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‘If we identify changes in the disease genes this is important as it might, potentially, be the cause of a genetic disease.’ File photograph: Getty

Insight into genetic origin ‘providing valuable ways to fight disease’

Seán Duke

TCD research project lifts lid on ancient disease genes and opens way for new treatments

Medicine hunters scour Ireland for ingredients for drugs

Dr Junying Liu, Prof Helen Sheridan, Dr Shipra Nagar and Dr Gaia Scalabrino.

Sylvia Thompson

Scientists are researching plants and microbes in soil and water for pharmaceuticals

Comparing cancer clues in dogs and humans

Dr Stephanie Bollard with her dog Cali and colleagues at UCD Veterinary Hospital, from left, Dr Sarah Higginbotham, Jane Howard, Dr Pamela Kelly and Prof Amanda McCann Photograph: Vincent Hoban, UCD

Claire O'Connell

Research Lives: Dr Stephanie Bollard, specialist registrar in plastic and reconstructive surgery

Marine reserves can save ocean life and sustain Ireland’s coastal communities

A basking shark, a species that frequents Irish coastal waters.

Mark Costello

Opinion: Western society has fooled itself into thinking it can ‘manage’ marine wild life

Creating Our Future: ‘National brainstorm’ to identify areas for future research

Taoiseach Micheál Martin: “This isn’t for any one section of society, we want to engage everyone in conversations in communities across the country, to inspire curiosity and generate ideas for research that will shape our future.” File photograph: iStock

Kevin O'Sullivan

Government-backed initiative seeks ideas from public to help form a better Ireland

To infinity and beyond: trying to figure out number systems

Peter Lynch

That’s Maths: Construction of set of numbers inspired by conception of physical world

An anti-nuclear protester leaves a demonstration on a field in Dannenberg, Germany. Photograph: Reuters/Christian Charisius

Nuclear waste is not the hellish material of popular imagination

William Reville

Studies have shown it can be stored safely for millennia in geological repositories

The space shuttle Atlantis lands at California’s Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, February, 2001. Photograph: Tom Tschida/Handout/Reuters

Kalman filters have applications from moon to motorway

Peter Lynch

That’s Maths: Rudolph Kalman’s method is almost ideal to calculate velocity changes

The space shuttle Atlantis lands at California’s Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, February, 2001. Photograph: Tom Tschida/Handout/Reuters

Covid-19 vaccines have weakened the anti-GMO movement

William Reville

‘Genetic modification has much to offer as everyone who offers their arm to the vaccination needle can confirm’

A remarkable photograph of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales viewed from Ireland, taken by photographer Niall O’Carroll on January 12th last using a Panasonic DMZ-TZ 100 camera from the Ben of Howth.

Seeing beyond the horizon

Peter Lynch

That’s Maths: Light travels more easily through air of lower density

Mark Twain: ‘Age is a matter of mind over matter. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.’

You’re only as old as you feel – research says so

William Reville

German study finds feeling younger protects middle-aged against damaging stress

Mark Twain: ‘Age is a matter of mind over matter. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.’

A pandemic problem: Too much cleaning is bad for your health

William Reville

Sterilising surfaces will have damaged microbiome biodiversity, essential for health

French mathematician, philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal was first to make a comprehensive study of the triangle. However, it was known much earlier.

The simple arithmetic triangle is full of surprises

Peter Lynch

Easy to construct, and always a chance of finding something never seen before

The existence of habitable planets elsewhere in the universe is within the scope of Uniformity principle but to say planets inhabited by intelligent life are necessitated would be an unwarranted stretch. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

How useful is the Copernican principle of mediocrity?

William Reville

The assertion that humans are not special creatures is unwarranted

The existence of habitable planets elsewhere in the universe is within the scope of Uniformity principle but to say planets inhabited by intelligent life are necessitated would be an unwarranted stretch. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

How does the much-maligned Euclid’s Elements relate to coronavirus?

Peter Lynch

Analysis suggests part of the coronavirus has the structure of a truncated octahedron

Atmospheric flow is chaotic: a small change in the starting values can lead to a wildly different forecast.

How to improve weather predictions by reducing precision

Peter Lynch

That’s Maths: Decimal points come with costs that may not fine-tune ensemble forecasts

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (known as BECCS) sucks CO2 from the air, but it cannot be applied on the huge scale required. Photograph: iStock

Aggressive de-growth needed to avoid climate nightmare

William Reville

This would require prioritising generosity and sustainable living, and measuring success in terms of contentment not GDP

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (known as BECCS) sucks CO2 from the air, but it cannot be applied on the huge scale required. Photograph: iStock

We need nuclear power to manage climate change

William Reville

Proven technology emits little or no greenhouse gas

CP Snow compared ignorance of the Second Law of Thermodynamics to ignorance of Shakespeare. Photograph: Picasa 3.0

Entropy and the relentless drift from order to chaos

Peter Lynch

It is all too evident in everyday life: a broken egg cannot be put together again

Much research demonstrates that people’s behaviour, including diet, has a bigger impact on mortality than body size does.

Doctors weigh in on importance of BMI in health outcomes

William Reville

Some are moving from ‘weight-centric’ model to prescribing healthier behaviour

Much research demonstrates that people’s behaviour, including diet, has a bigger impact on mortality than body size does.

Was space weather the cause of the Titanic disaster?

Peter Lynch

That’s Maths: Ship’s impact with iceberg could, arguably, have been avoided

Prof Joseph Stiglitz. Photograph: Eric Luke

GDP measures economic activity but misses the point

William Reville

Reliance on GDP as a measure of wellbeing has worsened people’s health and happiness

Queueing at Dublin Airport in busier times. Computational modelling confirms a single queue is the more efficient organisation, with shorter waiting times than multiple queue systems. Photograph: Frank Miller

Making the best of waiting in line

Peter Lynch

There is a well-developed mathematical theory of queues, covering several stages of the process

Queueing at Dublin Airport in busier times. Computational modelling confirms a single queue is the more efficient organisation, with shorter waiting times than multiple queue systems. Photograph: Frank Miller

Goldbach’s conjecture: if it’s unprovable, it must be true

Peter Lynch

Falsehood of the conjecture is incompatible with unprovability

Climate models are complex computer programs with millions of lines of code.

We must reduce uncertainty of climate predictions

Peter Lynch

Can machine learning help narrow confidence gap in climate-change forecasts?

Demographers predict fertility rates will soon drop below 2.1 for the first time in history, falling below 1.7 by 2100.

Reducing world population may be a bad idea

William Reville

Collapsed birth rates likely a greater threat to humanity than climate change

Demographers predict fertility rates will soon drop below 2.1 for the first time in history, falling below 1.7 by 2100.

5:54 Vaccinations: Jewel in the crown of modern medical science

William Reville

Humanity was vulnerable to a plethora of deadly diseases before jabs arrived

Late-shift medical staff donning PPE on the Covid side of the emergency department of St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin. Photograph: Alan Betson

Constant bad news about Covid is enough to make you sick

William Reville

Much research demonstrates that consuming too much bad news takes a toll on health

The term algorithm comes from the name of Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi. Photograph courtesy of Prof Irfan Shahid

Complexity: are easily-checked problems also easily solved?

Peter Lynch

That’s Maths: Many problems are hard to solve but easy to verify, such as Sudoku puzzles

The term algorithm comes from the name of Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi. Photograph courtesy of Prof Irfan Shahid

What’s the story behind the mystery of Easter Island? It’s not set in stone

William Reville

Deforestation, slavery and rats were all factors in the Pacific island’s population decline

Leonhard Euler revolutionised mathematics, greatly extending its boundaries. He was inexhaustible: no other mathematician has been so prolific

Euler: a mathematician without equal and an overall nice guy

Peter Lynch

The vast body of mathematics owes more to Euler than to any other single person

We are living at the bottom of an ocean

Peter Lynch

Important questions about atmospheric tides remain unanswered

Responding to disaster: Are we getting too soft?

William Reville

The Covid-19 pandemic is undoubtedly serious, but it should not debilitate our resilience

English mathematician John Horton Conwa, who was stricken down by Covid last April. Photograph: Dith Pran/The New York Times

On what day of the week is Christmas? Use the Doomsday Rule

Peter Lynch

John Horton Conway’s ingenious algorithim allows us determine the weekday for any given date

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber at the National Hyperbaric Centre, Dublin. File Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times

Can breathing pure oxygen under pressure reverse ageing?

William Reville

Objective is to fill blood with enough oxygen to repair tissue corroded by advancing years

Columnists

Jennifer Bray

Jennifer Bray -

Bungled Zappone appointment deflects attention from more serious issues

Newton Emerson

Newton Emerson -

Newton Emerson: Let’s be realistic about cross-Border high-speed rail

Naomi O’Leary

Naomi O’Leary -

Celebrating a very international wedding – over Zoom

Janan Ganesh

Janan Ganesh -

Two distinct populisms are at work in the world today

Citizen Science The Irish Times and citizen science researchers have teamed up. See the results here

Latest Ireland

Two killed after bus veers out of control in Co Cork 15:56

Taoiseach confirms deal with Romania for 700,000 Covid vaccines 15:07

Leading doctor in North ‘frightened’ after threats over vaccination plea 14:45

Van Morrison drops live music legal challenge against Stormont 14:16

Restaurants to seek end to 11.30pm Covid-19 closing time rule 13:31

Most Read in News

1 Two killed after bus veers out of control in Co Cork

2 US advises against travel to Ireland, warning of rising Covid-19 cases

3 Allowing Communions and Confirmations will help spread Delta variant, says founder of priests’ group

4 Leading doctor in North ‘frightened’ after threats over vaccination plea

5 Taoiseach confirms deal with Romania for 700,000 Covid vaccines

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Features & Opinion

Where are the climate allies?

Opinion: Do we yet understand it requires all of us to respond together on climate action?

A tale of two crises: the pandemic versus the climate emergency

The unprecedented speed of the vaccine development was the result of unparalleled efforts across the world – unlike the approach to another longer-term problem

Opinion: Reports on extreme weather fail to acknowledge climate crisis

News media fixated by one-off events, often failing to link problems to long-term trends

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