Media mentions
27 July 2012
After the downfall of Rome
The Washington Post, 19.06.2012
When Mario Monti became president of Italy, people believed he would save the country from economic ruin but, seven months on, his government’s efforts are being heavily criticised, according to The Washington Post. A former academic who served as a member of the European Commission, Monti has tried to bring savings through hard-hitting policies including property tax rises and state pension cuts. A second set of economic reforms passed in June are proving equally unpopular. ProfessorTommaso Valletti (Business School) told the newspaper he thinks that Monti is too dry and formal when speaking to the public about the crisis: “Where Monti has failed is in communications. He has not been able to convince people he has things under control, even when he does.”
It’s hip to be square
Daily Mail, 19.06.2012
People who suffer pain over a long period, such as osteoarthritis patients requiring a hip transplant, have fewer brain cells, according to a report in the Daily Mail. Studies showed that the longer people experience pain, the more cells are lost. Neurophysiology expert Dr Paul Strutton (Surgery and Cancer) explained in the newspaper: “We think the plasticity that occurs in the brain is as a result of the pain and not a cause of it. The big question is whether this loss of nerve cells in the grey matter can be reduced or even reversed by treating the pain.”
The openness revolution
New Scientist, 21.06.2012
Climate scientists share vast amounts of data collected from weather stations, balloons, aeroplanes and satellites. The internet now allows them to share this information with the public too. Professor Joanna Haigh (Physics) writes in New Scientist: “It has been a big week for the project to make science more open. On Tuesday the UK government’s Finch Committee came out strongly in favour of making research results freely available to all. Today, the Royal Society releases its long-awaited report on all aspects of openness, ‘Science as an open enterprise’. The report rightly points out that science is undergoing an openness revolution as important as that triggered by the creation of the first scientific journals.”
Saving livestock
Western Mail, 26.06.2012
Farmers, vets and politicians all hope to be able to prevent diseases in the country’s livestock populations, although they do not always agree on what approach to take, reported the Western Mail. New research by Dr Abigail Woods (Humanities) shows that strategies to prevent disease will only be implemented in preference to measures that cure disease when veterinary, farming and political wills coincide, and economic conditions are also favourable. She told the newspaper: “Although everyone acknowledges that prevention is better than cure, willingness to act on this principle depends on all the right factors being in place. Attitudes among key players must be right for any policy to succeed.”
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