Weekend takeaway: Making a world of difference


9 Feb 2018

Image: Fer Gregory/Shutterstock

The best sci-tech reading to enlighten your weekend from amazing women in science to truths about our natural world.

10 inspiring women in science you need to follow

Women in science

Image: goodluz/Shutterstock

To mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we have compiled a short list of amazing women in science that you need to follow on Twitter.

Photonics breakthrough could significantly boost internet speeds

Photonics breakthrough could significantly boost internet speeds

A close-up of the photonics project. Image: Tyndall National Institute

Faster internet speeds and less power consumption – what’s not to love?

Nuritas and Nestlé to use AI and DNA analysis to find a healthier future

Nuritas and Nestlé to use AI and DNA analysis to find a healthier future

From left: Nuritas founder and chief science officer Dr Nora Khaldi with CEO Emmet Browne. Image: Kieran Harnett

Discovery of bioactive peptides could benefit billions of lives.

How cross-border cancer research starts with a conversation

Karen McCallion, science, technology and innovation manager at InterTradeIreland

Karen McCallion, science, technology and innovation manager at InterTradeIreland. Image: Conor McCabe Photography

A collaborative clinical trials data-sharing initiative supported by InterTradeIreland could have economic and health benefits north and south of the border. Here’s how it got started.

Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was more destructive than we thought

Image: Marc Ward/Shutterstock

New research into the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs has found that it also contributed to a global volcanic event on the ocean floor.

Mathematics breakthrough opens door to revolutionary ‘4D printing’

Maths breakthrough opens door to revolutionary ‘4D printing’

Image: napocska/Shutterstock

A mathematician has been crunching the numbers to push us beyond 3D printing, and into advanced ‘4D printing’.

Dark skin was likely a feature of early Irish populations, similar to Britain

Dark skin was likely a feature of early Irish populations, similar to Britain

Image: EsHanPhot/Shutterstock

As research finds that the early Britons likely had dark skin and blue eyes, populations on the other side of the Irish Sea could have also shared the same traits.

Shark skin discovery opens new doors to ultrafast aeroplanes and drones

Shark skin discovery opens new doors to ultra-fast cars and planes

A shortfin mako, the fastest shark in the world. Image: Alessandro De Maddalena/Shutterstock

A shark’s natural ability to speed seamlessly through water could help us design next-generation aircraft and drones.

‘Sinking’ Pacific island is actually getting bigger, study finds

Tuvalu

Beach on one of the atolls of Tuvalu. Image: mbrand85/Shutterstock

While climate change continues to threaten many Pacific islands, the one considered most under threat is actually growing.

Mythbusting: How much do you really know about cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin symbol

Image: Slavko Sereda/Shutterstock

From regulation to paying taxes, what are the most common misconceptions when it comes to digital currency?