A carpenter will use a hammer, or a saw, or a Hoffmann MU3 Manual Dovetail Routing Machine, but the carpenter will still be the creator. He (or she) will still be the artist, and you will pay him (or ...

It seems appropriate in this 250 th anniversary year of Jane Austen’s birth to use a quote from Pride and Prejudice to kickstart this post. ‘If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient ...

I know that many people feel the Royal Society is a stuffy, white male institution, unwelcoming to women and other minorities ...

Just before Christmas I was asked to talk to our molecular biologists about multivariate analyses. I was reminded of this on Thursday afternoon, when I saw that I had to talk to them on Friday. “Ah, ...

Update (17:00 03 Mar): all members of the UK or international scientific community were invited to indicate their support by signing the letter. The opportunity to do so closed at 17:00 UK time on 03 ...

Daniel Finkelstein: Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad I am sure you both know that Daniel Finkelstein is a journalist and Conservative peer, and you probably are also aware that he is, like me, a Red-Sea ...

There followed much breathless reporting in the media that AI can now be used to accurately predict the structures of proteins – the molecular machinery of every living thing. Previously the laborious ...

It takes about eight weeks of weekly lessons to learn how to handle a bell safely, and a lifetime to master the craft. Once a learner is safe to ring independently, and able to control the bell well ...

Last Friday night as I watched U2 play Glastonbury on TV, the stream of hatred on Twitter was relentless. A torrent of unforgettable ire. I’ve long known that Bono and his band excite very mixed ...

Last month I attended the IAML UK & Ireland Annual Study Weekend (ASW). IAML is the International Association of Music Libraries, and this is an event run each year by the UK & Ireland branch. This ...

I asked Chat GPT: Please recast the argument between Donald Trump and Elon Musk as a scene from a play by William Shakespeare. A courtyard in the realm of public opinion. Enter DONALDUS, the exiled ...

William Boyd Stars and Bars A rare mis-step by a usually reliable author who ventures into slapstick comedy of the uptight-Englishman-in-America variety. If it’s satire about America you’re after, ...