more access to research data and
information necessarily mean we are better
informed?
- When it comes to communicating research
findings, what are the fundamental building blocks and what is
the wallpaper?
Book tickets now through the Online
Box office
Download a poster
(PDF, 310 KB)
John Wilbanks is Executive
Director of Science Commons and Vice President of Creative Commons:
not-for-profit organisations which aim to enhance the flow of scientific
knowledge to accelerate innovation. His career has spanned the humanities,
politics and science working both as advocate and entrepreneur.
The following event took
place on Tues 17 Mar 2009
- podcast
on www.bl.uk (MP3, 10mins, 7.6MB)
‘What’s in a name? – Taxonomy in crisis’
Prof. Rod Page of Glasgow University introduced
the subject, followed by a discussion among the audience.
• Why does taxonomy matter?
• Why are taxonomists unhappy, and is it partly their own
fault?
• We don't know how many species remain undescribed but does
this matter?
• Cybertaxonomy and the ‘dance of the initiatives’
– is more money the answer?
• Mickey Mouse and taxonomy – how do we deal with copyright
and other obstacles to sharing data?
• Who would want to be a taxonomist in the 21st century?
There is a discussion
forum on Nature Network, so feel free to have a look and contribute.
The following event took place on Wed 10 Dec 2008
- Podcast
on www.bl.uk (MP3, 15mins 25secs, 14.4MB)
Infectious disease: what can evolution do for us?
Infectious agents evolve, just like other living things. And because
they have short life cycles and large population sizes, they do
it quickly. Are we destined always to be playing catch up in the
evolutionary arms race?
Dr Bill Hanage of Imperial College London introduced
the debate on how natural selection leads to the virulence of the
diseases we know, the emergence of new ones, and how it might affect
the future of both.
- Are we doomed to be always playing catch up in the fight against
resistant superbugs?
- Avian Flu, the next pandemic or a flash in the pan?
- HIV vaccine, dream or reality?
- Information technology and bioinformatics: can it help us predict
evolution of new dangers?
- Humans vs pathogens: an arms race on a microscale?
- Why do some infectious diseases evolve to become less virulent?
The following event
took place on Wed 24 Sep 2008
Scientific Researchers and Web 2.0: Social 'NotWorking'?
- Is Web2.0 all about attitudes or technologies?
- What can Web2.0 do for your research?
- As a scientist, are there good reasons
for getting involved beyond social ‘not working'?
- Web3.0: another buzzword or a semantic
revolution for science on the web?
Timo Hannay is the Publishing
Director of Nature.com. With a background in biosciences research,
Timo oversees Nature's growing portfolio of web-based activities
including Nature Networks, Connotea, and other initiatives using
Web2.0 functionality to connect and involve researchers.
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