A selection of previous articles and projects. 

Science policy

Work remains to be done on WHO Pandemic Agreement, says chief scientist (Science|Business)
Interview with Sylvie Briand, chief scientist of the World Health Organization, on the WHO’s Pandemic Agreement

Australia and EU launch exploratory talks for Horizon Europe association (Science|Business)
Report on resumed talks after a two-year gap follows heightened pressure on academic funding in Australia

Canadian researchers struggle with Horizon Europe’s bureaucracy (Science|Business)
Interviews with Canadian researchers after one year of Horizon Europe association, listing their experiences with bureaucracy and false starts

Listed: Europe’s latest offers to US academics fleeing Trump (Science|Business)
A detailed list of every new national programme designed to entice US researchers to move to Europe

EU needs diaspora researchers and science attachés involved in diplomacy (Science|Business)
Report on 130 EU experts working on what an integrated framework for EU science diplomacy could look like.

Ireland’s new research agency launches with low funds and a cloud over its leadership (Science|Business)
Reporting and analysis on the official launch of Ireland’s new R&D funding agency Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland.

Science for Peace (OpenMind)
An opinion piece, where I argue that science has helped build geopolitical bridges in the 21st century, but modern populism and politicisation of science means that ‘Science Diplomacy’ is under threat.

Breaking ranks: Europe’s research assessment reforms come head-to-head with university league tables (Science|Business)
Reporting on university assessment reforms within Europe, asking if the shift to more qualitative systems will cause world ranking systems to follow.

5 years of Fridays for Future: Researchers say climate strikes bring slow but sure change (Euronews)
In the lead up to the 2023 Global Climate Strike, Europe’s climate researchers share the changes they have seen. (Written during my part-time work at ESCI).

“Spain Is a Peninsula, But in Terms of Energy, It Works More Like an Island” (Direct Industry)
An interview with a Spanish start-up engineering smart batteries storing the excess energy generated by solar panels. (Written during my part-time work at ESCI).

Europe’s women in science still face multiple hurdles (University World News)
An overview of what hurdles still exist for female researchers in Europe. (Written during my part-time work at ESCI).

NATO to launch €1B fund for high tech start-ups in dual use technologies (Science|Business)
A news article looking at the announcement of (and reactions to) NATO’s new programme called DIANA to research dual-use technologies to remedy societal problems and national security issues.

Proposal for national innovation agency reopens old debate in Germany (Science|Business)
Article looks at the German Green party’s proposal to form a central innovation agency, D.Innova, as part of its pitch to the voters in September’s federal election.

Come offset with me: how new policies are encouraging researchers to limit the environmental impact of air travel (Science|Business)
In Germany a grant funding body is introducing offsets to cut the carbon footprint and encourage use of greener modes of transport. The article examines the potential of this elsewhere.

Universities wrestle with question of how open to be with China (Science|Business)
Looks at a German initiative to ban financing for China’s Confucious cultural institutes.

Qubit to get ahead: Germany is racing to catch up with the quantum revolution (Science|Business)
The German government announced in July 2020 that €2 billion from the country’s pandemic recovery fund is to be spent on quantum technology. This article looks at the state of quantum technology in Europe and abroad.

Upcycling e-waste trash into innovative treasure (SciDev.net)
A feature looking at how Ghanaian entrepreneurs are ‘upcycling’ electronic waste, and the refurbishing grey economy around the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump.

How ‘alternative facts’ could be tackled with science diplomacy (Horizon Magazine)
An interview with Professor Luk Van Langenhove, research professor at the Institute of European Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium

Biotechnology Patent Trolls (Biotechblog)
An overview of companies/individuals asserting breach of their own (usually obscure) patents to attain lawsuit settlements or licensing fees.

Science ethics & culture

What happens when ChatGPT tries to solve 50,000 trolley problems? (Ars Technica)
AI driving decisions are not quite the same as the ones humans would make.

Science is a Drag (Are We Europe)
A report on the festival where drag queens explain science concepts to the public.

Would you be willing to reveal your genetic code to your employer? (Irish Times)
A feature discussing genetic rights of employees in Ireland, following a claim by a US company to get the genetic info from two of its employees.

Plan for first human head transplant revealed (Irish Times)
A news story about a neurosurgeon’s plan to perform the world’s first head transplant. 

Biology & medicine

The fermentation sweet spot for premium chocolate (Chemical & Engineering news)
Scientists use laboratory tests and human tasters to identify microbes that give fine chocolate its flavour

Field trial success for fighting banana weevils with fungal compounds (Chemical & Engineering news)
Reporting on research that shows a fungus-derived compound could help farmers avoid infestations of banana weevils

What do Threads, Mastodon, and hospital records have in common? (Ars Technica)
“Federated learning” keeps patient data at hospitals while training AIs.

How does the brain interpret computer languages? (Ars Technica)
Neuroscientists detect a distinct brain network that grows stronger with practice.

Moving the needle: new fronts in the fight against diabetes (Irish Times) 
A feature article about diabetes research in Ireland

Emotional response to city design could guide urban planning (Horizon Magazine)
An article discussing the virtual reality a models being built to help urban planners and architects get real-time feedback about its mental health impact, particularly for older people.  

By recreating phobias and panic attacks, neuroscientists aim to improve anxiety therapies (Horizon Magazine)
Interviews with two researchers who are using virtual reality and under-researched fear reduction strategy may provide better ways of treating anxiety disorders and preventing relapses.

Events & conferences

The 2022 European Inventor Award (European Patent Office)
Researched, interviewed, and wrote the press pack for four nominees (Claude Grison [FR]; Ido Sella [IL]; Jaan Leis, Mati Arulepp, and Anti Perkson [EE]; Marco Stampanoni [CH] and Zhentian Wang [CN])

The 2022 & 2024 Transatlantic Big Science Conference (Carnegie Science/DESY)
Researching session topics and interviewing panellists

Other

Negotiating EU trade agreements: Who does what and how we reach a final deal (European Commission)
A brochure that explains, step-by-step, the typical procedure of how the EU negotiates a trade agreement with a non-EU country.

Trade deals explained in 60 seconds (European Commission)
A series of infographics that give a summary of EU trade agreements
(CETA) (Japan) (Mexico) (Singapore)

Style guide for the CERES project (CERES)
A style guide developed for outreach material for the EU-funded CERES research project