Having recently started my PhD on the conservation management of elasmobranch (sharks, rays and skates) populations, I embarked on my first fieldwork season to Ecuador. Many people, including most of my friends, asked me if this involved swimming with sharks- and as glamorous as that sounded – their faces dropped when I inevitably told them that I went to fish markets in Ecuador to collect samples from dead sharks. Perhaps not as exciting as they had hoped.
Ever since the first demonstration of gene editing technologies, the scientific community has been abuzz with debate and speculation about their potential applications. But rather less well known may be the parallel legal battles over how these powerful new methods should be regulated, one of which recently found its way to the European Union’s highest court, the CJEU.
Science communication is increasingly needed these days. Earlier this year, I had a chance to showcase my skills in doing some science communication using photographs as media.
Space travel rarely fails to capture the human imagination. Yuri Gagarin first escaped the Earth’s atmosphere in 1961, and 57 years later, our appetite for extra-terrestrial exploration shows no sign of slowing down.
