Horizons magazine: the search for truth in the courtroom
The latest issue of Horizons looks at the delicate relationship between science and law. Both seek the truth. But should judges be allowed to pass judgement on research findings? And how reliable are scientific assessments? Now you can also read Horizons online and on social media.
Courtroom culture and scientific culture are quite similar. Although both want to know what's true, when researchers come up against judges, the results can be quite complicated, bizarre and even shocking. Horizons presents memorable court cases, shows how scientific reports can be misinterpreted during trials and how judicial and scientific knowledge cultures tend to see each other as role models.
The second main story in Horizons turns the spotlight on outstanding young scientists and laureates taking part in "Swiss Youth in Science", the scientific competition for students at vocational and grammar schools. Their research topics: neuronal networks, organ transplants and drug policy in Zurich in the early 1990s.
Also featured in this latest Horizons issue are new production methods for ultralight aeorgels, the controversial history of ethnological skull collections and how hospital food could become a personalised form of therapy.
In further articles, bioinformatician Anna-Sapfo Malaspinas explains how she has dramatised human history, and the Zurich architect Sascha Roesler shows us how traditional construction methods could make air conditioners redundant.
New online magazine
Horizons 115 (December 2017): Science in court (Article und online magazine)
Horizons reports on the latest developments in the world of science and discusses research policy issues of global importance. The Swiss research magazine is produced by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in collaboration with theSwiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. Four printed issues are published per year in German and French. The newOnline magazineis also available in English and you can sign up for a newsletter.