R.Science podcast

It’s summer time and one of our favourite times of the year. That’s because for a week every July we throw open the doors and invite along the best and brightest scientists from around the UK to showcase their research at our Summer Science Exhibition. This presents a great chance to ask the scientists some questions face to face, and really get hands-on with cutting edge science. 00:50 Plasma Rockets with Tom Wantock from the University of Surrey 04:08 Richard's Remains with Jim Butler from the University of Leicester 10:08 Face Facts with Megan Sutherland from the University of Glasgow 12:48 Tiny Tech with Dr Kristian Thaller from the University of Southampton 15:30 Vanishing Glaciers with Professor Neil Glasser from Aberysywyth University 17:39 Cosmic Ray Detectives exhibition with students from Bordesley Green Girls' School in collaboration with the University of Birmingham 21:15 Forensic Femme Fatales event with crime writer Val McDermid, as well as forensic experts Prof Sue Black OBE FRSE from the University of Dundee, Prof Lorna Dawson from University of Aberdeen, and Prof Niamh NicDaeid from the University of Dundee 22:52 Science Made Simple with Ruth Perkins 24:45 Nuclear Fusion with Chief Executive Dr David Kingham, and Business Development Manager Dr Melanie Windridge from Tokamak Energy 29:44 Origins of Life with Nick Lane from University College London Listen to this episode

In this month's podcast we have interviews with the 2015 winners of some of the Royal Society's most prestigious medals and awards. 00:50 Professor John Ellis FRS, 2015 Winner of the Bakerian Prize and Lecture for his groundbreaking contributions in the physics of the Higgs boson and his attempts at unifying the fundamental forces of nature through his work at the LHC. 03:52 Professor Nick Davies FRS, 2015 Winner of the Croonian Medal and Lecture for his work on the co-evolved responses of brood parasitic cuckoos and their hosts, the process of co-evolution and adaptation and the extraordinary biology of these unusual birds. 09:40 Professor Matt King, 2015 Winner of the Kavli Medal and Lecture for his research in field glaciology leading to the first reconciled estimate of ice sheet contribution to sea level. 15:15 Professor Nick Davies FRS answers 'Why Science?' Listen to this episode

This month we take a look at the ethics behind the collection of consumer data, as well as the historical significance of self-experimentation. If that's not enough the whet your scientific appetite then listen on as we take a lighthearted look at a very complex problem, in a Dragons' Den-style event, held as part of our ongoing Publishing 350 programme. 00:11 Consumer data: what’s in store for you? Giles Pavey, Professor Paul Longley, Baroness Onora O’Neill FRS, Professor Jane Kaye. 09:02 Science on myself Professor Holger Maehle, Dr Gail Goldberg and Dr Duncan Wilson. 16:07 Dragons' Den – 'Fixing the system' chaired by Roger Highfield. Listen to this episode.

In this month's podcast, we’re bringing you the future of scholarly communication, the 2015 Leeuwenhoek lecture, the Society’s MP pairing scheme, women writing science and the biggest challenges of the 21st century. 00:53 Origin and evolution of the human brain : Dr Frank Hirt, King's College, London 05:34  Elizabeth Marincola, CEO of Public Library of Science, on the future of scholarly scientific communications 13:29  Sir Paul Nurse FRS on the measurement of scientific quality and impact in scholarly scientific communications 16:38  Dr Emily Winterburn on Women writing science 21:16 Professor Jeff Errington FRS, winner of the 2015 Leeuwenhoek Lecture 26:03  The great challenges of the 21st century: Sir Paul Nurse FRS and Lord Nick Stern 32.25  MP pairing scheme: Dr Sadia Ahmed 37:29  Why science by Professor Jeff Errington FRS Listen to this episode

In this month's podcast, we celebrate scientists working in industry with interviews from our Labs to Riches event. We find out more about handedness, we hear from some of the speakers at the Education World Forum about inspiring students with STEM subjects and we get a glimpse of some of the issues surrounding online privacy. Finally, we get an insight into the UK National Academies' take on the key priorities and actions for the next Government to make the UK the location of choice for world class research, development and innovation. 01:24 Labs to Riches: Dr Hermann Hauser, Dr Simon Campbell, Dr Jade Alglave and one of the winner of the Brian Mercer Feasibility Award, Professor Mohamed Missous. 05:46  Dr Silvia Paracchini on Why are some people left handed? 10:52  Excerpts from the Education World Forum: Professor Julia Higgins FRS and Sir Martyn Poliakoff FRS 18:09  Joint statement of the UK National Academies and Tackling the great challenges of the 21st century : interview with Sir Paul Nurse FRS, president of the Royal Society and Lord Nick Stern, president of the British Academy 23:41 Professor John Crowcroft FRS on whether our online lives can be private 28:01  Why science from Dr Silvia Paracchini Listen to this episode

For the February podcast we are very pleased to trail Science Stories – a series of films showing how scientific papers have inspired leading scientists and influenced the world around us. We also get to hear why microbes are so cool, the important efforts being done to advance forensic science and why it is good to do chemistry demonstrations and be nervous at the same time. 00:43 Dr Sinead Collins asks 'How does acidification affect our oceans?' 04:03 Professor Sue Black and Professor Paul Roberts talk about the recent scientific discussion meeting 'The Paradigm Shift for UK Forensic Science'. 09:34 Professor Andrea Sella talks about winning the 2014 Michael Faraday Prize for excellence in communicating science. 17:50 Excerpts from Science Stories, celebrating the 350th anniversary of Philosophical Transactions. 22:18 Why Science? from Dr Sinead Collins. Listen to this episode

In our first podcast of the year we look ahead to the important scientific anniversaries taking place in 2015, including the establishment of the world's first scientific journal, Philosophical Transactions. Also included this month is the latest from our policy work and a look at how the Society's Partnership Grant Scheme is allowing students to work alongside a scientist from the University of Birmingham. 02:33 Professor Uta Frith, Sir David Spiegelhalter and Sir Martyn Poliakoff discuss the nature of scientific publishing and its effect on science. 11:15 Eric Gross and Craig Mundie on cybersecurity and privacy. 20:18 Professor Gordon McBean on the role of science in international efforts to reduce risk and build resilience. 23:55 Students from the Corbet School in Shropshire discuss their Partnership Grant project, The Science of Seeing. 26:44 Why Philosophical Transactions? Listen to this episode

This month we explore the colliding worlds of science, art, literature and politics. We learn why space should be observed from above the Earth's atmosphere, why vaccines don't always work, and how plastic gave us cinema. We also examine interactions between crystallography and art, popular science writers and their readers, and the contrasting realms of science and politics. 00:30 Astrophysicist Dr Richard Massey on 'Taking the twinkle out of your eye' 05:40 The Big Draw: Crystallographer Professor Brian Sutton and glass artist Shelley James on dynamic symmetry 09:49 The Big Draw: Science historian Sachiko Kusukawa on the visual culture of science 11:17 Author Mark Miodownik on winning the Winton Prize for Science Books for 'Stuff Matters' 17:04 Epidemiologist Professor Nicholas Grassly on why vaccines don't always work 19:13 Four scientists on what they hope to get out of the Society's pairing scheme Listen to this episode

September 2014: Newton, sun and ice. This month we take a look at a variety of events that were held at the Society, from the private life of Newton to new approaches in coronal heating. We hear from a volunteer at the Summer Science Exhibition, researchers looking at the ice reduction on the Arctic Sea as well as others that are at the forefront of the field of coronal heating. We also get a fascinating insight into Isaac Newton FRS and the forgotten papers that were found long after his death. 01:30 Dr Sarah Dry on the private life of Isaac Newton FRS 06:39 Dr Ineke De Moortel and Professor Philippa Browning talk about new approaches in coronal heating 10:54  Dr Sheldon Bacon on Arctic Sea ice reduction 16:11  Shomari Lewis-Wilson on his experience of being a volunteer at the Summer Science Exhibition 2014 20:15 Dr Sarah Dry answers why science? Listen to this episode

August 2014: Summer Science Exhibition special The Royal Society's annual Summer Science Exhibition took place last month at the Royal Society in London. We welcomed over 14,000 visitors through our doors to see 22 different exhibitions around the building. Quentin Cooper, ex-presenter of BBC Radio 4's Material World, recorded an audio tour of the exhibition, and in this episode we're showcasing his conversations with the exhibitors he met along the way. 01:16 Professor Phil Manning introduces the 7.3-metre-long relative of the T-Rex that he brought to the exhibition 06:03 The Creative Cameras team, on taking pictures at the speed of light 10:38 Dr Clara Manchini takes a canine approach to medical detection 15:32 Quentin meets Rosetta, the comet chasing space craft Listen to this episode

In July's R.Science episode we're dipping into events and activities which have been going on around the Society. First we'll be catching up with scientists who attended our antimicrobial resistance discussion meeting. Then we'll be hearing from Dame Sally Davies who also attended the discussion meeting and was elected as a Royal Society Fellow this year. Another new Fellow, Professor Michael Benton, talks about how fast T Rex could run and how scientists know that some dinosaurs were ginger. And finally, Dame Alison Peacock talks about Vision, a new Royal Society report about science and mathematics education. 1.10 Antimicrobial resistance discussion meeting - Dr Jullian Parkhill FRS and Professor Jodi Lindsay 04.15 An extract from New Fellows Day - Dame Sally Davies FRS, Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Advisor to the UK Government 07.36 An extract from New Fellows Day -  Professor Michael Benton FRS, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology in the School of Earth Sciences at Bristol University 15.05 Vision for Science and Mathematics Education – Dame Allison Peacock Listen to this episode

The Royal Society is committed to promoting diversity in UK science and engineering, by seeking to increase participation from underrepresented groups. So, in this episode we’ll be focusing on some of our activities in the area with highlights from our second annual ‘Diversity Day’, a policy lab on involving people with disabilities in user-led innovation and a conference delving into historical women in science for insight on how we might increase diversity in STEMM. 1.40 Discussing diversity in STEMM – Diversity Day - Professor Saiful Islam 5.32 Apprenticeships in science – Diversity Day – Dr Linda Miller and higher apprentice Jessica Sales 14.01 The Impact of Dorothy Hodgkin fellowships – Diversity Day - Professor Cait McPhee and Dr Rhaana Starling 20.01 Women in Science Research Network Conference - Dr Sue Hawkins and Dr Claire Jones 29.05 Policy Lab – Collaborative innovation – involving disabled people in user-led innovation – Professor Geoffrey Boulton and Claire Mookerjee and Stephen Hicks 34.40 Why Women in Science – Dr Sue Hawkins and Dr Claire Jones Listen to this episode

This month's episode of the podcast is all about public engagement and science education. It features a conversation with Bill Bryson and why he was drawn into science, interviews with some of our Research Fellows attending their bi-annual get-together, some insights into creativity in science and why scientists should engage with the public, as well as some expert educators talking about science choices in school. 1:11 Kohn Award Lecture - Engaging people with science - Professor Peter Vukusic 6:30  Research Fellows Conference – Dr Stephen Graham and Dr Stephanie Shorge 9:55  Creativity in science – Professor Frances Ashcroft FRS and Andrew Cohen 15:36  Why science? What science? Curriculum choices at 14 - Professor Julia Buckingham and Professor Michael Reiss 22.16  In conversation with Bill Bryson – Jim Al-Khalili and Bill Bryson FRS 29:03 Why Science? – Professor  Michael Reiss Listen to this episode

This month's episode of the podcast is all about the future of health and medicine. It's packed with interviews with researchers working on fascinating things, including computers that might help people to see, personalized medicine and the search for novel antibiotics. 0:45 Where and how can we find novel antibiotics? – Dr Christophe Corre 2:16 Stem cells and human health - Professor Fiona Watt FRS 4:57 Staphylococcus aureus – biography of a bug sometimes super, most often not - Professor Hugh Pennington CBE 19:09 Can computers help people see? – Dr Stephen Hicks 27:03 Why Science? – Dr Stephen Hicks Listen to this episode

This month we take a look at all things physics. We join the latest winner of the Michael Faraday Prize to talk about our asymmetric universe, discuss the future of the Higgs boson with some global leaders in particle physics and discover some surprising  applications of Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques. 0:58 Dr Fabiola Gianotti discusses the impact of the discovery of the Higgs boson and what we are doing moving forward 3.22 Professor Tejinder Virdee FRS talks about the incredible efforts and achievements behind the experiment at the Large Hadron Collider 8.09 Professor Frank Close OBE, winner of the 2013 Michael Faraday Prize, tells us about our asymmetric universe and why science communication is so important 15.16 Professor Lynn Gladden CBE FREng FRS reveals the novel potential of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and how it can be applied in the fields of physical sciences and engineering 19.58 Professor Frank Close OBE tells us, why science? Listen to this episode