Spotlight on Research
A Historic Moment in Reproductive Rights
The Minister for Health introduced the Regulation of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill in the Dáil, which seeks to legalise abortion services in Ireland this week. This was a historic occasion undoubtedly in a State and society that has demonstrated a deeply troubled relationship with women who fall pregnant outside of marriage by institutionalizing or criminalizing women.
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
How mechanical peacocks took 18th century Dublin by storm
Are you ever tempted to buy a lottery ticket, persuaded by an enticing prize? Have you ever been keen to buy tickets for a popular show, aware that the act is touring from overseas for a limited number of dates? Does clever technology captivate you and do you like to be conversant with it when chatting to your peers? If you answered yes, to any or all of those questions, then you have something in common with the 18th-century Dubliners and visitors to the city who paid to view a show at the "Great Room in William Street" (likely the current headquarters of the Irish Georgian Society) in 1774.
Sunday, 30 September 2018
How useful is the content we create online?
How useful is the content we create online? By Dr Peter Mooney, Department of Computer Science The Brainstorm long read: we generate a massive amount of online content from Facebook posts to YouTube videos, but it's nearly impossible for us to manage the privacy of this data
Friday, 31 August 2018
How do our brains work?
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a Cognitive Neuroscience technique that enables us to stimulate the human brain non-invasively. While this in itself is an impressive feat, the technique is not just a fascinating toy, but plays a huge role in informing our understanding of how the brain and different functions are related.
Friday, 31 August 2018
Lost in translation: Koko the gorilla and language research
In June, the world learned of the passing of a great personality in language research. The said personality was not a human researcher but a non-human primate and long-term participant, Koko the gorilla.
Monday, 13 August 2018
Perks and challenges: a guide to 5G
One of the greatest challenges in delivering 5G networks is doing so at a cost that operators and customers can actually afford, according to Professor Ronan Farrell, Department of Electronic Engineering
Tuesday, 03 July 2018
Silly Yeats’s voice echoes through Auden’s most iconic poetry
Maynooth University Head of English, Professor Colin Graham, argues that Auden’s criticisms of Yeats and his legacy did not stop the Irish poet from being an important influence on his work.
Monday, 02 July 2018
Time to come clean on the State’s dirty secrets
A recent RTÉ documentary underlined how the poor treatment of women does not belong solely in the past, and there are modern injustices that must be addressed, says Professor Linda Connolly.
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Vaccines: Speaking out to stop little lives being wrecked
New parents have so little knowledge of diseases like measles that they think the vaccine is more dangerous than the disease, according to disease historian, Dr Ida Milne.
Wednesday, 23 May 2018