Sean Duke

Opinion | Give Nuclear Power Another Chance

Give Nuclear Power Another Chance www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/o...

New research suggests Victorian kennel clubs did not create modern dog breeds – so where did they come from? A new global study has upended previous assumptions about dogs’ widely varying characteristics The origins of the incredible variety in dog species, from Great Danes to chihuahuas, did not begin, as previously thought, with selective breeding efforts by the Victorians. Ruth Carden, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU), said researchers had assumed that the many breeds of dogs, with different skull and body sizes and shapes, had developed as a result of breeding in Victorian kennel clubs about 200 years ago.

New research suggests Victorian kennel clubs did not create modern dog breeds – so where did they come from?

A new global study has upended previous assumptions about dogs’ widely varying characteristics The origins of the incredible variety in dog species, from Great Danes to chihuahuas, did not…

Huge solar storms on surface of the sun bring Northern Lights to Irish skies ‘Space weather’ can also affect radio and navigation systems Huge solar storms now exploding on the surface of the sun mean the Northern Lights are visible in Irish skies this week. The light show is predicted to start late this evening, experts say, and again early tomorrow - with more possible later in the day. It all began with the largest solar flare of the year, just before 10am on Tuesday, when a colossal swollen sunspot on the sun’s surface suddenly snapped.

Huge solar storms on surface of the sun bring Northern Lights to Irish skies

‘Space weather’ can also affect radio and navigation systems Huge solar storms now exploding on the surface of the sun mean the Northern Lights are visible in Irish skies this week. The light show is predicted to start…

Learning to speak new language can slow biological ageing, TCD researchers find People from countries where multilingualism was common were 2.17 times less likely to experience accelerated ageing Learning to speak one or more new languages can slow biological ageing and protect the brain against age-related cognitive decline. So says new research reported in Nature Ageing, by scientists at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the Basque Center On Cognition, Brain and Language in San Sebastian and the Latin American Brain Health Institute in Santiago, Chile.

Learning to speak new language can slow biological ageing, TCD researchers find

People from countries where multilingualism was common were 2.17 times less likely to experience accelerated ageing Learning to speak one or more new languages can slow biological ageing and protect the brain against…

Incoming ‘comet’ may be alien and a threat to humanity, astronomer says Harvard University professor says encounter could be ‘a blind date of interstellar proportions’ An interstellar comet barrelling through the solar system towards Earth at 60km a second could be alien technology, a leading astronomer has suggested. Harvard University astronomer Professor Avi Loeb said the object known as 3I/Atlas had eight “anomalies” that together made a strong case against it simply being a natural comet.

Incoming ‘comet’ may be alien and a threat to humanity, astronomer says

Harvard University professor says encounter could be ‘a blind date of interstellar proportions’ An interstellar comet barrelling through the solar system towards Earth at 60km a second could be alien technology, a leading…

Life forms are even more threatened by global warming than previously thought, Trinity College research shows ‘Universal thermal performance curve’ means life cannot adapt well to extremes of temperature Life forms are more threatened by with rising global temperatures and less able to cope with them than scientists had thought. That's according to research published today by Trinity College Dublin zoologists, Professor Andrew Jackson and Dr Nicholas Payne, and colleagues overseas in the top journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…

Life forms are even more threatened by global warming than previously thought, Trinity College research shows

‘Universal thermal performance curve’ means life cannot adapt well to extremes of temperature Life forms are more threatened by with rising global temperatures and less able to cope with…

‘Highly harmful’ invasive species tracked by citizen scientists using Instagram photos Photos posted on Instagram by “citizen scientists” are tracking an invasive plant species that is “highly harmful” to Ireland’s native plants and disruptive for pollinators. By analysing over 1,700 photos from social media and citizen science platforms, scientists at the University of Galway discovered that the colourful carpobrotus plant – often seen brightening up holiday photos – flowers for much longer in regions it has invaded than in its native South Africa.

‘Highly harmful’ invasive species tracked by citizen scientists using Instagram photos

Photos posted on Instagram by “citizen scientists” are tracking an invasive plant species that is “highly harmful” to Ireland’s native plants and disruptive for pollinators. By analysing over 1,700 photos from…

Technology breakthrough helps refrigeration and data centre sectors meet climate goals Irish company Exergyn has developed approach to avoid high costs of heating and cooling systems The ubiquitous heating and cooling technology used today in everything from heat pumps to refrigerators and air conditioners – that make our lives more comfortable, safer and convenient – comes at a price because they fuel global warming. Irish company Exergyn believes it has found an alternative approach.

Technology breakthrough helps refrigeration and data centre sectors meet climate goals

Irish company Exergyn has developed approach to avoid high costs of heating and cooling systems The ubiquitous heating and cooling technology used today in everything from heat pumps to refrigerators and air…

How playing music and video games can help slow brain ageing – new study Researchers in Ireland involved in work on brain ageing and creativity Taking a dance class, playing a musical instrument, or even taking part in a video game can help people stay sharp into old age. That’s according to new research by a team of scientists from around the world, including Ireland, in Nature Communications. Creative activity works best to protect our brains when it is done regularly, said Professor Augustin Ibanez, Global Brain Health Institute at TCD, and one of the co-authors of the study.

How playing music and video games can help slow brain ageing – new study

Researchers in Ireland involved in work on brain ageing and creativity Taking a dance class, playing a musical instrument, or even taking part in a video game can help people stay sharp into old age. That’s according to new…

I'm looking to contact any Irish researcher or institution that is involved with the proposed @esa mission to Enceladus. Get in touch at seancduke@gmail.com

Trinity College astronomers discover ‘Northern Lights’ on distant planet Astronomers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered ‘Northern Lights’, similar to those seen on Earth, around a distant planet 20 light years away. A team led by Johanna Vos, Associate Professor of Physics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), has found an ‘aurora’ around a planet called SIMP-0136, using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Trinity College astronomers discover ‘Northern Lights’ on distant planet

Astronomers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered ‘Northern Lights’, similar to those seen on Earth, around a distant planet 20 light years away. A team led by Johanna Vos, Associate Professor of Physics at Trinity…

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at 85: from Schrödinger’s catalyst to the final frontier The institute has been a unique fixture in Ireland, and now, with space central to its future, the sky is no limit Although it has rarely attracted the attention of the Irish public, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) has been viewed internationally as a centre of excellence in the physical sciences and Celtic studies since it began life 85 years ago.

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at 85: from Schrödinger’s catalyst to the final frontier

The institute has been a unique fixture in Ireland, and now, with space central to its future, the sky is no limit Although it has rarely attracted the attention of the Irish public, Dublin Institute for…

Bees and butterflies don’t have enough natural habitat left globally to survive, researchers warn Bees and butterflies do not have enough natural habitat to survive in Ireland or globally, an international study has found. Pollinators, which are crucial to the health of ecosystems, require between 16 and 37pc natural habitat coverage in farmland areas to survive, according to 59 studies worldwide, as reported in the journal Science. “About 13pc of Ireland is officially protected for nature under EU nature directives, but most of those habitats are not in a good state for nature,” said Jane Stout, Professor of Ecology at Trinity College Dublin, and a co-author of the study.

Bees and butterflies don’t have enough natural habitat left globally to survive, researchers warn

Bees and butterflies do not have enough natural habitat to survive in Ireland or globally, an international study has found. Pollinators, which are crucial to the health of ecosystems, require between…

‘Everyone from farmers to emergency responders are benefiting’ – how AI is changing the future of weather forecasting It took science about 40 to 50 years to reach the stage where weather could be predicted with around 80pc accuracy. But in the past few years alone, AI has helped forecasters to achieve a 90pc rate of confidence for their predictions, up to 10 days in advance. Now a new AI-led weather forecasting service for Ireland has been set up, promising better predictions of the intensity of future storm and flooding events.

‘Everyone from farmers to emergency responders are benefiting’ – how AI is changing the future of weather forecasting

It took science about 40 to 50 years to reach the stage where weather could be predicted with around 80pc accuracy. But in the past few years alone, AI has helped forecasters to…

Opinion | We Are Watching a Scientific Superpower Destroy Itself

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...

We've said goodbye to EIRSAT-1 but this was just the beginning of @ucddublin.bsky.social & Ireland's space journey 🛰️

Read @sciencespinning.bsky.social interview w/ UCD VP- Research Innovation & Impact Prof Kate Robson Brown, our 'High flier taking UCD towards the stars' 💫
www.ucd.ie/research/new...

‘These sports are the ultimate test of knee stability’: GAA players have similar recovery rates from ACL injury to professional athletes A major new study has found that almost 90pc of GAA players who suffer ACL injury have a similar recovery rate to professional sports. The work involved researchers from Dublin City University (DCU) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) at the UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic, in Santry. They reported the recovery rate after investigating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery outcomes in 1,891 Gaelic football, hurling and camogie players.

‘These sports are the ultimate test of knee stability’: GAA players have similar recovery rates from ACL injury to professional athletes

A major new study has found that almost 90pc of GAA players who suffer ACL injury have a similar recovery rate to professional sports. The work involved…

First Irish-designed satellite to fall from orbit and burn up this week – but it will leave a legacy for science Eirsat-1 was built by UCD staff and students, as part of an educational programme by the European Space Agency The first fully Irish-designed satellite is set to fall out of orbit this week and disintegrate in the atmosphere, marking the culmination of pioneering UCD-led project that has advanced science. Eirsat-1 has nurtured a generation of home-grown space experts who have gone on to work in industry.

First Irish-designed satellite to fall from orbit and burn up this week – but it will leave a legacy for science

Eirsat-1 was built by UCD staff and students, as part of an educational programme by the European Space Agency The first fully Irish-designed satellite is set to fall out of orbit this…

Autumn disruption: Early blackberries and conkers are bad news for the natural environment, say Irish scientists ‘Climate chaos’ is disrupting Ireland’s plants, which will have a knock-on affect on the animals that rely on them to survive In the hedgerows and woodlands of Ireland, autumn has been marked out by the first flush of blackberries, the fall of conkers and the golden turn of leaves. But, in recent years, and again this autumn, reassuring natural milestones have begun to change and shift, and – in some cases – have been severely disrupted.

Autumn disruption: Early blackberries and conkers are bad news for the natural environment, say Irish scientists

‘Climate chaos’ is disrupting Ireland’s plants, which will have a knock-on affect on the animals that rely on them to survive In the hedgerows and woodlands of Ireland, autumn has been…

Irish scientist helps crack mystery of how humans came to stand on two legs Human beings first developed the ability to stand on two legs following two critical evolutionary changes to the ilium in the upper part of the pelvis. This finding is reported today in top journal Nature by an international team including Niamh Nowlan, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, UCD and a Fellow of the Conway Institute on the Belfield campus. The ilium is the big, flared part of the pelvis that anchors the powerful gluteus maximus muscles that humans use to stay upright.

Irish scientist helps crack mystery of how humans came to stand on two legs

Human beings first developed the ability to stand on two legs following two critical evolutionary changes to the ilium in the upper part of the pelvis. This finding is reported today in top journal Nature by an…

Fraudulent Scientific Papers Are Rapidly Increasing, Study Finds

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/s...

HL: Extreme marine heatwave in waters off the Irish coast.

My page 1 story in @irishtimes.com today

Irish-developed device to treat tinnitus ‘significantly’ reduces symptoms, clinical trial finds A device developed in Ireland to treat the hearing condition tinnitus, which affects 15pc of all adults, has ‘significantly’ reduced people’s symptoms. “Many people experience short-term, or transient, tinnitus, after loud noise exposure at a concert or work,” said Dr Ross O’Neill – who received his PhD from Maynooth University - the inventor of the Lenire device. A US clinical trial of Lenire, involving 220 patients at the Alaska Hearing & Tinnitus Center, reported in Nature Communications Medicine found that 91pc of patients involved had a “clinically significant” reduction in their tinnitus after 12 weeks of treatment with Lenire.

Irish-developed device to treat tinnitus ‘significantly’ reduces symptoms, clinical trial finds

A device developed in Ireland to treat the hearing condition tinnitus, which affects 15pc of all adults, has ‘significantly’ reduced people’s symptoms. “Many people experience short-term, or transient,…

The Firefighter With O.C.D. and the Vaccine He Believed Would Kill Him (Gift Article) For years, Timmy Reen tried to hide his compulsions and rituals from everyone at his New York City firehouse — until his secret was forced out in the open.

OCD is often treated as something benign or even desirable. "I'm a bit OCD...." etc.. It's time that attitudes changed to this serious, chronic, hard-to-treat, and debilitating disorder.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/n...

Interesting how the same question can be answered in very different ways by different AI systems. Who's correct?

The brain remembers ‘cold experiences’ through physical and chemical changes – called engrams – that then tell the body to make more heat. That’s according to new research published today in the journal Nature by an international team of scientists, including Professor Tomas Ryan, School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin and the Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences (TCIN). Prof Ryan has conducted previous research on how engrams – physical or chemical changes in brain cells – can create memories in the brain.

The brain remembers ‘cold experiences’ through physical and chemical changes – called engrams – that then tell the body to make more heat.

That’s according to new research published today in the journal Nature by an international team of scientists, including Professor Tomas Ryan, School of…

Hay fever and asthma sufferers face more severe symptoms due to agricultural fertilisers – study Hay fever and asthma sufferers are likely to be enduring more severe symptoms at this time of year due to widespread use of nitrogen to fertilise crops in Ireland, according to a new study. Commenting on the report, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, leading pollen researcher Dr David O’Connor said increased nitrogen levels “lead to higher concentrations of allergenic pollen, exacerbating allergic reactions such as hay fever and asthma”.

Hay fever and asthma sufferers face more severe symptoms due to agricultural fertilisers – study

Hay fever and asthma sufferers are likely to be enduring more severe symptoms at this time of year due to widespread use of nitrogen to fertilise crops in Ireland, according to a new study. Commenting…

I'm looking to talk to someone who suffers from Chronic Hay Fever, for a piece I'm doing for @irishtimes.com

Please get in touch at e: seancduke@gmail.com

Thanks!

Irish study to assess dementia risk from sports-related brain injury in 360 retired athletes A study led by Trinity College Dublin (TCD) that aims to establish how sports-related traumatic brain injuries affect brain health in mid-life before dementia shows up has begun. Scientists including Lorina Naci, professor at the Dublin university’s school of psychology and the Global Brain Health Institute at TCD – the joint lead investigator of the study – have known from previous research that a sport-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases dementia risk in later life by between 3 and 15 per cent.

Irish study to assess dementia risk from sports-related brain injury in 360 retired athletes

A study led by Trinity College Dublin (TCD) that aims to establish how sports-related traumatic brain injuries affect brain health in mid-life before dementia shows up has begun. Scientists including…

Call for urgent action as Asian hornets pose ‘grave threat to Irish bees and biodiversity’ Ireland must ramp up its biosecurity and surveillance measures to prevent invasive Asian hornets devastating bee populations across Europe, an expert has warned. Collie Ennis, biodiversity officer at Trinity College Dublin, said the insects were a “major threat to Irish biodiversity”, particularly our native bees and pollinators. “We need enhanced surveillance at ports, public awareness campaigns, stricter biosecurity and a formalised alert network.

Call for urgent action as Asian hornets pose ‘grave threat to Irish bees and biodiversity’

Ireland must ramp up its biosecurity and surveillance measures to prevent invasive Asian hornets devastating bee populations across Europe, an expert has warned. Collie Ennis, biodiversity officer at Trinity…