Science and Technology

Radioactive waste: legacy versus new build

By Hollie Ashworth Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: January 20, 2016

Radioactive waste is a controversial topic. But understanding the difference between historic and new wastes would produce a more informed debate, explains Hollie Ashworth. Whenever there is talk about new-build nuclear power stations, there is also talk about the cost of cleaning-up radioactive waste. People often correctly quote figures for the cost of cleaning-up radioactive […]

Were the Paris climate talks a success or a COP-out?

By Jonas Amtoft Bruun Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: January 11, 2016

COP 21 is good news – but only to a point, argues Jonas Amtoft Bruun. “We have an agreement.” Those redeeming words from French foreign minister Laurent Fabius in the evening of Saturday 12 December unleashed a wave of standing ovations from high level UN staff, delegates and observers from business and civil society. Preceding […]

COP21: Changing the way we think about change

By Simon Chin-Yee Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: December 3, 2015

Change is inevitable, but climate change is damaging. Simon Chin-Yee argues that as the COP21 discussions continue in Paris, we must adapt to limit the damage being caused by climate change. Mark Twain once said: “I’m all for progress, its change I object to.” What is it about human nature that makes us averse to […]

(Honesty about) Nuclear Power – No Thanks! (Part two)

By Francis Livens Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: December 2, 2015

Professor Francis Livens continues his search for objectivity in the nuclear debate. As I explained in my previous blog, I recently debated nuclear energy with some opponents. I was concerned about whether their arguments were honest and true, so took time out to investigate them. I have already looked at nuclear waste, here I will […]

(Honesty about) Nuclear power – No Thanks! (Part one)

By Francis Livens Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: December 1, 2015

The case against nuclear power is weakened by simplistic arguments that don’t stand up to scrutiny, argues Professor Francis Livens. I was recently involved in a public debate on nuclear energy. One of my opponent’s arguments against nuclear power was that the UK has no way of dealing with its huge quantities of radioactive waste. […]

Small modular reactors – the real nuclear renaissance?

By Juan Matthews Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: November 18, 2015

The future of the nuclear industry could lie with small reactors, argues Professor Juan Matthews. In the beginning, all reactors in nuclear power stations were small. Calder Hall, Britain’s first power station which went on-line in 1956, consisted of four reactors each generating just 50 MW of electricity. The next generation of Magnox reactors averaged […]

Policy Week: Engagement between scientists and politicians

By Laura ffrench-Constant Filed Under: All posts, Science and Technology Posted: November 9, 2015

The final day of Policy Week saw Sam Illingworth of Manchester Metropolitan University chair a lively discussion about the relationship between scientists and politicians, exploring how engagement could be optimised. Speakers included: Lucy Powell MP, Amanda Bamford of the University of Manchester, Dr Richard Walker from the Royal Society of Chemistry and Dr Caroline Kenny […]

Policy Week: Powering the Northern Powerhouse

By Jim Pendrill Filed Under: Devo, Featured, Science and Technology Posted: November 3, 2015

Could the Northern Powerhouse be powered by itself? And if so, what would be the best energy mix to sustain its economy? These were the questions posed at a debate on the UK energy industry during Policy Week, where PhD students from The University presented four different proposals as to how the North West could […]

Policy Week: The pros and cons of fracking

By Samuel Wood Filed Under: All posts, Science and Technology Posted: November 2, 2015

A lively debate on the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing -fracking- got Policy Week off to a great start. Sam Wood reports on the discussion. Fracking causes a wide range of emotions in people, something that was really brought out at the beginning of the session, when the audience were asked to complete a […]

Why synthetic biology has the potential to reshape our lives

By Philip Shapira Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: October 28, 2015

We need to prepare for a world where synthetic biology will reshape our lives, economies and environment. But this rapidly emerging technology needs to be responsibly developed, says Professor Philip Shapira, ahead of an exciting event in Manchester next week. Synthetic biology involves combining scientific and engineering methods to redesign biological components and systems found […]