Science and Finance

 

Reports of a possible 'reverse brain-drain' from the US to France, has made me think again about  science and its funding (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/24/french-university-scientific-asylum-american-talent-brain-drain). Science, in its pure form (if there is such a thing), attempts to explain the world around us. It does this by looking at natural phenomena and considering what could underpin them. Science operates on the basis of potential tangible explanations, rather than on faith or superstition. It essentially asks 'If this is true, what would happen, if  'x' occurred/was applied?' It's the testing of hypotheses, to see which can be supported and which need to be dropped or modified. The nature of scientific relationships, means it deals with probabilities (rather than absolutes). Scientists are humans. As you might expect, there's been good science and poor science. Science generally costs money. Some science costs an awful lot of money. There's, consequently, little point in pretending that scientists are totally dispassionate, operating in 'ivory towers'. Some science gets supported by governments and/or commercial bodies. Other science can be easily unsupported, when it doesn't fit the aspirations of potential funders. Making science entirely dependent on pre-ordained views of non-scientists, however, has never worked out well. Look at the example of Trofim Lysenko. USSR government support (because it fitted their philosophies) for his epigenetics ideas, put back Soviet and Chinese agriculture for decades. Obviously, science and finance are linked but governments should be very wary (unless there are clear scientific or ethical reasons) of prescribing what research can and cannot be done. Scientists also have to be very clear, where the financial support for their studies comes from. 

Food Security

Food security is the state of having reliable access to sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. The World Food Programme (WFP) 2025 Global Outlook estimated that, as of November 2024,  343 million people were food insecure  across the 74 countries with WFP presence and where data was available. There will be locations, of course, where this doesn't apply meaning that food insecurity is more widespread (https://www.wfp.org/stories/food-security-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters). Around 50% of produced food is wasted. So it really comes down to equitable distribution. Even in the UK, folk are starting to be concerned about food security. Wars and pandemics can test even the status of island populations (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/06/urgent-action-needed-to-ensure-uk-food-security-report-warns). The UK is very dependent on imports, with 'just in time' provision for many food items. It's been argued that the climate crisis could also have a serious impact. Some better off folk are advocating storing provisions but this isn't an option for poorer folk.

Seeing the Changes 2125

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) flowering in Bynea.

The UK's Covid Amnesia?

 

It's now 5 years since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK. A number of experts now claim the key scientific lessons of that event are being lost. The UK's National Health Service is currently no better prepared. Each winter, as seasonal infections grow, its hospitals totter on the edge of collapse. There arn't enough beds, doctors or nurses for the aging population size.  It's also clear the lockdowns had serious psychological impacts on many sections of the community (especially children). There's been, however, no attempt to work out better ways of minimising the negative impacts. The pros and cons of so-called 'non-pharmacological interventions', like social distancing and wearing facial masks, have also remained largely unconsidered. This will vary with the mode of disease transmission (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/23/key-lessons-of-covid-are-being-forgotten-uk-scientists-warn). We Brits have long regarded ourselves as major players in the Sciences. Our leaders , however,  always seem to attempt to deal with crises by 'flying by the seat of their pants'. Making up policy and preparations de novo isn't, however, an effective way of dealing with any crisis. The next pandemic will seemingly still 'take us by surprise'?

Seeing the Changes 2124

In Bynea, Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) was blooming.

Climate Deafness?

 

In 2024, the UN World Meteorological Organization recorded an 'unprecedented' 150 extreme weather events across the globe. These included floods, heatwaves and intensely violent storms. The planet's climate is currently the hottest human society has ever known  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/19/unprecedented-climate-disasters-extreme-weather-un-report). It seems extraordinary that so many 'movers and shakers' seem deaf to what their lived experiences are telling them!

A UK Academic Knows He's Getting Old, When?

 A student (Carl Jones), he supervised for Masters and a PhD, is featured on the BBC's 'Desert Island Discs'. Carl worked on conserving the endangered Echo parakeet; Mauritius kestrel and Pink pigeon on the Island of Mauritius.