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 science-led Events Research Programme (ERP) pilots will be run across a range of settings, venues and activities, starting with the World … read more
We now know that Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) has been reported to occur in about 5 in a million people … read more
This phase 2 trial is the first head to head comparison of psilocybin against a licenced antidepressant in patients with … read more
A new preprint from the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium and the University of Birmingham looks at the antibody and cellular … read more
Yesterday we hosted a briefing for science and health journalists on the extension to the COMCOV trial; a trial to … read more
PRINCIPLE is a phase 3 randomised controlled trial assessing potential COVID-19 treatments in community settings (non-hospitalised people). The scientists running … read more
The REACT-1 team from Imperial College London has now completed round 10 of their study looking at virus prevalence across … read more
We gathered two vaccine safety experts and one thrombosis/haematology expert to sit on a panel and answer journalists’ questions about … read more
Researchers have conducted the largest observational study to date looking at the presence of neurological and mental health conditions 6 … read more
A new preprint on a University of Birmingham-led study supported by the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium looks at the T-cell … read more
Both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have said they want the UK to become a science super power. But this … read more
A new preprint from researchers at the universities of Sheffield, Oxford, Liverpool, Newcastle and Birmingham looks at the T-cell and … read more
People from Black backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) higher education in the UK have poorer degree outcomes … read more
Cochrane has published an updated systematic review of studies assessing rapid tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The review … read more
The impact of COVID-19 on physical and mental health, functional status and employment following hospitalisation is poorly understood. This briefing … read more
The British Academy was asked by the Government Office for Science to produce an independent review on the long-term societal … read more
OpenSAFELY is a platform which analyses existing NHS electronic health records to look for patterns in patients who are hospitalised … read more
The backdrop to successful COVID-19 vaccine development and roll out is the ability to manufacture vaccines quickly and at scale. … read more
A new study from the ISARIC 4C and UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium teams, published this afternoon, looks at the key biological … read more
As the UK forges new trade relationships, how can we be sure that the standard of our food will be … read more
