I vividly remember a conversation about the importance of basic science at Harvard University with chemistry Nobel laureate Walter Gilbert. Dr. Gilbert stressed the importance of doing research in order to
If anything makes space travel particular is its roughness: fuel bursting in a controlled explosion, which, more than once, end up being uncontrolled. But space exploration based on chemical rockets is well established, it
«I chose statistics because I thought it was just more interesting, had more life to it than pure mathematics, even though I was trained mathematically». Alan Gelfand explains his passion
«Cancer will never be eradicated, because it is inherent to human beings.» Statements like this one by Mariano Barbacid (Madrid, 1949) will come as a blow for many. But that does not
Leonard Parker is Emeritus Distinguished Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was the founder of a gravitational research center at his university. The center now has his name: Leonard
In 2012, the Royal Statistical Society issued the following question to the members of the British Parliament, probably regarding the International Year of Statistics (2013): «If you toss a coin twice,
Fra Angelico, Adoration of the Magi, ca. 1451-1453. Washington, National Gallery of Art. This article talks about some of the symbolic icons of renaissance painting and in particular the ones representing
Microbes are a constant source of surprise. Their «invisibility» does nothing but increase our puzzlement when a microorganism, or its activity, become evident for the first time. Although microbes are
