Kosmos 113/2021 Communicating science Between preprint and shitstorm: ways out of the communication crisis The magazine
Focus Overhasty science Never before have scientists been in greater demand as soothsayers. But half-baked publications harm their reputations. They have to do something about it...
Focus You can’t calculate it A conversation with communication scientist Hektor Haarkötter on the rules of online communication – and how best to respond to a shitstorm.
Focus The hot topic The Earth is getting warmer, the virus is rife and, more than ever before, science is expected to provide explanations and solutions. When relationships are...
Focus Humboldt Professor Karen Radner “I love the feeling of discovering something nobody has ever discovered before,” says Karen Radner, describing what drives her as a researcher.
Focus The Humboldt Code He was an obsessive networker, a daredevil and a marketing genius. The reports on his travels and adventures earned him star status. Today, on the 250th...
Brief enquiries How do you make professional musicians fit to play again? Suddenly, your fingers start to cramp up while playing or your facial muscles stop doing the things they have done thousands of times before. Dystonia is a...
Brief Enquiries How Can You Sensitise Siri, Ms Gašić? Thanks to modern dialogue systems like Alexa and Siri, computers have become our everyday helpers: on voice command they deliver information, operate stereo...
Brief Enquiries Mr Yetisen, What Do You Read in Our Tears? Many diabetics have to test their blood sugar levels several times a day. Chemical engineer Ali Yetisen demonstrates that contact lenses can act as sensors in...
Close up on research Cyprien Verseux, the Martian Air, fuel and drugs – what about if they could all be produced on Mars? A drop of blue-green algae brought from Earth and cultivated on Mars could suffice, says...
Close up on research The hidden costs of violence The Humboldt Professor Anke Hoeffler studies the causes of violence – whether in civil wars or people’s own homes – and what it eventually costs.
Close up on Research Witches, Fashion Fiends and Cabinets of Curiosities Ulinka Rublack’s book about the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who defended his mother in a witchcraft trial, caused a stir. Drawing on old sources, the historian...