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.
On 2nd October, Professor Jim Skea came to the SMC to meet the science and environment journalists who will be … read more
The topic of ultra-processed foods has entered the public debate this year, after celebrities and others in the public eye … read more
The State of Nature report, led by the RSPB and with over 50 partners, uses nearly 50 years of data … read more
The C-MORE (Capturing the MultiORgan Effects of COVID-19) ) and PHOSP study (Post-hospitalisation COVID-19) groups will present their findings of … read more
Invasive alien species are one of the five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss globally, alongside land- and sea-use change, … read more
Researchers have studied the blood of patients who were hospitalised with COVID-19, reporting two biomarkers measured during admission which are … read more
Wildfire has been a big subject in 2023, particularly in Canada, Hawaii and Greece. Are we are seeing more wildfires … read more
A major Royal Society report COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions has reviewed the international scientific evidence gathered during … read more
Japan has announced the plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific on Thursday. … read more
The onset of El Niño conditions was officially confirmed by the WMO in July. As the weather phenomenon strengthens, it … read more
A new synthesis of evidence about extreme events in the Antarctic has been published in Frontiers in Environmental Science. It … read more
The State of the UK Climate 2022 report examines how the UK’s climate last year compares to previous years, including … read more
A new suite of injectable weight loss drugs – GLP-1 receptor agonists – has arrived on the scene in the … read more
The chances of limiting global mean temperature rise to 1.5°C are decreasing. A new modelling paper published in Nature Sustainability … read more
Results from a new international Nature study into the pandemic potential of avian flu, led by the MRC-University of Glasgow … read more
A couple of weeks ago we heard news that Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz’s lab had produced work on a stem cell- derived … read more
The submersible ‘Titan’ carrying five people to the site of the Titanic wreckage off the Canadian coast went missing on … read more
Wednesday evening’s reports of the creation of synthetic embryos using stem cells brought this area of research right to the … read more
International conferences informing the evidence-based evaluation and management of concussion in sport have been held for over two decades. The … read more
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is announcing over £50 million of funding to develop trustworthy and secure AI that can … read more
