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.
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
During the pandemic we all got to know the names and purpose of many big datasets. There was REACT that … read more
A new study led by researchers from Oxford Population Health at the University of Oxford has investigated whether lifestyle and … read more
In November 2024, a social media storm saw people posting videos of themselves pouring milk down their sinks citing food … read more
UK legislation approved in 2021 and brought into force in 2022 require calorie information to be displayed on menus and … read more
More than one billion people are estimated to be living with obesity globally. A new global Commission on obesity is … read more
A glyphosate-resistant weed population have been identified on a farm in the UK. Glyphosate-resistance in weeds has been found elsewhere … read more
UK Biobank are launching the world’s largest study of the proteins circulating in our bodies, which they say will transform … read more
The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has published two important new reports. The ‘Nexus Assessment’ is the … read more
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was once thought to be a childhood disorder only. However, it is now well-known that … read more
In its annual Review of Energy Policy, the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) identifies necessary steps that must be taken … read more
Last month there was much excitement when the new government confirmed their intention to introduce smoking legislation that would see … read more
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) have published findings from their review of the ethical and regulatory questions surrounding stem … read more
In a new study led by the University of Oxford and published in Nature, some of the researchers who developed … read more
