Hot Topics...Cool Science...

Understanding the Polar Regions is crucial for advancing knowledge of key global issues such as climate change and biodiversity. Scientists from the world-leading British Antarctic Survey have, for over 60 years, undertaken a programme of scientific research, survey and long-term observations in the Earth’s greatest natural laboratory. Evidence from its investigations into ozone depletion, climate change, and biodiversity have influenced international environmental policy and highlighted the relevance of the Polar Regions to society. Researchers will describe key findings from BAS research and discuss the implications for governments, business and society at large. Short tour facilities included in the visit.

In the ‘year of Darwin’, a ground-breaking exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum opens up an entirely new perspective on the wider impact of Darwin’s legacy.

The exhibition’s curator, Jane Munro, will lead a tour of exhibition highlights or guide delegates through the exhibits and themes according to specialism and interest, as well as taking questions.

Endless Forms: Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts reveals the fascinating interchange between Darwin’s revolutionary theories and art in the nineteenth century. Investigating both Darwin’s debt to visual imagery and the vast range of artistic responses to his ideas, this exhibition encourages a radical reappraisal not just of nineteenth-century art, but also of its relationship with scientific discovery: from geology and paleontology to evolution by natural selection, sexual selection and animal psychology.

This cross-disciplinary exhibition – hailed as ‘a major achievement’ by the New York Times juxtaposes artworks from around the world, including world-renowned masterpieces by artists such as Degas, Cézanne and Landseer, with historic scientific material, from dramatic taxidermy, teaching diagrams and early anthropological photographs to fossils, minerals and skulls. Endless Forms also draws on rarely-seen original Darwin material from collections and archives around Cambridge: the city in which Darwin studied as a young man (and later returned to at the end of the Beagle voyage), and which has produced so many leading figures in both the sciences and the arts.

A two-day excursion, which takes in three world-leading research labs - CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in Geneva and the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) and the ILL (Institut Laue-Langevin) in Grenoble. Journalists will leave for Geneva in the evening of 4th July for an extensive tour of the world-famous particle physics research institute, CERN, the following day. They will transfer to Grenoble that evening to visit ESRF and ILL on 6th July. Here, 5000 scientists every year use the complementary tools of neutrons and X-rays, respectively, for groundbreaking research in many disciplines, notably new materials and life sciences.

The Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, located at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, is the only European Kavli institute dedicated to nanoscience. The institute consists of seven research groups and a nanofabrication cleanroom facility. With a staff of 12 professors and over 100 PhD students and postdocs, the institute studies new physics and exploits novel principles in nanostructured devices with a new functionality. The nanostructures vary from superconductors to biopolymers and are obtained from nature or fabricated with bottom-up methods (starting with atoms or molecules) or top-down techniques (such as electron-beam lithography).

During the daytrip to the Kavli Institute, journalists will be brought up to speed on the latest developments in the field of nanoscience, in particular nanoelectronics and single molecule biophysics, the specialties of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft. You will get the chance to see experiments in action and have ample opportunity to talk to the scientists. From working on the next step towards a quantum computer to using molecular biophysics to help make future cancer drugs more effective, our scientists who regularly publish in top journals like Nature, Science, PNAS and Physical Review Letters will show you their latest results.

World-class science in the Oxfordshire countryside

Oxfordshire has been at the forefront of the UK’s scientific research activity for over 50 years. To illustrate the amazing diversity and significance of Oxfordshire based science facilities, four research establishments will open their doors to delegates of the WCSJ on Friday 3rd July. Visitors will get to see behind the scenes at each facility and there will also be an informal evening reception in the nearby city of Oxford. During each tour, and during the evening reception, journalists will have the opportunity to speak to scientists about their latest research work so there will be plenty of scope for science stories during the event.

Diamond Light Source, the UK’s new synchrotron science facility

Diamond generates brilliant beams of light, from infra-red to X-rays, which are used in a wide range of applications, from structural biology through fundamental physics and chemistry to cultural heritage. The facility, which opened its doors to researchers in January 2007, currently has 13 operational beamlines. Visitors will be taken inside the experimental hall to view JEEP, the joint engineering and environmental processes beamline, which is under construction and will welcome first users in October 2009. Scientists involved in medical research, environmental science, nanoscience, extreme conditions science and archaeology will be on hand to talk about their latest work and results from the synchrotron.

JET, Europe’s premier fusion research facility

The Joint European Torus (JET), is the world’s largest magnetic fusion experiment. At JET, researchers are developing nuclear fusion as a vital carbon-free energy source for the power stations of the future, under the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA). JET is one of the main test-beds for ITER, the commercial-scale international fusion project now being built at Cadarache in France. The visit will include a tour of the experimental facilities hosted by EFDA-JET scientists and engineers, plus briefings from senior researchers on future plans for the European fusion programme and preparations for ITER.

Central Laser Facility

The Central Laser Facility (CLF) is a world-leading laser facility providing scientists with an unparalleled range of state of the art technology in the provision and application of ultra-fast and high intensity lasers. The CLF is a partnership between its staff and the large number of UK and European universities who use the specialised laser equipment. There are three principal research facilities (Vulcan, Astra and the Lasers for Science Facility) which carry out a broad range of experiments in physics, chemistry and biology.

The facility operates high power installations and a number of smaller scale, tuneable lasers. A vigorous development programme ensures that facilities maintain their international competitiveness.

ISIS, the world-leading neutron and muon Source

ISIS is the world-leading neutron and muon source based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It allows scientists to study materials at the atomic level using a suite of instruments often described as ‘super-microscopes’. It supports a national and international community of more than 2000 scientists who use the beams of neutrons and muons ISIS produces for research in physics, chemistry, materials science, geology, engineering and biology. Visitors will be given access to all facilities including the latest instruments at the newly completed £145 million Second Target Station. Scientists will be on hand to discuss their latest research.

Imperial College London is consistently acknowledged as one of the top three UK universities for research, with about 3,000 researchers of the highest international quality based in central London.

Our ground-breaking research at the frontiers of scientific, engineering, business and medical knowledge frequently features across the international media. Recent examples include our teams of scientists working on infectious diseases and global pandemics, novel sources of biofuels from plants, and new advances in bioengineering. This trip is an excellent opportunity for you to find new stories and contacts, by meeting some of our leading academics and finding out more about their research.

LGC is an international science-based company and market leader in analytical, forensic and diagnostic services and reference standards.

LGC operates internationally through four divisions * LGC Forensics, Life & Food Sciences, LGC Standards and Research & Technology, which includes specialist laboratories delivering contracts under the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and supporting LGC's designated role as the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalysis.

Visitors to LGC's headquarters in Teddington, South West London, will have the opportunity to meet scientists from across LGC's four business areas. These will include our forensic experts who recover DNA from items retrieved from a crime scene and our toxicologists who will show you an example of various drugs and drug paraphernalia, as well as our scientists who analyse nutrients, nut allergens and aflatoxins, for example, in food, and pesticide and veterinary residues from our food and drink.

Our mass spectrometry team can show you their impressive selection of equipment used to monitor the presence and concentration of a huge range of chemicals in almost any material. Recent examples of our work include counterfeit drug detection, cocaine on bank notes and poisonous metals in plastics. Find out how our scientists in LGC Standards help laboratories maintain the quality and safety of the foods you eat, the medicines you take and the water you use. Come and meet our colleagues from LGC's most international division, whose products and services impact on many aspects of everyday life.

The National Oceanography Centre, Southampton offers an opportunity to hear about the recent developments in climate change and ocean biodiversity.

During the visit we will meet the engineers and scientists responsible for operating the deep-diving Autosub6000 and the Remotely Operated Vehicle, ROV, Isis, which will be used next year on an expedition to the Cayman Trough to study hydrothermal vents.

Oceanographers will detail recent developments in climate change research - particularly “Rapid Watch’ which operates an array of moorings across the Atlantic, supplemented with ocean gliders to measure changes to ocean currents. There will be an opportunity to visit the British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility and learn how sediment from the ocean floor reveal clues to past climate changes.

Increased carbon emissions are affecting more than just climate change, they have been linked to the increasing acidification of the oceans – with consequences for calcium dependent animals such as corals. The sequestration of carbon into the deep ocean is a hot topic. But do ocean geo-engineering projects – such as seeding the oceans with iron – offer a solution?

Coral reef animals are providing help to bio-medical research with the creation of a red fluorescent protein that can be used as a ‘marker’ in living cells. This marker has been created by NOCS scientists from fluorescing sea anemone pigment. See the fluorescing qualities of coral reef animals in the specially constructed reef tank.

The home of purple tomatoes, superbroccoli and the world’s first low carbon beer. A chance for a heads-up on future stories on food, health, plant genetics and environmental science.

For example in 2006, JIC reported a step towards transferring the ability of peas to feed themselves to other major crops such as rice. If rice was able to produce its own nitrogen, it would do away with the need for nitrogen fertilizers - currently responsible for half of the fossil fuel usage of agriculture.

Key research areas: food allergy, healthy aging, preventing cancer through diet, climate change, food security, sustainable agriculture.

Some highlights:

Pharming – generating antibiotics and vaccines from plants and microbes.
Low carbon research to develop products and services.
Model gut – the launch was an Associated Press exclusive. A model that can be fed real food. The only one available worldwide that models both the physical processes and biochemical environment of the gut.
Food waste – in collaboration with Lotus cars, IFR is developing transport fuel generated from food waste.
Low fat feel-good foods - we are researching ways to produce foods that give all the pleasure of high-fat foods but with less fat. Also foods that help to suppress appetite.
Tipping Elements research was covered worldwide in 2008 and awarded Research Project of the Year by the Times Higher

Rothamsted Research is the world's oldest agricultural research station. The Institute, based at Harpenden just outside of London, is one of the world's leading crop and agricultural research centre. Scientists at Rothamsted Research are contributing to research in areas such as climate change, food security and international development.

Long term experiments at Rothamsted, dating back over 150 years, have enabled scientists to track the effect of pollution, nuclear fall out, fertlizers and climate change on the crops that the world relies on. The Institute also has an extensive programme of collaboration with scientists in the developing world.

The trip to Rothamsted Research will combine an opportunity to hear about the heritage and history of this picturesque research station together with its latest cutting edge research. Journalists will have the chance to hear from, talk to and meet scientists working on highlights including food sustainability in developing countries, mosquito research, insect tracking, fungicides, sustainable bioenergy, large scale field trials and to tour the research farm. Lunch and the opportunity to network and build contacts with Institute scientists will also be provided.

Rothamsted Research is an Institute of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) which is sponsoring the trip. BBSRC is sponsoring a workshop before the conference on food security and this trip will also offer the opportunity to discuss those issue in greater detail with researchers.

This year the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition isn’t just an opportunity to marvel at the smart thinking that’s shaping the world around us, it’s a brilliant chance for you to meet and fire questions at the scientists behind the research.

We’ve got over 20 fascinating, diverse and interactive exhibits. Fields of study range from how fluorescent fish could provide better understanding of human diseases, to a chewing robot that can help us develop dental technology, to how new space missions could help to unlock the history of the universe.

The people responsible for this work, and many more, will be there for you to grill.

Visit us

Exclusive private viewing opportunity for conference delegates who attend the breakfast session at the Royal Society on Wednesday 1st July 8.30am-9.30am. All conference delegates are invited to attend this breakfast session free of charge.

The 2009 Summer Science Exhibition will take place from Tuesday 30 June to Saturday 4 July 2009.

Public opening hours are:
Tuesday 30th June 2009: 10am - 9pm (last entry: 8.30pm)
Wednesday 1st July 2009 to Saturday 4 July 2009: 10am - 5pm (last entry: 4.30pm)

Please note that last entry is 30 minutes before closing time on each day.