What would email look like if it were invented today? Google thinks it has the answer with Google Wave: its new “personal communication and collaboration tool.” Developed by the team behind Google Maps, it promises to replace existing email with something more versatile—like a cross between email, chat rooms and blogs. Users can turn discussions into documents and spreadsheets, all visible and editable in the “email” window. And there’s a neat playback facility that allows the history of the evolving document to be re-enacted. Google thinks it’ll be valuable for scientific collaborations. Perhaps it may also help counteract email’s rapid eclipse of traditional letter archives.
Some good news at last on swine flu: an epidemiological computer model from US researchers indicates that the vaccination programme planned for this autumn could mitigate the expected pandemic. But will enough people be vaccinated in time? Will they trust the vaccine? And what will happen in the developing world? It’s reported that rich countries have bought up all the first stocks of vaccine in advance of their delivery.
The Royal Society Prize for Science Books has fallen on hard times. Since the deep-pocketed pharmaceutical company Aventis withdrew its sponsorship in 2006, the children’s category has been dropped and media interest has cooled. Yet this year’s winner, The Age of Wonder (HarperPress) by Richard Holmes, is as strong as any previous years. It’s an erudite and beautifully written account of how scientific discoveries nourished (and were nourished by) the romantic spirit of the late 18th and early 19th centuries—evidence that science history can be every bit as inspirational as cutting-edge research.
Some good news at last on swine flu: an epidemiological computer model from US researchers indicates that the vaccination programme planned for this autumn could mitigate the expected pandemic. But will enough people be vaccinated in time? Will they trust the vaccine? And what will happen in the developing world? It’s reported that rich countries have bought up all the first stocks of vaccine in advance of their delivery.
The Royal Society Prize for Science Books has fallen on hard times. Since the deep-pocketed pharmaceutical company Aventis withdrew its sponsorship in 2006, the children’s category has been dropped and media interest has cooled. Yet this year’s winner, The Age of Wonder (HarperPress) by Richard Holmes, is as strong as any previous years. It’s an erudite and beautifully written account of how scientific discoveries nourished (and were nourished by) the romantic spirit of the late 18th and early 19th centuries—evidence that science history can be every bit as inspirational as cutting-edge research.
