R.Science podcast

Every year we celebrate the best in popular science books with our Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016. Yesterday we announced this year's prize which was awarded to Andrea Wulf for her book ‘Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt- The Lost Hero of Science’ In a special episode of R Science we go behind the scenes at the award ceremony to speak to Bill Bryson, who helped judge the competition this year, and to winner Andrea to ask her what inspired her to write about Alexander von Humboldt, 19th century explorer, visionary polymath, and foreign member of the Royal Society. You can find out more about the prize and about all the great books shortlisted this year on our website and watch out for our videos with all the shortlisted authors on Facebook and Twitter @RoyalSociety. Listen to this episode

This month we’re going into outer space. We ask the experts if human space flight is worth the risk; find out what we can do about all the junk whizzing around in orbit; fast forward to find out how the milky way will die; and ask an astrobiologist if we’ll find life in space. First up, Martin Rees the Astronomer Royal, and Helen Sharman, Britain’s first ever astronaut ask if human space flight is worth the risk or if we should leave space exploration to robots. These clips are from an event we held at the Science Museum earlier this year. If you want to hear the rest just head over to our website. Next up we’re at the Summer Science Exhibition hearing about what a team from Surrey Space Centre are going to do about all the junk in space, and from Durham’s Galaxy Makers, whose massive computer simulation has modelled the birth and death of galaxies – including our corner of the universe, the Milky Way. Finally we catch up with Dr Zita Martins, astrobiologist. She tells us about how she started studying astrobiology and answers the crunch question: will we find life in space. Listen to this episode.

Every July the Royal Society's new Fellows convene at the Royal Society to add their names to our prestigious charter book in a special ceremony that harks back to the Royal Society's founding in the 1660s. This month Royal Society librarian Keith Moore takes us on a tour of the Royal Society's charter book which is chock-a-block full of the signatures of the biggest names in science including Newton and Darwin; we catch up with some new Fellows of the Royal Sociey, including Google's internet evangelist Vint Cerf who tells us why his job title was nearly Archduke of the internet!; and we hear from ancient DNA expert Svante Pääbo and one of the pioneers between the gene editing tool, CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna. Listen to this episode.

It's the first week of July and that can mean only one thing- it's time for the Royal Society's annual Summer Science Exhibition. This week the Royal Society's home, a stone's throw from London's Trafalgar Square, is full to the brim with some of the UK's brightest research with the latest in inspiring science and tech. It's your chance to come down and meet the scientists behind the breakthroughs and get hands on with the latest in UK science. We have 22 exciting exhibits- all ready and waiting for your visit. We’re open every day until Sunday 10 July, so don’t miss you chance to see it! If you’ve been to the Summer Science Exhibition before, you will know that it’s all about getting up close and personal with the UK’s cutting edge research; whether through state-of-the-art technology, inspiring talks and workshops, or a good old fashioned chinwag, there’s plenty of opportunities to get stuck in… In a special episode of our podcast R.Science we're giving you a sneak peek behind the scenes with a whistle stop tour around some of the exciting exhibits. You can also find out more about all the exhibits and events we have going on this week on over on our Summer Science pages! Listen to this episode.

This month we’re exploring agriculture and food. The global population is around 7 billion and growing fast. Food security is a real issue. In 2015, 800 million people didn’t get enough calories to reach their minimum dietary intake whilst in other parts of the world consumption has risen to unprecedented levels. The factors behind this are undeniably complex, but we think science has a crucial part to play in alleviating malnutrition and managing the implications for our finite planet. At the Royal Society we have a policy team who look at global population and consumption, sustainable food production and the genetic modification of food crops. This month we’re going to dig in, excuse the pun, to explore how science and agriculture can work together. Listen to this episode.

Welcome to the May episode of R.Science. This month we're featuring scientists who are delving into the most complex structure in the Universe, the human brain. Although mightily complex, recent advances in brain imaging technology and ever-more sophisticated psychological experiments are allowing us to make huge inroads into understanding the collection of neurons in our head. 2.02 Experimental psychologist and Wolfson Research Merit Award holder Professor Stephan Lewandowsky talks about uncertainty in science and how human cognition can give rise to unexpected consequences. Listen to Stephan's recent Cafe Scientifique Are you sure? Uncertainty and us in full. 6.45 Royal Society University Research Fellow Dr Liz Tunbridge talks about her work in understanding the links between genetics, brain function and mental health. Listen to Liz's recent Cafe Scientifique Is mental health in our genes? in full. 11.50 Professor Kevin Homewood talks about his commercialisation of a silicon photodetector. Find out more about our new Innovation and Translation Awards. Listen to this episode.

This month on R.Science we're talking about machine learning- a field of science and a powerful technology that allows machines to learn from data and self-improve. It's technology that's already used widely in spam filters and search engines. Any one who uses Netflix will be familiar Netflix recommendations- that system uses machine learning too! But the challenges and opportunities this technology raises are huge- it could revolutionise the transport industry with driverless cars and help doctors make diagnoses based on huge amounts of data that humans couldn't quickly sort through alone. The Royal Society has stared a new project on machine learning with a group of experts, aiming to stimulate a debate, to increase awareness and demonstrate the potential of machine learning and highlight the opportunities and challenges it presents. In the course of the project we will engage with policymakers, academia, industry and the wider public. In this R. Science episode we talk to academics and researchers working on real applications for machine learning to find out more. 1.20 Dr Sabine Hauert, member of the Royal Society's Machine Learning working group and robotics researcher from Bristol explains what machine learning is and how it could change the world. 05.30 We hear from researchers who presented their machine learning software at our event, Machines that learn: how computers got smart. Among the researchers we spoke to were a team using data from people living in London to look at the city in another way and from researcher who has programmed a system that is learning to write unique poetry. We held a conference last year on machine learning and the interaction of academia and industry, Breakthrough science and technologies: Transforming our future conference series. We spoke to some of the speakers there about their work with machine learning. Here we hear from Dr Robert Ghanea-Hercock, a Chief Research Scientist in the British Telecommunications Security Research Practice and member of the Royal Society's Science, Industry and Translation committee, Malcolm Grant, Chairman of NHS England, and Miranda Mowbray, Hewlett Packard labs. Listen to this episode.

This month on R.Science we're talking about diversity in science. When you're trying to solve a problem, drawing from the experiences and perspectives of people with the widest range of backgrounds and life experiences can really help you think creatively and innovatively- and so it's essential for delivering excellence in science. This month we're exploring the topic but asking experts about unconscious bias and talk about how to create an inclusive research culture; we speak with school students who have designed an app for LGBT students; and one of the scientists from our Parent, carer, scientist project tells us how she combines family life with her research. 1.15 The Royal Society's Diversity Manager, Lenna, tells us about the Royal Society's work in diversity and introduces some of the exciting projects going on. You can find out more about the Royal Society's diversity work on our website. 05.40 Professor Mahzarin Banaji, Harvard Professor and a founder of Project Implicit, tells us about unconscious bias. We caught up with her at the Royal Society’s 2015 Diversity Conference, where she gave the keynote talk, to ask about how implicit subconscious thoughts and feelings impact on our judgement of people’s worth. If you're interested to find out more we've got a video all about understanding unconscious bias. 12.45  Professor Saiful Islam, one of the members of our diversity committee, talks about how we can understand and remove barriers to science and how to create an inclusive research culture. Saiful also took part in our Inspiring scientists videos which record the life stories of ten British scientists with minority ethnic heritage. 17.20 We catch up with students from Stratford Girls Grammar School who have won a national competition for an app they developed for LGBT students. They came to our Out in STEM event in February and spoke to R.Science about the app and what inspired them to develop it. 19.50 We hear from Dr Lily Asquith about how she balances life outside the lab with a career in research. Lily's story is part of the Royal Society's new Parent, carer, scientist project which  launched this month to celebrate the diversity of work life patterns of scientists across the UK with the aim of increasing the visibility of people combining a career in science with a family life. You can join in the discussion on social media using the hastag #AndAScientist Listen to this episode.

This month we're exploring evolution and we celebrate the 50 year career of Professor Richard Leakey FRS – a renowned conservationist and fossil hunter. We'll also hear from experts who study fossils and mutations in molecules to reveal the family trees of ancient species; a new Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow who studies meerkats to work out the role of mothers in evolution; and we speak to one of the judges of our 2015 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition about what she looks for in a science snap. 0.56 Fossil Hunter Richard Leakey was at the Royal Society at an event where he spoke to journalist Zeinab Badawi about his 50 year career. You can find a video of their conversation on our website. We caught up with Professor Leakey to ask some questions of our own. 05.56 We spoke to Professor Philip Donoghue FRS at a scientific discussion meeting to find out how fossils and studying biomolecules can help scientists trace undiscovered family trees of ancient species. Audio from talks at the discussion meeting can be found on our website 9.10 We joined Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, Dr Sinead English at an event for the Royal Society's new research fellows. Dr English, from the University of Cambridge, is an evolutionary ecologist, she told us about her work with meerkats and the role of mothers in evolution. 15.56 For the second year running we're holding a Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition to celebrate the power of photography to communicate science. The 2016 competition is now open. We caught up with one of the judges, Dr Claire Spottiswoode to find out what she's looking for in the winning snap. Listen to this episode.

This month we’re discussing all things climate change, looking back at events in 2015 and forward to how this global threat might be tackled. 2015 was a big year for climate change, with a new agreement being struck by the world’s governments at a summit in Paris just before Christmas. In this episode of R Science we speak to experts in the run up to the Paris summit; we hear from organisations who were at the summit in Paris and their work in the area; and finally we catch up with some of our top experts in climate at the Royal Society to ask them what they think of the agreement the world's governments struck in Paris. 01:40 We spoke to Peter Stott from the Met Office Hadley Centre about the basics of climate change and why we should care; to Andy Haines from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about the links between climate change and health; and to Lorraine Whitmarsh from Cardiff University about our perceptions and behaviour in response to climate change. 11.45 A diverse set of delegates at the conference in Paris tell us about their areas of work and their interests in the UN negotiations. 20.55 Two of our climate experts, Tim Palmer FRS and Joanna Haigh FRS, tell us what they think about the Paris agreement and what it means for the UK. Listen to this episode.

It's almost time to celebrate with friends and family for the festive season, but before that, we had a little celebration of our own. On 30 November each year we celebrate Anniversary Day. This year was particularly special, not only as it was our 355th, but that it was time for us to welcome a new president. Sir Paul Nurse came to the end of his five year term and made way for Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, who took office on 1 December 2015. With so many great scientists visiting the Society for the big day, we decided to track down some of the most well-known, those that have taken science's most coveted Prize, the Nobel. 01:17 Sir Paul Nurse, who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2001, gives his final Anniversary Day address. 04.52 Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, current President of the Royal Society and winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shares his aspirations for the next five years. 14.40 Professor Peter Higgs, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, shares his experience of being at the centre of a major discovery, as well as how he deals with all the selfies. 20.16 Finally, Dr Tomas Lindahl, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, talks about his ground-breaking research and his love of fine wine. Listen to this episode.

It was bonfire night in the UK earlier in November and with the nights drawing in and winter in the air we're dedicating this R.Science episode to something that's sure to keep us warm over winter: fire. In November's episode of R.Science we talk to researchers about the interaction between science and mankind, how to study fires which happened millions of years ago and what inspired a firefighter to start studying fire. We also catch up with a volcanologist, and we take a visit to the archives with Royal Society librarian Keith Moore. 00:50 Professor Andrew Scott, one of the organisers of our fire and mankind discussion meeting talks about how people interact with fire. 02.05 Professor Clare Belcher, another of the organisers of the meeting, told us how charcoal can be used to investigate the effects of fires that happened millions of years ago. 06.15 Professor Stephen Pyne, who was also at the meeting, told us how his job as a fire fighter ignited his passion for the subject. 15.15 We caught up with Professor Stephen Sparks, a volcanologist, discusses his career studying volcanoes before an event, Volcanoes and Us, where he was in conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili. 19.45 We delve into the archives with our librarian, Keith Moore. Keith is a regular contributor to our history of science blog, the Repository, where you can read more about the history of science and the treasures in our archive. Listen to this episode

Whether it's through television and the media, blogs, books and live events, or even your favourite monthly podcast, science is now communicated in more ways than ever before. This month's episode reflects on some of those methods, as we talk to children's authors and playwrights about the ways in which science is portrayed to their audiences. We also talk to researchers working on the infrastructure behind the mother of all communication tools: the Internet. Finally, if that wasn't enough, we also stop by the party conferences where we communicated the importance of science education to MPs and policy makers. 00:56 Nicola Davies, author of Tiny: the invisible world of microbes; Raman Prinja, author of Night Sky Watcher; and Robert Winston, author of Utterly Amazing Science. 06:33 Oppenheimer’s writer Tom Morton-Smith, Professor John D. Barrow FRS, cosmologist and playwright, Dr Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, scholar of science in the theatre, Professor Marcus du Sautoy OBE, broadcaster and science communicator and Erica Whyman OBE, Deputy Artistic Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company. 13:42 Professor Andrew Ellis, Professor of Optical Communications, Aston University. 17:33 Professor Andrew Lord, BT. 20:16 Jonathan Brown, Ricardo UK. 22:08 Lindsey Harold, Ashton on Mersey School, Sale. Listen to this episode

Summer is definitely over and autumn is upon us. Millions of children have gone back to school this month, which is why we are having an education-focussed podcast. Hear from different actors in the STEM education world, including a teacher, a Fellow involved in education and some very interesting students. You can find out more about the Royal Society's work in education on our website. 01:17 Ian Duffy, member of the Royal Society Education Committee 03:57 Dr Amy Herbert from Gower College, Swansea. Gower College is part of the Royal Society Associate Schools and Colleges network 08:55 Professor David Spiegelhalter FRS and Cathy Brown, members of the Royal Society Partnership Grants Panel 19:10 Clare Nicholson and Michael Hoffman, student editors of the Young Scientists Journal 24:55 Why Science by Dr Amy Herbert Listen to this episode

It's August and everyone is going on holiday, even scientists. Listen to some of our brand new Fellows as they talk about their research and share where they will be spending their holidays – some even have a science twist. This episode also features some fascinating interviews with scientists from the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which aims to reduce disaster risk by calling on scientists to work with governments and communities. 01:17 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction : Margareta Wahlström, Tom Mitchell and Robert Muir-Wood. 09:18 Professor Ajay Kumar Sood FRS from the Indian Institute of Science 12:24 Professor Philip Donoghue FRS from the University of Bristol 15:06 Professor Yvonne Elsworth FRS from the University of Birmingham 19:42 Professor Andrew Knoll ForMemRS from Harvard University 24:22 Sir Robin Saxby FREng FRS, Founder and former CEO and Chairman ARM Holdings plc  29:27 Professor Anne Cutler FRS from the University of Western Sydney 34:42 Holiday plans by Professor Yvonne Elsworth FRS, Professor Andrew Knoll ForMemRS and Professor Philip Donoghue FRS Listen to this episode