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 use of genome editing technologies in the breeding of farmed animals could potentially offer some new ways to help … read more
The EAVE II (Early Pandemic Evaluation and Enhanced Surveillance of COVID-19) project has been tracking the COVID-19 pandemic in near … read more
We asked some variant experts to make themselves available today to answer journalist questions at a Q&A about what we … read more
Seqirus, a leading manufacturer that specialises in flu vaccines, put together a panel of their experts who were available to … read more
We recently heard from the REACT-1 scientists with interim results from round 15 of their study looking at virus prevalence … read more
The first detailed cellular and molecular examination of a human embryo in the process of gastrulation is presented online in … read more
Rare diseases are a worldwide healthcare challenge with approximately 10,000 disorders affecting 6% of the population in Western societies. The … read more
The COVIDsortium study is a UCL and St Bartholomew’s Hospital-led observational study which aims to monitor a large cohort of … read more
Air pollution from fine particulate matter, including nitrogen emissions, is associated with severe negative impacts on human health. However the … read more
Scientists have carried out a study to investigate which gene on a previously-identified stretch of chromosome 3 is involved with … read more
As world leaders meet at COP26, the Global Carbon Project will reveal the latest trends in global carbon emissions and … read more
This briefing covered the latest interim data from the largest community coronavirus testing programme, REACT. This batch of data is … read more
Scientists have carried out a study on household transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and they look at whether viral load and likelihood … read more
In Paris 2015, world governments agreed to keep the increase in mean global temperature to well below 2C above pre-industrial … read more
In the week before COP26, senior scientific advisers to governments around the world have published a joint statement addressed to … read more
We increase the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere every year. How can the planet achieve net zero – … read more
Scientists undertook a self-controlled case series to investigate the risk of developing neurological complications within 28 days of a first … read more
Valneva has just announced the top line results of its phase 3 trial, Cov-Compare, of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine … read more
The ocean regulates the global climate by absorbing heat and carbon from the atmosphere and storing them in the deep … read more
The REACT-1 team from Imperial College London has now completed round 14 of their study looking at virus prevalence across … read more
