Trinity College Dublin, Ecology and Evolution
In the first of a two part post, Zoology lecturers address their students… This week marks the beginning of another academic year at Trinity College Dublin. We’re sure staff and students alike are greeting this news with a mingled sense of excitement, anticipation and dread (!). Near the end of last term, some of us …
This blog post was originally written and published here on the SoapBox Science blog. The Soapbox Science event showcases UK women in science to inspire the next generation of scientists by making science fun and accessible. This year it will take place on Friday 5th July 12-3pm on the Southbank in London. If you’re in …
Continue reading “Bringing our perceptions closer to reality”
My former PhD student, Luke McNally and I authored a paper published recently showing how “Cooperation creates selection for tactical deception”. Using a combination of mathematical models and analysis of empirical data from 24 primate species, we show that acts of deception are more likely to occur when the individuals in the group show greater cooperation. In …
Continue reading “Science be praised, please cure me of my Yoda Complex”
Because my research often uses bees as the study subject, friends and family are always forwarding links to news and culture that concerns these fascinating creatures. Let me list for you some of my favourites: I found this article about the debate surrounding the ban on neonicotinoids within the EU on twitter. On a lighter note, …
Undergraduate and Masters students often come to me for advice about how to find a PhD position. I know quite a few students read this blog so I thought I’d share the advice here. Hopefully some of it is helpful! Note this is aimed at people in the UK and Irish system who often go …
Science is a business like any other, and it’s hard to get things done if you don’t know anyone outside of your own department. Other scientists will review your papers and grants, invite you to give talks and hopefully employ you in the future. So the more people you know, the easier it gets. Conference …
Last Wednesday a bunch of us (thanks to @nhcooper123 for organising) went to see Robin Ince @robinince perform his stand-up comedy science show The Importance of Being Interested at the Science Gallery. His shows are a unique blend of education and humour, combining a whistle-stop tour of the world of science with hilarious anecdotes, all …
Recently Science published O’Leary et al.’s – new load of oil to fuel the burning debate on the origins of placental mammals. Just to be clear: there is an important distinction between mammals in general that includes many fossils from the Jurassic as well as the extant platypus, kangaroo and your grandma; and placental mammals …
At a recent session of NERD club, our weekly research group meeting for the Networks in Ecology/Evolution Research Dynamic, we discussed academic CVs. Four academic staff members (including myself) showed their CVs to the group and discussed what was in them. This was interesting because we all had such varied opinions! I thought I’d write …
NERD club, for the uninitiated, is a weekly meeting of the Networks in Ecology/Evolution Research Cluster Dynamic of the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. We present and discuss our research and also general aspects of academia such as science communication, job hunting and using twitter. The members include interns, PhD students, postdocs and …