The Science Media Centre is not restricted to reacting to the headlines, and has helped scientists to more proactively set the agenda by bringing new science or evidence to journalists. This comes from our regular briefings, which take a variety of forms and cover a wide range of topics. Many are background briefings introducing journalists to the best experts and science on controversial issues like nuclear waste, nanotechnology, emerging diseases, or animal research, for example. They may also be news briefings where the SMC works with scientists to give the national media a new story on developments within science, whether it’s a report on climate change, a paper on stem cells being published in a leading journal, or science funding cuts in the latest budget. In addition, the SMC encourages leading experts to ‘speak out’ to the media about developments they believe may pose a threat to scientific research – not something science has been renowned for.
There has been long-standing public and clinical debate over the frequency and severity of antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. Some reviews have … read more
Robots and Autonomous Systems are increasingly being integrated into modern healthcare. Will we one day also have Socially Assistive Robots … read more
The first published research findings from Our Future Health data looks at whether people living with chronic inflammatory conditions, such … read more
Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024 is the third in a series of annual updates on the state of the … read more
The third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) took place in Nice from 9-13 June. With the help of the international Science … read more
Debate over the rise in adult ADHD cases has become a major talking point in society with many politicians and … read more
Each year, Dr Jeffrey Cummings and colleagues compile the data for Phase 1,2 and 3 trials currently active in the … read more
The Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update is issued annually by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It provides a synthesis … read more
Mass loss from ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica has quadrupled since the 1990s. It’s now the main source of … read more
For those who have both ongoing mental illness alongside substance use disorders, it can be particularly hard to access the … read more
Foresight is an artificial intelligence model that’s being trained on de-identified data from 57 million people in England to predict … read more
Decarbonising energy will require major investment in new electricity transmission infrastructure. It’s estimated that by 2035 we need to build … read more
A new report from the government’s chief scientific adviser aims to communicate the benefits that Engineering Biology (EngBio) might bring … read more
Geoengineering, also known as climate engineering or climate intervention, refers to the deliberate, large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s climate system … read more
Unlike other common cancers such as breast, bowel, and cervical cancers, there’s currently no nationwide screening programme for prostate cancer … read more
The Human Exposome Moonshot Project is a bold initiative to map how environmental exposures shape human health from conception to … read more
Over the last decade the concept of regenerative agriculture has attracted increasing attention from farmers, governments and corporations as a … read more
The State of the Global Climate 2024 report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) shows that key climate change indicators … read more
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an incurable, life-limiting condition, affecting over 11,300 people in the UK costing the NHS millions in … read more
Deep sea mining for minerals from the seabed is increasingly being considered as a potential solution to the expected global … read more
