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.
As world leaders meet at COP30 in Belem, the Global Carbon Project will reveal the latest trends in global carbon … read more
The continued development of NAMs (New Approach Methodologies) – including models such as cell cultures and organoids that attempt to … read more
Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) has been proposed as a way of ‘masking’ the temperature rise caused by greenhouse gases by … read more
We know from previous research that both Covid infection and Covid mRNA vaccination are associated with the rare complication of … read more
Researchers have created pigs that are resistant to classical swine fever (CSF), a highly infectious and often fatal disease that … read more
In the UK, between 15-20% of adults are prescribed antidepressants. While we have good comparative data on efficacy of these … read more
The State of Wildfires report takes stock of extreme wildfires of the 2024-2025 fire season – including the Los Angeles … read more
Professor Sir Ian Chapman is the new chief executive of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI). As is our way with … read more
This summer was the warmest on record, with dry weather across the UK leading to water restrictions in parts of … read more
mRNA technology became public knowledge during the pandemic with the welcome arrival of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. More … read more
After a decades long hiatus in research, we have seen a resurgence in recent years of trials of psychedelics as … read more
The way the UK produces, sells and eats food is fuelling major problems – from rising diet-related disease and the … read more
The World Meteorological Organisation released its new report The State of Global Water Resources 2024. This annual report is an authoritative … read more
Researchers have developed a new generative AI model (Delphi-2M) that uses anonymised large-scale health records to estimate how a person’s … read more
The Blood Biomarker Challenge is a multi-million-pound programme supported by Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK and the People’s Postcode Lottery … read more
Geoengineering has been discussed as a way of cooling the planet if we don’t reduce emissions fast enough. The polar … read more
Bovine TB is recognised as a problem which devastates animals and farms. Badgers can carry the disease, and culling has … read more
People start using cannabis for a variety of reasons, such as self-medicating for physical or mental discomfort, because friends and … read more
While we have good Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) data on how ADHD medications impact core symptoms, there remain gaps in … read more
Scientists at UCL have carried out a randomised, crossover trial to compare weight change on UPF (ultra-processed foods) versus MPF … read more
