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.
The Brain Prize is awarded by the Lundbeck Foundation in Denmark and is worth more than £1m (€1.3m). Awarded annually, … read more
While there is substantial evidence suggesting an association between the use of combined oral contraceptives, containing both oestrogen and progestogen, … read more
Minimum unit pricing for alcohol was brought in in Scotland by the Scottish government in May 2018 – a minimum … read more
The Synthesis Report is the final part of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). It is fully based on the … read more
Peanut allergy has seen a five-fold increase in recent decades. It now affects around one in 50 children in the … read more
This Landscape Review by Sir Paul Nurse was commissioned as part of the 2021 UK Innovation Strategy, to describe the … read more
A new Royal Society policy briefing explores the resource and infrastructure requirements, environmental impacts, and outstanding research questions for the … read more
This was a joint briefing with The Alan Turing Institute. ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI that … read more
The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) has been causing outbreaks in wild birds and farmed poultry for decades. In … read more
In June 2019, the UK Government issued a public consultation on the proposal to introduce mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal flour … read more
The NHS is facing extreme pressures this winter leading to delays to patient care and increasing burdens on staff. In … read more
In late September 2021, large numbers of dead crustaceans began to wash up on the North-East coast of England. The … read more
Scaling up Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is an urgent priority if we are to meet the temperature goal of the … read more
The latest evidence suggests that up to 40% of all cases of dementia are linked to factors we may be … read more
There is overwhelming evidence that climate change will cause significant harm if we don’t stop dumping carbon dioxide into the … read more
A new initiative to better understand respiratory viruses is being launched by the Wellcome Sanger Institute. It aims to develop … read more
Individual cases – such as the tragic death of Molly Russell – have formed part of the larger ongoing discussion … read more
After being authorised for use in the UK, the antiviral molnupiravir is being evaluated as part of the Platform Adaptive … read more
The Newborn Genomes Programme is the world’s first large-scale research programme to explore in detail the benefits, challenges, and practicalities … read more
Scientists treating patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia have started a new clinical trial in which patients receive ‘ready-made’ universal … read more
