Dr. Ziauddin Sardar is one of the leading Britain intellectuals. A simple Google search revealed almost 60,000 pages mentioning his name. In 30 years he wrote or edited 45 books. He has worked as journalist for Nature and New Scientist. His research interests are vast "ranging from Islamic studies and futures studies to science policy, literary criticism, and information science to cultural relations, art criticism and critical theory" as it is written on his official site.

What can you say about ForWiki platform?

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "It is a project for the community of people who think about the future."

So, the targeted people are specialists...

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "Most simply, it is a project about all varieties of people who think about the future, who practice what we call foresight. ForWiki is a portal for those people who are professionally interested in the future in different ways."

Experts write articles, develop scenarios but society is made also of ordinary people. So, what we should know about future?

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "Future is not something that you have to wait. It is something that you can share and it is something that you can act about about in this very moment.  It is all about action. Let me give you just one example: if you want to do something about the climate change you should use less energy. The time of the action is now."

Generally speaking, the Bucharest workshop was about theory, practice and living in a knowledge society. What kind of society is envisioned?

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "This is the point! Different futurists will have different visions of the society. It is not a single vision. It is very much a pluralistic exercise. The emphasis is on alternative future, what is going to happen in 10 - 20 years time. Need not be simply an extension of what is happening today. It could be different things but the possibilities are vast. And we want to know the possibilities and to choose the desirable possibilities to move towards."

... To be prepared...

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "To be prepared for that and also to create opportunities to move in that direction. Our purpose is to explore these variations and see how we can best realize them and how we can have a common agreement amongst different visions of the future, come up with something that is based on wisdom of consensus and create some sort of patterns and some sort of direction towards desirable future. And you do this in a number of ways. Foresight is just one matter; the emphasis is on exploration. So, it is an exercise of imagination, an exercise of using objective matters to acquire subjective results."

Coming back to the workshop, what is the news that the workshop brings into attention? There are lessons learned, there are next steps to be taken...
Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "I think the main message is that future needs our attention. Urgently! Future is not something that we can just leave and not worry about. There are some many things now going wrong in society, there are so many complexities that we do need to pay attention to what is happening in terms of the direction we have taking. And be concern about it. If we look at the numbers of things all the last couple of years: huge financial crisis, economic meltdown, serious concern with swine flu, climate change; a volcano has erupted recently; so, things are much interconnected. We need to be conscious about what is happening, we need to study them all the time and be aware of what is happening and we have to develop strategies, methods, systems so that we can move away from the highway to disaster and go to a more desirable future."

Let us imagine that we are at 2025 time horizon. How is the future in your opinion?

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "I always said that there is no one answer; at the very least there could be two answers.... "

...The good and the bad scenarios; cold and hot; sweet and bitter...

Dr. Ziauddin Sardar: "Precisely. My thesis is that it is not good having a hot and a cold answer. What tends to happen are things in between. And it is the things in between which are more interesting. And these things you cannot just come up instantly. They have to be studied and discovered. The hot and cold answer I can create just by sitting here. But the area in between I need to study to act, and to put into practice. That's the message: don't seat there and assume the best or assume the worst, go out and study all the possible things that can happen in between and act to create them."

The Bucharest workshop was coordinated by Dr. Philine Warnke, researcher at the Competence Center Innovation and Technology Management and Foresight from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Germany. We have tried to find out how science will look in the future. Especially, if transdisciplinary science is the natural consequence of the interdisciplinary science of today.

Dr. Philine Warnke: "I am not sure it will be the next step but I think it should be. That it is what is really needed at the moment. I am not sure it's really going in this direction but I think this is what it's really urgently needed: not interdisciplinarity but transdisciplinarity in new sense".

Do you have an example? What is the researchers' reaction to this?

Dr. Philine Warnke: "Everybody's saying 'you have a point because there is something we're always miss, something in between; for example, we set a human-machine cooperation, so that should be one transdisciplinary perspective because we have all these new technologies... they say yes, it's a good idea but the problem is to implement this because communities they don't even talk, they do not have a common language".

What about the workshop in Bucharest?

Dr. Philine Warnke: "I really felt that was a community of practitioners, something that we're always talking about and here it really emerged and it really became reality."

So being together all the experts was the strongest point of the workshop.
Dr. Philine Warnke: "Everybody was supportive and trying not to criticise; and if they were critical they also came with alternative solutions to improve things or do things in a different way"

New members will join and the community will grow. How can an expert of the past be involved in the study of the future?

Dr. Philine Warnke: "We always say that is very important to foresight to talk about the future to understand the past. There are historians of technology that tell us that technology doesn't grow like patterns tell us."

The two dialogues have in common the idea that seems to be unique, at least in terms of how the day of tomorrow should be judged with responsibility: the group intelligence is shaping the future.

Notes:

Interviews were taken on Friday, April 16, immediately after the workshop "Launching and Jointly Shaping the Foresight Wiki. For more details about the Bucharest's workshop click here. 

For Futures magazine click here. 
  
For more info about the project "Quality and Leadership for Romanian Higher Education" click here.

For FORwiki platform visit www.forwiki.ro

The importance of eliminating these incorrect concepts is particularly relevant in the context of the relationship of evolution with religion, whether Christianity, Islam or other faiths. Often, the dialogue between those approaches - the Darwinian scientific and faith - is hindered by the way people understand certain mechanisms and implications of the evolutionary theory.
I think a better understanding of the theory of evolution will result in a more open dialogue and create a climate leading to further discussion.

Given this context and especially due to the celebration of Darwin bicentenary last year and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species", British Council and other partners, including "Science Newspaper" are organizing a public debate on the relationship of the theory of evolution and religion.
The debate is made known through a website - www.darwindebate.ro - where you can learn further details about the event and the theory of evolution.

One of the most subtle misunderstandings about evolution relates to how individuals see the world in general and biological individuals in particular.
Starting with Plato and Pythagoras, people considered that things can be grouped into classes or types. So there is the class of clouds, the class of trees, the class of chairs etc. Each such group is defined by a number of features. Those features constitute basically the essence of that class, and the essence of each class is constant.

Christianity is influenced by essentialist conceptions: God created classes of things, including the species which remained unchanged until today. Differences between members of a class were considered irrelevant. A cat is always a cat: whether large or small, white or stained, dead or alive, it is part of the "idea" or class cats. The essence is ideal.

In 1859 Darwin proposed a new kind of thinking about living beings. The living world does not contain essences, types, he said, but contains populations of individuals who differ among themselves. There are no ideal bacteria or cuttlefish. There are individuals with common characteristics, yet clear distinctions. When we read in a textbook about a particular animal or plant, we are usually reading about the common features. We are therefore tempted to think of it in an essentialist fashion. In fact, such descriptions are quite didactic and simplistic and could not capture the whole variety of individuals in natural biological populations. It is therefore relatively easy to consider the usual or the average, as ideal for that category of living things.
Findings in genetics confirmed populationist thinking and explained the variability in the populations of living world.

150 years following Darwin's publication, the populationist approach was not yet fully accepted by certain scientists or the public opinion, but it is precisely that approach that led to great progress in understanding the living world and the mechanisms governing the changes in the living world.

Understanding the evolution theory is made easier by using a populationist approach. As populations are made of variable individuals, we can easily imagine that, for example, some individuals in a population of wolves sheltered near people camps, and that their descendants became gradually the dogs of nowadays. An essentialist thinking implies that the wolf and dog have totally different essences and can not convert from one to other. Or, an essentialist would state that a wolf female would give birth to a dog, which is, of course, false.

So, next time someone asks questions such as "What was at the beginning, the egg or the chicken?", one can present a dish of populationist thinking by saying that it does not make sense since it simply implies the existence of classes or essences: chickens and eggs. Biological beings do not relate to this thinking. There is no key difference between an embryo and an adult; one is slowly turning into the other. It is merely a change over time!

In the case of small bodies, there is a dichotomy between the asteroids that cross the orbit of the Earth and those of the Main Belt. The spectral response surfaces of a class of Near-Earth Asteroids (the taxonomic class Q) shows minerals whose physical properties are less affected by the space weathering(**). Mechanisms such as close approaches with the Earth, Mars or Venus, or collisions with other small asteroids are proposed to produce the re-surfacing of Near-Earth Asteroids.

A French-American team examined the issue of proximity between NEOs and the terrestrial planets. The spectra of a sample of one hundred asteroids have been analyzed and the results were corroborated with their orbital dynamics.

The conclusion of this research is that the Earth can produce a significant impact for the re-surfacing processes, if the asteroid passes at least a distance of 16 Earth radii from the planet. This distance is approximately one quarter of the Earth-Moon distance. Seismic waves generated by the close passage are able to "shake up" the surface of the object so that rocks and regoliths are reorganizing. The reorganization of the surface of the asteroid is revealed by the spectral measurements. Having suffered less exposure to space weather, minerals resulting from the re-surfacing will show spectra which are in better agreement with laboratory spectra of ordinary chondrite meteorites.

In 2029, the asteroid 99942 Apophis, whose diameter is estimated at about 270 meters, will pass close to Earth. This passage will take place at a distance of about 42,000 km and will not affect our planet. However, during this close passage, the asteroid will be located inside the perimeter of the theoretical limit discussed above, and vibrations will be strong enough to produce its re-surfacing. Spectroscopic observations of the close approach of 99942 Apophis will be possible in 2029, will confirm these assumptions and will contribute to the validation of these results.

(*) Space weather includes several factors such as the solar wind, the cosmic rays, and the impacts with micro-meteoroids.

(**) The spectrum of Q-type asteroids is the best analogue for most meteorites that exist in collections (ordinary chondrite meteorites).

French team: Francesca DeMeo, Sihane Merouane (Observatoire de Paris), Alessandro Morbidelli (Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur), Pierre Vernazza (ESTEC and Observatoire de Paris), Richard Binzel (MIT IMCCE, Observatoire de Paris), Mirel Birlan (IMCCE, CNRS 8028, Observatoire de Paris).

Reference: R. Binzel, A. Morbidelli, S. Merouane, F. DeMeo, M. Birlan, P. Vernazza, C. Thomas, A. Rivkin, S. Bus and A. Tokunaga, "Earth encounters as the origin of fresh asteroid surfaces", Nature, published January 21, 2010.

Contact: Dr. Mirel Birlan, Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides (IMCCE), Observatoire de Paris, Email: Mirel.Birlan at imcce.fr

Unlike journalists, science communicators have direct contact with the public. They can be for example researchers, educators, managers or teachers. Communication of science is a field with many facets and includes popularization of science, practical activities, PR and even science marketing.

Science, as well as journalism, is based on questions and answers. People from the two sides - science and journalism - speak about big questions that expect right answers. Both have in common an audience to whom they are addressing. But the message they send is different and seems that they understand the audience in different ways. Therefore, a common construction of the message to be transmitted to the audience can turn into an advantage for both, journalists and scientists. At a step away around this idea is the one which requires flexibility on both sides.

These were some of the ideas that we have launched at the very beginning of the event and they have received comments on the last part of the meeting.

Sotira Trifourki from the company Space Connections, United Kingdom, was the first of our partners who came into contact with the participants to the science café. She has several years experience in science education. Specifically, she is working with middle school and high school students from most of the UK regions. She teaches students practical notions about space and astronomy. These types of activities are trying to raise the interest in experimenting science. Not in vain because students started asking questions and was found an increase in enthusiasm and motivation of young people for learning.

Sotira is a good communicator of science. At an Istanbul meeting that took place a few years ago, she demonstrate her communication skills in front of an international network of passionate and highly skilled science communicators. We are speaking about the meeting of the Famelab winners and the network FameLab Beautiful Science Network held in rein by Professor Malcolm Love. Among the personalities who joined the event was Lord Robert Winston. On the stage, Sotira introduced the subject of Sun and Moon eclipses and determined Lord Robert Winston to dance!

Why this do not happens here? Because we don't have Lords!? We have local barons as ironically suggested many participants in the room.

On the other hand, maybe there were no journalists; maybe there aren't journalists to provoke them, as said Dr. Magda Stavinschi, astronomer and science communicator, a well known personality both in Romania and abroad.

Returning to the question, Gabriel Ivan says the issue is not how you make the Lords to dance but how you make children to be careful and this thing happens inside and outside the classroom. "Experiments like this are very rare here" and should become a movement otherwise "we still have much to far" as he says.

Dr. Magda Stavinschi said that now is the time for action and efforts must be correlated with representatives of specialized organizations and associations, such as Euroscience. In this approach, which aims to attract children to science, there is a necessarily need of science journalists and science communicators as they are linking the public with scientists.
 
Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor believes that from this perspective, it is a step back from what was the situation more than 20 years ago; he brings into attention various extracurricular activities in which students could enroll, the so-called circles devoted almost every field of science.

On the other hand, science faculties have fewer candidates, the proportion of she students is increasingly smaller. Dr. Roxana Bojariu believes that it is a systemic problem: "What happens now with science, it happens not only in the general school but unfortunately it also happens later. Those who think at such a career eventually realize that in our country there is no predictability."

Attempts to make contact with our colleagues from Athens were successful. We hear and see eachother well. We were joined by two Greek researchers, Dr. Kostas Karpouzis and Dr. Spiros Kitsinelis, former winners and fans of science FameLab competition.

Speaking of science communication, they say that there is a very small number of journalists who write about science in general, covering topics from the economy to climate change. In most cases there are news translated into Greek language.
In Greece, however, there are writers which tackle various topics of science and arrange texts in the form of dialogues for dramatization. Therefore, are actors with experience in communicating science!

We should add the qualified science writers. Besides writings books, they participate in various debates, events or science cafes. Spiros reminds us of publishers and journals of science known throughout Europe and nominates Focus publication.

Unfortunately, there are no "stars" of science communication. It's true that Spiros and Kostas were invited to a series of TV shows but their presence were punctual. They gave interviews for several magazines and that was all.

Spiros thinks that the situation differs from country to country and takes Turkey as example. The FameLab competition was broadcasted on TV and nearly 25 million people watched it.

Television is very important and in Greece there are not enough science programs. "I think that only when TV is involved, science can really reach the public," said Spiros.

What to do is simple, at least in theory. You have to sell science subjects, and this means to have audience; on the other hand, it seems that science do not attract public. "Science is not so popular as a singer's or actor's divorce. Science must become a little more sexy "says Spiros.

So we came to science and love, another theme proposed for the science café. Our Greek colleagues showed links between science and romance in a drama that was played lately.

Kostas says that basically we can find scientific explanations for almost anything. Even for God. The question is whether we want to prove that science and love are related. Are we speaking maybe about hormones or pheromones or a certain mental state that gives us the feeling that we found the pair, a situation which has no solid scientific basis?

Spiros said that if we bring into discussion the metaphysics of love, science is not likely to provide any explanation. "In the mentioned play, we tried to prove that each gram of love and sex is actually chemistry and biology.

Therefore, the relationship between science and love is characterized by some chemistry, some biology and perhaps a bit of math.

Spiros and Kostas remembers us the extraordinary opportunity for science popularization during the 2009 International Year of Astronomy. It seems that in terms of communicating astronomy, things are better than with other sciences. That's because they are experts who have double specializations, both in astronomy and communication.

Because we were exactly with one week before Christmas, Greek colleagues have told us about the science of Christmas, another show that was organized as a drama. Christmas tree and its decorating lights, Santa Claus and how he distributed the presents were just a few of the subjects covered which they have tried to explain with the help of science; they have brought up relativity, light sources science and ecology. The play had seven performances in two Greek cities. This project was done by many authors but generally speaking they connect Christmas traditions with scientific evidence.

Both love and Christmas are topics that might be sold. The next project Kostas and Spiros are working on focus on sport, also a topic that sells well. It is also a project supported by the British Council which will be done through a book of thematic articles.

Starting from a presentation made by the British FameLab winners about super heroes like Spiderman or Superman, Spiros and Kostas have set up another project that links science with Greek mythology.

We've tried to find out if science and religion might be a subject to be sold in Greece. It seems that so far there was no serious debate on this issue. So, no question of dialogue between science and religion. So we tried to find out what kind of relationship exists between science and religion.

"There should be neither friends nor enemies. Faith is a personal matter and you can choose to believe or not. I do not think that can be linked "said Kostas.
Spiros join his colleague's response. "We should not talk about friends or enemies. They have nothing in common, are two completely different things".
Turning to the essential question of the cafe, Kostas said that is a need for investment in training journalists and even scientists who write about science. From this perspective, Famelab competition and courses offered to the finalists were a very promising step forward. Therefore, the same conclusion which could detach also in Romania and we spoke and wrote about it on many other occasions.

Until the moment of establishing connection with Dr. Camelia Chira - winner of the first edition of FameLab in Romania - based in Cluj-Napoca (town in the centre of the country) discussions were animated around the theme of science and religion.

We keep in mind Alberto Manca's answer, the youngest of the participants at the science café. He has 17 years old and he is a student at International High School of Informatics in Bucharest. He loves books and to learn as implying the results obtained so far: astronomy medalist at international competitions and has been awarded a special prize for best practical work.

"For now, as Kostas said, it is not something defined yet, they can be neither friends nor enemies; however, it seems that the Vatican has taken the initiative and realizes that religion cannot coexist with science unless one accepts. Religion comes with faith, science comes up with facts. When there are certain data, religion cannot simply say: do not think this, is wrong. I mean, I believe in God, I am as much religious as time permitting, but we should somehow find a balance. After all, science has its origins somewhere in the church, in the first writings that were made by monks and the first schools that had priests as teachers. Religion was a source of knowledge. "

When we speak of dialogue between science and religion we should refer also to those who take part in such a dialogue. On one hand, there are scientists who are not genuine scientists and that paves the way to "all kinds of paranormals who speak in the name of religion"; the situation "certainly harms both religion and science," says Gabriel Ivan .

Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor said that we should not make confusion between "religiosity and all their occult forms that flood mass media. As an Orthodox theologian I see extremely well this mutual opening between academia and religion, but I fear that this opening in the Roman Catholic Church is risky. They try to put science results that are always ascending, while teaching the faith is revealed. We can go to the revelation only in depth. Therefore, only with this mention, I welcome the extraordinary opening of the West, especially the Catholics, and I think we should do the same thing. Fortunately, we have scientists who are practitioners more even than some theologians and this is the source of our force".

Connection with Dr. Camelia Chira has been established. Nothing could be more appropriate as time as soon as the discussion was focused on the strength of scientists.

"I am scientific researcher at Babes Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca, in computing and more specifically, artificial intelligence. I have a clear passion for science, I attended the first edition of FameLab in Romania, in 2007. On that time I couldn't believe that we can take part at such event of communication of science to the public; until then I have presented science to the specialists at conferences, under very special conditions".

It should be noted here that before FameLab Camelia presented science, after FameLab starts to communicate.

"I have introduced in my presentations at the conferences all kinds of things that might call attention of the colleagues who listen to me. For example, I brought in slides instead of formulas and text, a picture of the nature, which is a kind of yupi! for the scientists".

As notable events in which science has played an essential role in this period, besides those dedicated to the International Year of Astronomy 2009 - which took place in high schools and universities of Bucharest - the essay contest " Cassini Astronomer ", that I think will help to the formation of a new generation of communicators of science (Science Newspaper, click here).

Notable is the first Romanian translation of the book "The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey" by Spencer Wells at the autumn Bucharest Gaudeamus Book Fair. Volume appeared at CD Press Publishing House and is written by director of the Genographic Project, Dr. Spencer Wells, who make the blood talk (more details here). Last but not least, have to mention the British Council's science café.

From Cluj-Napoca, Dr. Camelia Chira note the "communication sessions with students at Babes Bolyai University; these are scientific communications sessions dedicated to students; they present their interest, what they would like to study; it always happens around Christmas. I personally associate with Christmas and the time is very welcome knowing that we want to attract students to science, to research. "

On science and religion "I would not say they are enemies. I would keep somewhere in the middle, could be more like friends. Coming back to the theme of the meeting, I think that science and journalism has to go hand to hand, "said Dr. Camelia Chira, one of the Science Newspaper's collaborators.

Dr. Magda Stavinschi announces that on April 17, 2010 at Babes Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca it will take place a spring school for youth on the subject science and spirituality, and the coordinator of the event is Academician Basarab Nicolescu.

The end of the dialogue with Dr. Camelia Chira has brought a new issue in the spotlight. That's because I used the greeting "Happy Holidays!".

"Winter's Holidays is the correspondent of the Western secular Mos Gerila (The Freezing Old Man, ie Santa Claus). At the moment some people are trying a substitution. In the West and especially in America, Christmas is disproportionate in comparison with the Resurrection of Christ, in terms of religious importance. I mean Christmas has greater importance. Then there is this trend that has even atheistic accents, to say 'happy holidays, safely winter holidays, be healthy' without telling Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas," said Fr. Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor.

Dana Radler disagree: "I would like to contradict you, because when I wish Merry Christmas I assume that the other is Christian. What if it's not a Christian?"
The answer came promptly from Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor: "Whether we like it or not, Christianity is ingrained in Western structures more than we want to recognize. I speak of some trends. The problem is the following: we forget that before calling it Europe, all the region was known as Christianity in medieval times. Unfortunately, pre-French revolution wins against the Carolingian renaissance. Although Charles the Great was illiterate he still had the strength to try a revival with the help of church and monasteries, the source of culture as our young student said before".

It is almost obvious that science and religion is a hot topic here, it can become in Greece but how is seen in the UK?

That was the moment for a new and favorable video connection, this time again with Sotira Trifourki located in Manchester: "When speaking of science and religion, it actually comes to creationism. Science is sometimes seen as friend, sometimes as foe. I think the answer depends on cultural background of the person who is asked".

Time passes faster than imagined. Initial time was over. But discussions flowed. Sometimes dialogues resemble a game of ping pong, sometimes a play.

"I am a little puzzled by this story about science and religion. Why this passion gets exaggerated? Why not mention for example, science and art, science as a religion? In my opinion, art, science, religion are ways of perceiving reality and express it with a specific language; I do not see why you have to be close, to put in an artificially touch some ways of perceiving reality that cannot be brought together. Pure and simple, they do not have the same goal. Science wants something, religion wants something else. There is no dialogue! There shouldn't be a dialogue!" said Dr. Roxana Bojariu.

This is the time to remember that art as the interface between science and religion was the main theme to one of the international congresses organized by the Association for Dialogue between Science and Theology in Romania (ADSTR).

From the perspective of the architect Vasile Popescu "the dialogue is everywhere" even "between the drop of water and air".

Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "It's about different ways. The science is clear, start from some assumptions and build with tools that all the scientific community use. I do not see why I use the tools of science in addressing religion or art ".

Dana Radler: "It doesn't mean that they are antagonistic".

Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor: "There are not antagonistic but do not have dialogue?"

Gabriel Ivan: "It depends what we mean by dialogue. Maybe they do not work together ... "

Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor (continue the idea): "... have specific means. The scientist might be a religious man? "

Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "This is a private matter!"

Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor: "No!"

Architect Vasile Popescu: "The scientist may also be a religious man! The church is built by an architect, the architect has a constructor or a technician that knows how to prepare the mortar, how cannot be compatible? "

Gabriel Ivan: "I think there is a dialogue between science and religion. We are talking always passionate and that demonstrates that we have a dialogue".

Ionel Andrei returns to science and journalism: "We've started from a hypothesis and we talked about an audience. If we fix a hypothesis we can reach some conclusions. There are already opened so many challenges. I wonder and ask those who are journalists, who would buy and how well it would sell such a discussion, how can we convince the young generation to embark on science, how can we convince them is not in contradiction, and should not even ask whether it is enemy or friend, if love is nothing more than interdisciplinarity or other mode of communication or what does love mean in terms of researcher. From this point of view and from my professional interest I would be very interested in a partnership between science and journalism. I see science and religion as complementary. Eventually, we are all people, whether scientists or have any other profession, and even at the last minute or in the last day of our life, all we get to leave on account of divinity what we did not found. "

Does science is always based on facts? "Theoretical physics is not based on facts, is based on human reason ..." notes Gabriel Ivan.

Dr. Magda Stavinschi takes up the idea supported by Ionel Andrei: "The first colloquium which was held in Romania, a first in post-communist and Orthodox, had as theme "Science and religion - antagonistic or complementary?"

Passionate about science, quantum physics and theory of relativity, my colleague and friend Mihai Garba follows everything what is being discussed online. His intervention opened a new perspective on the subject. "I am interested in the subject of science and religion for a long time. My observation is that the main part resembles, because supporters are very fervent, each seeking to prove their own point of view; indeed there is a major conflict between science and religion, each comes with facts or fragments taken from the Bible, or sacred texts, or daily research; we, who are popularising science, we are addressing mainly to the children and students and less to those who already have a job - it is not said very clearly while in school that science is based on some conditions or on some theories that are based on some axioms. All theories of physics, whether the fundamental theory, strings, particles, or other forms, starts from some axioms".

Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "... in science, any theory is validated in practice through experiments"

Mihai Garba (continues): "the student, you think what you learn in school teacher, science alone is an absolute truth"

Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "Science does not want absolute truths; this is clearly not the purpose of science ..."

Mihai Garba: "Exactly! But if it is taught as absolute truth is like religion."

Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "It's not the science fault ...."

Mihai Garba: "I blame teachers, science communicators. Here is the problem we have at school. Right now we have some theories that are validated in practice only to a point. "

Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "We do not work with absolute truths, but with models of reality, we use real instruments in order to move forward and to find new corners of reality."

Gabriel Ivan: "Aren't you impressed by the fact that models fit reality?"
Dr. Roxana Bojariu: "No, because we are selecting those models that match reality.

A careful observer, Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor remarked: "Settled people already have passed the issue of conflict, of dispute; people who are still looking, they do not have the necessary experience either they haven't enough information from both spheres, and still access the differences and conflict and whatever."

Prof. Dr. Elena Stanculescu: "It was very nice pointed out here the idea of complementarity and then teachers' fault. I do not want to find any guilty but it is true that, from the psychological point of view, since the 1960s it is stressed the need to change something in education in order to stimulate pleasure of learning. In other words, researchers noted that in the education of that time, unfortunately in Romania even today, a great emphasis falls on reproduction, on algorithmic thinking and the ability to develop sophisticated reasoning.

In education, bringing science closer to children shouldn't be emphasized only on problem solving but mainly on problem finding. So, not only to solve problems but also to be encouraged to discover. To be frequent as many moments Eureka!, the pleasure to discover.

Is it true that playful spirit stimulates not only children but also adults. On the other hand, if we do a thorough presentation so that you have a mix between rationality, cognition and emotion, the impact is very high.

It was said earlier that in terms of neurological science, man thinks with a certain part of the brain and religion with another part of the brain. It is a cliché.

Psychologists have found that people fully use their left hemisphere that appear to respond by algorithmically thinking, the analytical spirit. To get great results in science means to have a synthetic mind, an extraordinary intuition, not just the ability to apply algorithms. Always there is communication between right and left hemisphere.

When man prays, cortical and sub cortical activities come into action - hippocampus, limbic system, one that responds to emotions. The religious feeling is not just cognition".

Knowledge is at a hand distance for everyone. Reading does not hurt, as one friend said. We are recommending the science and religion books collection from Curtea Veche Publishing House (click here).

It was an event full of spiritual gains. I had the feeling that those who participated did not leave bored or tired. I imagined that everyone continues to ask questions and try to answer. That probably until they left the British Council's area. It was heavily snowing, walking was a tough aim. However, it was the end of a Friday afternoon, the weekend started and there were only a few days before Christmas. That was it. A real story with coffee! It wouldn't be written without the main characters: Ionel Andrei (National Authority for Scientific Research, ANCS), arh. Vasile Ion, Pr. Prof. Univ. Dr. George Istodor, Andrada Fiscutean (Pro FM, Pro TV), Alberto Manca (student), Prof. Dr. Elena Stanculescu (Bucharest University), Mihai Garba (IT specialist), Dr. Magda Stavinschi, Dr. Corina Stavinschi, Dr. Roxana Bojariu (ANM), Dr. Mihai Popa, Dana Radler (British Council), Gabriel Ivan (British Council), Dr. Camelia Chira (Babes Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania), Dr. Kostas Karpouzis (Openscience forum, Greece), Dr. Spiros Kitsinelis (Science Communication Newsletter - SciCo, Greece) si Sotira Trifourki (Space Connections, UK).

IYA2009 was launched by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO under the theme "The Universe, Yours to Discover". Abundant in grass-roots initiatives and global projects, this venture has been highly visible and its impact will last for years. As from today, astronomers from around the world have gathered in Padua, Italy for the two-day official conclusion of IYA2009. Reflecting on the events of the past year is on the agenda, and there is no shortage of success stories to tell.

Most of the incredible initiatives have come from individual countries.

IYA2009 supporters in Sweden created the world's largest model of the Solar System. The Sun is represented by the huge spherical Ericsson Globe Arena in central Stockholm and the planets are distributed along the country.

Finland also made a huge scale Solar System model, with the Sun located at the Helsinki Central Railway Station, with a giant sticker representing our local star. During the display around 50 000 people saw it every day!

Sticking with the transport theme, some Paris Metro stations have been decked out with about 500 metres of astronomical images, allowing millions of passengers to marvel at the Universe.

During 2009 more than one million Canadians have experienced a so-called "Galileo moment", an engaging astronomical experience that has opened their eyes to the Universe.

In Portugal more than 300 000 people participated in this year's astronomy-themed Oceans festival. It featured a Guinness World Record 4.8-km long canvas painted with the help of enthusiastic volunteers.

In Japan more than 7 million people were outside stargazing during 2009.

The IYA2009 presence in the new media sphere has been tremendous: the number of IYA2009-related blog entries and tweets reached millions.

The IYA2009 Cornerstone Project Cosmic Diary, a blog where 60 professional astronomers from around the world blog about their lives, families, friends, hobbies and interests, as well as their work, had more than 250 000 visitors and more than 2100 blog entries.

As another example, more than 10 000 people participated in Meteorwatch on Twitter, making this the first event of its kind, and also one of the biggest mass-participation events of IYA2009. On both nights of the Perseid meteor shower it was the #1 top "trending topic", by far the most-discussed thing on the Twitter network anywhere in the world!

Astronomy enthusiasts proved keen to innovate in ways of sharing astronomy with the public, and one original way was through street parades.

In January Indian astronomers took the grand opportunity to showcase IYA2009 to the citizens of India by presenting a tableau on astronomy in the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. Around 30 000 people were present to witness it.

During the Brazilian carnival Unidos da Tijuca, a samba school from Rio de Janeiro themed its parade "astronomy" in celebration of IYA2009. The parade typically has 600 000 spectators, and the number of TV viewers can reach hundreds of millions, or even a billion.

In Dublin astronomy topics lined the streets during the St. Patrick's Day Parade, with more than 675 000 participants.

In October a Galileo-actor marched as part of the famous Columbus Day Parade in New York City, the world's largest celebration of Italian-American culture.
 
The global IYA2009 projects have also been more successful than anyone initially dared to imagine. Two worldwide star parties were held in 2009: 100 Hours of Astronomy in April, and Galilean Nights in October. In total more than 3 million people got involved, with many members of the public seeing night sky objects such as planets and the Moon through a telescope for the very first time; a life-changing experience for many. A record-breaking and unprecedented live 24-hour webcast called Around the World in 80 Telescopes was a true highlight during 100 Hours of Astronomy. Featuring astronomical research observatories both on and off the planet, the webcast gave members of the public a snapshot of life at research observatories around the world during a single 24-hour period, showing viewers the wide range of astronomers' activities at many, often very different, observatories. The marathon webcast, which had at least 200 000 viewers worldwide, gave a striking demonstration of the global diversity of astronomical research.

Another hit of IYA2009 is the Galileoscope, a low-cost telescope kit especially designed for the project. More than 110 000 of these educational tools have been distributed in 96 countries, and another 70 000 are in production. This style of practical science extended to a wide variety of award-winning dark-skies education programmes that are underway worldwide. More than 20 000 measurements of the night sky were made by citizen scientists during IYA2009; many of these projects will continue in 2010. These involve people in scientific research that is beneficial to researchers measuring the impact of human development on our environment, highlighting the fact that we all live on a single planet with shared resources.

Seventeen developing countries have received seed grants to stimulate astronomy educational and outreach (Macedonia, Nepal, Uganda, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Gabon, Rwanda, Uruguay, Tajikistan, Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mozambique, Pakistan and Tanzania). Their activities span from astronomy education workshops for teachers, recording and preservation of indigenous astronomy knowledge, production of school astronomy education resources in local languages and many more.

The From Earth to the Universe project enabled more than 500 exhibits of the most beautiful and inspiring large-format astronomical images in 70 countries.

The IYA2009 Special project, The World at Night, coordinated exhibitions in 24 shopping centres in 18 states across the US, during summer and autumn 2009.

More than 75 nations have run Galileo Teacher Training Programs, creating one of the largest astronomy education networks at a global level.

The Portal to the Universe created the first "one-stop shop" for astronomy news and has so far had more than 300 000 visitors since its opening in April 2009.

"The International Year of Astronomy 2009 has been an unforgettable journey and I am pleased to see that many of the projects will continue" says Catherine Cesarsky, Chair of the IYA2009 Working Group and the IAU's President during the majority of last year's events.

Political interest in IYA2009 was also high, which in itself is an achievement for any popularisation initiative. In the United States of America, the House of Representatives passed a resolution supporting IYA2009. The Spanish Congress of Deputies also passed a law supporting astronomy in the framework of IYA2009.

Heads of State were keen to express their support for the Year. The President of the Portuguese Republic, Prof. Dr. Aníbal Cavaco Silva, personally presided over the Portuguese IYA2009 Honour Committee. The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Danilo Turk, became the patron of IYA2009 in Slovenia. Lech Kaczynski presided over the Polish IYA2009 Honour Committee, while Prince Felipe of Spain (Prince of Asturias) did the same for the Spanish IYA2009 Honour Committee. The former Belgium Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, voiced support of astronomy during an IYA2009 event in Belgium held in April 2009. The former European Commissioner for Science and Research and present European Commissioner for Environment, Janez Potočnik, expressed his support of astronomy during the European opening of IYA2009 in Prague, Czech Republic. In the US, the event celebrating IYA2009 at the White House with President Obama and the First Family on 5 October 2009 made headlines. In Nepal the total solar eclipse observation event on 22 July 2009 was attended by the Prime Minister of Nepal, Madhav Kumar together with thousands of members of the public. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pointed that IYA2009 provided a chance for young scientists to develop a more vivid vision of man's future during his inaugural speech of the 3rd International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad in Tehran, Iran. Pope Benedict XVI gave an eloquent speech in which he said "The International Year of Astronomy is meant not least to recapture for people throughout our world the extraordinary wonder and amazement which characterised the great age of discovery in the sixteenth century."

IYA2009 was a huge event not only on Earth, but also above it.

In March the space shuttle Discovery launched towards the International Space Station. On board was the Japanese astronaut and IYA2009 supporter Koichi Wakata. He took a special flag with the IYA2009 logo with him. Another IYA2009 enthusiast, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut and Expedition 20/21 crew member Bob Thirsk, recorded a special IYA2009 message during his long-term mission on board the International Space Station, to remind the marvels of the night sky and propose once more a rediscovery of interest in astronomy and the Universe.

In May the space shuttle Atlantis was launched to refurbish the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, carrying on board a replica of Galileo's telescope that was used 400 years ago to change our view of the Universe and our place within it. May also saw the launch of the highly anticipated European Space Agency missions Herschel and Planck, which are probing the origins of our Universe. The IYA2009 logo was proudly displayed on the Ariane 5 launcher that lifted the two spacecraft into space.

Several IYA2009-affiliated movies were made during the Year, and received critical acclaim. More than 300 000 Eyes on the Skies DVDs, a film documenting the story of the telescope in 33 languages, were distributed worldwide and received a MEDEA 2009 Jury Award. Another film, 400 Years of the Telescope, has been seen by over 2.5 million individuals. The film has garnered four peer-reviewed Telly awards for animations, writing, cinematography and documentary production. Naming Pluto, the film about Venetia Burney Phair, the most influential 11 year-old in the history of science, has won cinematic and scientific acclaim in different festivals, including the prize for Best Documentary, second place at the Palm Springs SHORTFEST, the Best Short Documentary at the Rockport Film Festival, Best UK Documentary at the Falstaff Film Festival, a Remi Jury Award at the Houston Worldfest and the Festival Award at the Paso Robles Festival.

Some projects crossed country borders in a literal sense.

The GalileoMobile was a science education itinerant project that spent two months bringing life-changing experiences and the excitement of astronomy to young children in Chile, Bolivia and Peru. In total the GalileoMobile visited around 3000 children in 30 schools, covering a distance of 7000 km.

Tunisia's Astro-Bus was a similar project. From January to September the Astro-Bus visited around 60 regions all over the country, crossing approximately 15 000 km, sharing its content with 100 000 Tunisians of all ages. Telescopes have also travelled more than 20 000 km across Argentina, providing thousands of people with the opportunity of observing the firmament through a telescope.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 was never seen as a "one-off" event lasting just one year, but as a means of creating structures for collaboration, lasting self-sustaining activities and innovative concepts for the communication of astronomy.

Most of the IYA2009 Cornerstone projects will continue beyond 2009 unchanged or in a slightly changed form.

The maintenance of the IYA2009 networks is one of the priorities of the IYA2009 legacy and the global networks will continue to operate and engage millions of people.

Robert Williams, the current IAU President, considers that "IYA2009 may be over, but it leaves an important legacy for us to continue. The groundwork has been laid for astronomers and enthusiasts around the world to use the momentum gained from IYA2009 to ensure that the Universe is still ours to discover far into the future."

More info is available here (IYA2009 Closing Ceremony website), here (IYA2009 website), and here (The IYA2009 Legacy document).

In 2009 science was celebrated worldwide. The Year of Darwin, the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) and the year of the British Council's project Beautiful Science are just three of the big moments to be associated with science and science communication.

We celebrated 200 years since the birth of the British naturalist Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of The Origin of Species, a book that changed the perception on life and prompted discussion that until this day still can be considered unconcluded; and most likely we will not reach any consensus in the near future.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first astronomical observation through a telescope by Galileo Galilei. That is why we are talking about the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) and perhaps "only someone who lived in a cave does not know this", as Lars Christensen said, one of the most well-known science communicators worldwide.

On the other hand, all activities under the aegis of the International Year of Astronomy have been put in the spotlight for the public, especially those people who have never seen the sky through a telescope. A true mass audience has been recorded worldwide, including the teams of professional and amateur astronomers in Romania. We are speaking about the most extensive communication of science of all time.

This is also why this science cafe was dedicated to the IYA2009 also. Moreover, our colleagues in the area of science communication, particularly of astronomy, have mentioned the event on the international website of the IYA2009 (click here for details). 
 
2009 was the Beautiful Science year. We are speaking about the British Council project which took place in 10 countries from South - Eastern Europe and the UK, a project of science communication to the public like those dedicated to Darwin or astronomy.

"Beautiful Science has three components: theatre of science, public debates and the FameLab science communicators' competition, perhaps the most exciting part of the project" said Gabriel Ivan, Education & Science Projects Manager at British Council. "What happens now is just a continuation of the project Beautiful Science" he further added. So he has reviewed past and present. Also, we found out that Global Innovation Lab, a new global project of the British Council, will soon come into action; the whole global community of early career researchers and young innovators from all sectors are being asked to take part in the project and propose solutions to global challenges.

Returning to the event, I have to say that the meeting room was very well equipped, technically speaking. Even the wall colour was chosen so that the sound plays clearly and in conditions of high quality. The screen can be used both as a writing board and for projects. We intended to get connected with our colleagues in Manchester, Athens and Cluj-Napoca and that was what happened during the science cafe. The video dialogues with Sotira Trifourki, Kostas Karpouzis Spirit Kitsinelis and Camelia Chira became real interviews. We will further talk about this in our next report.

Until then, let me say the big themes of the meeting: were communicators and science journalists, science and education, love and science, astronomy communication in Romania, science around Christmas, science and religion. However, as expected, new subjects and issues arose.

All these were aimed at finding an answer (or answers) to the question launched by the meeting theme. Specifically, we intend to find out if science and journalism are friends or enemies.

At the end of this first report, I have to thank everyone who managed to reach the event. It had snowed heavily in Bucharest, there were snowdrifts, and traffic was nearly blocked, and even walking became a problem. However, participants arrived for the dialogues, and expressed their opinions. A civilized tone was used. We speak of a loving atmosphere in which we all enjoyed an exceptional hot drink, whether it was coffee or tea.

This project is funded by the British Council's Beautiful Science programme in Southeast Europe.

Dr. Luc Van den Brande, speaking on climate change you mentioned the multilevel approaches. Do you think science can provide suggestions for regional policy?

"For me it is evident that science is the input, it is our main resource. I am absolute convinced that in the actual circumstances overcoming the economic crisis, that we have to go for what I call' an anticyclic approach. Just at this moment we have to invest more in research and development, we have to take on board science and that is one of the new ideas of the Open Days, to also organise Open Days Universities. So, I think that speaking in terms of multilevel approach, multipolar approach, there we can take on board our science centres, our universities, our think tanks and so on, and that will be the part for the future."

What do you think is the relationship between science and power, between science and policy?

"Well, we have always to face that science has its unique and own finality. Speaking in terms of in depth research people are always saying it has to be useful from one day to another. No, the knowledge of mankind is important for the future of all our people. Even when the results are just coming up one week or ten years later. And that is the important politics. We have to give room and space to researchers and to science because one day it can be a contribution to our prospect and our future. And that is the reason why when I overlook the Union we are investing now 1.84 per cent of our GDP towards research and development. Compared to the United States 2.8 and Japan even 3.3 percent there is a big lack. I have to say that only 27 regions in Europe are above this average. You know that probably 70% of the products we will use in 2025 we even not know at this moment what about. So, that is the wonderful thinking on science, mankind, evolution and of course looking into the future. So, we have to invest in the human potential. Even sometimes people are saying the 'P' of place is important, that's true; but the 'P' of people is the most important", answered Dr. Luc Van den Brande.

OPEN DAYS 2009 seminars focused on four main issues: restoring economic growth: innovation in Europe's cities and regions; regions and climate change: Europe's way to sustainable regional development; territorial cooperation: working together across borders; achieving results, looking ahead: EU Cohesion Policy's evaluation and future prospects.

As a general idea, we can say that global problems have solutions that depend on the actions that are developed at regional level. Territorial cooperation can boost the quality of life of each of us.

Open Days in 2009 aimed at sharing ideas in a wide spectrum of issues. They range from boosting economic development and counteracting the current recession to the long-term challenges of climate change.

The event is organized annually by the European Commission and the EU Committee of Regions. More details here.

To replicate itself, the influenza virus on accessing the cells takes control of several key processes and exactly how this is done is a long-standing subject of scientific enquiry. In this week's Nature, a high-resolution image of a part of the virus shows how the virus hijacks the cell's RNA molecules for its own purposes, opening a new approach to drugs which inhibit this action.

Scientists have now discovered which part of the virus does the cutting. The part of the virus which contained the knife used for this operation has been a big puzzle for a long time. Until now it was generally thought that this knife had a very complicated structure. But researchers have found it's relatively simple and easy to reproduce.
The group of researchers from Grenoble used the powerful X-ray beams of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) to produce three-dimensional images of a "knife" which plays a crucial role in this piracy.

Stephen Cusack, Scientist at Grenoble outstation of EMBL: " I think this discovery is going to help us alot in the design of anti influenza drugs. Now we know exactly where the knife in the virus is, we can use high-resolution structure to design chemicals that specifically inhibit this activity. Indeed there has been some work that has obviously been done in the past on this but now the new information will allow us to build on this and improve it and come up with drugs that will stop infections of influenza in cells".

For their discovery, the researchers produced hundreds of crystals which all needed scanning at the ESRF to find the handful suitable for analysis. Rapid access to X-ray beam time and development of automated measurement facilities allowed them to perfect crystals of the necessary quality in a comparatively short time. Such efforts matter, as new drugs and vaccines against influenza are desperately sought. Seasonal epidemics kill several hundreds of thousands of people across the world every year, and a global pandemic looms if bird flu strains develop the ability to infect humans easily. Some scientists believe that this grim prospect is just a matter of time.

Important as the breakthrough in Grenoble is, the researchers involved caution that the development of the right kind of drugs could take ten years. But with flu remaining such a threat, it's nothing to be sneezed at.

Déjà vu- is the feeling that you're left with time and again, when stuck in the thick Lagos traffic. You could have taken that alternative route, if only there was some foresight, but in Lagos, there really isn't any way of telling or is there?
The key to unlock traffic surprises in Lagos is being forged by 'star-gazer' and technology innovator, Simon Smethurst-MacIyntre. Simon holds a masters degree in Astrophysics from the University of Bristol and has studied the application of complex systems theory to organisational issues at MIT.

"I remember my first time in Lagos", he recalls as we enter his office, "we were held up in traffic for over two hours from the airport on the mainland to my residence on the island". Now this is a trip that you could make in 30 minutes or less, it doesn't matter whether you drive a Ferrari or the like, the difference is only one thing- traffic. Simon isn't one to let a problem to go unsolved: "I knew something had to be done about this". Whilst working for eNowNow, an information portal based in Lagos, Simon and his colleagues made up their minds to do that "something", that will change the lives of road users in Lagos forever.
And so began the journey to unlock surprises by providing foresight through real-time traffic information, at no cost to road users via sms, twitter, facebook and on the eNowNow traffic website.

"It's clear that everyone needs traffic information, not only the car owners but also commuters especially people at the grassroots such as office workers or house-wives. So from the first moment we just wanted to collect real-time traffic information and get it out there as quickly as possible. That's the reason why we chose sms, because of its ubiquity".

The service which can be found at traffic.eNowNow.com is still at the beta stage but it's already gaining traction, with thousands of people logging in and subscribing for scheduled sms updates for their daily traffic routes. 

So how does it all come altogether? Real time traffic data is collected by a team of ten motorcyclists that reconnoitre different parts of the city. Armed with a camera phone, they take pictures of current traffic situations and send the image via MMS to the eNowNow's traffic office. The eNowNow traffic servers then analyse the data to match the geographical location and decode the traffic situation which is enumerated to either:  "slow", "moving" or "free". 

This information is then fed into the eNowNow traffic conditions database which updates the Live traffic Map on the eNowNow traffic website. SMS are then sent to anyone that has subscribed to traffic updates for the corresponding geo-location. At the same time this information gets posted on twitter and facebook. Traffic update from this service is also broadcast on two radio stations (beat 99.9 FM and Classic 97 FM) in the metropolis.

Simon explains that they are working out better ways to collect the traffic information so that it's more intuitive and up-to-date as possible. On their list of improvements is crowd sourcing, GPS tracking of cars to gather intelligent data on their speeds on certain roads, and also information from the Lagos State's CCTV.

The eNowNow traffic system also stores historical traffic data on which you could easily base future traffic predictions but that's as simple as it gets. Simon sees this historical information as a data mine on which higher levels of traffic analysis and modelling can be based. "In the future this historical data could be used by anyone including the Lagos government to intelligently model traffic scenarios when proposing road construction or some other form of maintenance work that ordinarily disrupts traffic flow. Experts will also be able to predict the ripple effect that an unforeseen truck breakdown will have on traffic in other parts of the city."
As the eNowNow team work towards improving this service I can't help recalling what technologist John Seely Brown points out, "something subtle happens to a technology when it achieves amenity: It disappears". It becomes so much part of your everyday life that you no longer notice it. traffic.eNowNow.com is a service that is in touch with reality and the people, with the magic it provides to our everyday life.

New treatments offer better survival and fresh challenges in colorectal cancer were announced in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology, published by SAGE. The article will be free online for a limited period. Details ...

Daylight is a major factor in controlling the activity of brown fat (brown adipose tissue or BAT) which is found in abundance in hibernating animals and newborn babies. At least this is the conclusion of a new research led by Michael Symonds, Professor of Developmental Physiology in the School of Clinical Sciences at The University of Nottingham, UK. This exciting research could lead to new ways of preventing obesity. Details ...

Canadian researchers have created a touchy-feely robot that detects tougher tumour tissue in half the time, and with 40% more accuracy than a human. The technique also minimises tissue damage. Details in The International Journal of Robotics Research, published by SAGE, here.

India and Bangladesh unite for IYA2009 star party, replacing conflict with peace. Details on the International Year of Astronomy 2009 website ...

Premier League clubs who have long-term managers are more successful than those who change their managers on a frequent basis. This is the conclusion of a new research made by the experts at The University of Nottingham and Loughborough University. Details ... 

NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft. Details ...

40 years from the first Moon landing of humans. Details on NASA's website ...

The longest eclipse of the XXIst century on July 22nd, 2009. Details on NASA's eclipse web site ...

Micro-brewery to be built at the The University of Nottingham. Details ...

Our Brain Looks at Eyes First to Identify a Face. Details in PloS Computational Biology ...

Smart clothes for better healthcare. They are monitoring the wearer's heart, breathing and body temperature. Details on ICT Results ...

Research at the University of Liverpool has shown it is possible to develop an 'invisibility cloak' to protect buildings from earthquakes. Details in Applied Physics Letters ... and in Physical Review Letters ...

A team of researchers from the Yale University, USA, and a Spanish company have developed a system to detect the vapours emitted by human skin in real time. Details ...

Jupiter pummeled, leaving bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean. Details on Cosmic Diary ...

The TMT Observatory Corporation has selected Mauna Kea as the preferred site for the Thirty Meter Telescope. It will be the most capable and advanced telescope ever constructed. When completed in 2018, the TMT will enable astronomers to detect and study light from the earliest stars and galaxies, analyze the formation of planets around nearby stars, and test many of the fundamental laws of physics. Details ...

US researchers have created 'bacterial computers' with the potential to solve complicated mathematics problems. Details in Journal of Biological Engineering ...

"Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2010 - communicating in IYA2009 legacy era" will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 15 to 19 March, 2010. Details ...

The Science and Technology Facilities Council has released its new Vision, which will guide its future investments in world leading science and technology for the United Kingdom. Details ...

Computer scientists and biologists at the University of Southampton have used the combined power of computing resources within the institution to develop software which provides a better understanding of how viruses evolve. Details ...

Norwegian researchers present evidence that the auroras in the Northern and the Southern hemispheres can be totally asymmetric. These findings contradict the commonly made assumption of aurora being mirror images of each other. Details in Nature ...

The Surprise Collision on Jupiter was Captured by Gemini Telescope. Details ...

Conor Lenihan T.D., Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation has announced research funding awards of €20.7million for 22 world-class research projects under the Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator Programme. Details ...

NASA celebrates Chandra X-ray observatory's 10th anniversary. Details ...

Most of the primitive bodies that make up the asteroid belt, between Jupiter and Mars, are in fact probably comets. Details in Science ...

The laboratory for photovoltaics of the University of Luxembourg has produced its first thin film solar cells made from compound semiconductors, already reaching a 12 percent efficiency. Details ...

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are hoping to find out if inflammation of the knee could be an early sign of osteoarthritis. Details ....

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has imaged a galaxy (NGC 1097) with an eye-like object at its center. Details here and here.

Researchers at TU Delft have succeeded in measuring the influence of a single electron on a vibrating carbon nanotube. Details ...

European Space Agency launches first ever UK base at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Daresbury. Details ...

Hubble captures the rare Jupiter collision. Details ...

The proposal includes strong involvement by current partners South Otago High School, Blue Mountain College, Tokomairiro High School and Telford Rural Polytehnic.

The establishment of Trades Academies is designed to get young New Zealanders more engaged in education, by delivering trades and technology programmes to school-aged students,  based on partnerships between schools, tertiary institutions, industry training organisations (ITOs) and employers. 

Allan Asbjorn Jon, Deputy Principal of the Catlins Area School, believes the need for a Virtual School option within the final Trade Academy selections is essential in order to serve the best interests of the New Zealand education market. "Given the large rural population of New Zealand, the distances between regional centres, and the strong need for trade training opportunities within geographically remote communities, the development of the New Zealand Virtual School will mean that location need no longer be a barrier to learning," he says.

Jeff Seymour, Chairperson of the Clutha District Development Board, views the proposal as a very proactive move by The Catlins Area School. "Having a Trades Academy based in the Clutha District with an emphasis on e-learning is a creative and wholly realistic response to the issues of distance learning.  Such a development will provide further support for services already delivering in the district, and will also see a new type of visitor coming here. The e-learning delivery will see the Clutha District, alongside The Catlins Area School, gaining a profile nationally and internationally as the school is already a leader in the fields of Aviation and Tourism e-learning," he says.

The New Zealand Virtual School programme will build upon the existing eLearning successes of The Catlins Area School, such as the development of a unique eLearning programme for Aviation Studies; a partnership with the Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation (ATTTO), Air Fiordland, and a 3D visualisation company.

A further range of cutting edge ICT solutions could extend programmes out to a dozen more industries, drawing on the experiences of the other schools and polytechnics in the proposal. Industry is highly supportive of this option for a Trade Academy.

Irene King, Chief Executive of the Aviation Industry Association, says that "the Aviation Industry Association endorses this initiative which opens up the prospect, through very innovative delivery channels, of a career in aviation engineering something which few students are presently able to do because of prohibitive equipment costs and limited teacher knowledge and resources."

"The virtual Trade Academy would be centred around a virtual campus within SmallWorlds. SmallWorlds combines media, web content, and applications into a highly accessible and compelling 3D world that integrates seamlessly with the rest of the web. It is accessible using only a web browser," explains Allan.

"In addition to this, Campus students would have access to an eLibrary, a Virtual Career Guidance Department, and eTutors, with eLearning courses that include video conferencing, free call audio conferencing, Skype contact, podcasts, 3D visualization tools, and mLearning opportunities, which is the use of mobile phones and MP3 players as learning tools. The New Zealand Virtual School will be the first of its kind to deliver education in such an engaging way," he says.

"SmallWorlds is excited to be a part of this innovative new initiative for the delivery of vocation training to young kiwis" says Mitch Olson, Co-founder of the Auckland-based company that has developed SmallWorlds.com.  "We developed SmallWorlds as an extensible platform that could be utilised to create a broad range of experiences. The New Zealand Virtual School programme leverages the accessibility, ease of use, and open-ended nature of SmallWorlds to present a truly unique education offering".

"The increasing number and experience of Virtual Schools overseas provides this project with a good basis from which to build a successful venture, and the popularity of OtagoNET attests to the growth potential of this type of learning," says Elizabeth Valentine, Chief Executive of ATTTO, the lead ITO within the proposal.

"Technology is an assumed part of young people's lives; they're already using social networking and multiple types of technology to learn and collaborate on projects. In many ways young people are doing this without the schools. So it makes sense that a Virtual School be considered; It's time for New Zealand to take a leap forward in this area," she says.

The Virtual School proposes that eLearning is balanced with a North Island and South Island 'Camp' for each trade once per year, where students could complete 'hands on' tasks with their instructors, as well as obtain more detailed career guidance.

"With a very small travel requirement for students to be present in person, The New Zealand Virtual School could well become the nation's most environmentally sustainable educational institution. As a virtual school there will be an extremely limited amount of classroom and office space, and the use of paper will be lessened by only using print based resources where it supports the on job or practical learning experience. It is a smart solution not only for students, but for the New Zealand environment," says Allan.

The New Zealand Virtual School proposal welcomes discussions with the public as the application process continues to progress. For more information on the proposal, or to have input into the way it is developed, anyone might join the New Zealand Virtual School Facebook group.

On Wednesday 22nd July, ESA arrived in Harwell, Oxfordshire where it has opened its first facility in the UK, following successful negotiations between the Agency, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the British National Space Centre.

The ESA facility at Harwell is expected to be a key element of a much-wider vision for the future of the UK's fast-growing space economy which will see the creation of an International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) at Harwell, where state-of-the-art publicly-funded scientific facilities will operate alongside industrial R&D. ISIC will bring together academia and industry dedicated to the innovation of space science, research and technology.

The ESA facility will focus on three key areas:

• Combining data and images from space satellites to create new applications for everyday life, such as automatic safety-of-life location services and ways of using space data to improve road and rail transportation.

• Climate change modelling that uses space data to help us understand and predict the impact climate change is having on our home planet.

• The development of new technologies such as the novel power sources and innovative robotics which we can use to explore the Moon and Mars, and help us answer many questions we have about the composition and structure of these celestial bodies.

These key areas build on world-leading strengths in the UK's successful space programme managed by the British National Space Centre. The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, where the ESA space facility will be located, is already home to world-class science and technology laboratories. 

Lord Drayson, the Minister for Science and Innovation, said:

"Today's announcement recognises our world-class strengths in robotics, climate change and innovative space technology, and re-affirms Britain's place as one of the leaders in European space research and technology.  By establishing a European Space Agency (ESA) research and development operation in the UK we can guarantee that the economy and the public benefit from space technologies.
"Every day we use space technology without realising it: improved weather forecasts, global telecommunications and vital medical technologies have all flowed from UK investment in space technology. Moreover, space is absolutely vital for tackling climate change and handling natural disasters at home and abroad.
"Britain is currently undergoing a space renaissance. This week's announcements combined with the launch of the Space Innovation and Growth team last month will build on this to strengthen our outstandingly successful space programme and take UK space into a new age."

Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director-General of ESA, said:

"It is testament to the expertise and skills of the UK space workforce that ESA has chosen the UK for the location of its latest facility. This new facility will contribute to Europe's outstandingly successful space programme and cement the role of the UK within ESA and of ESA within the UK, helping us work together at international level to help the world face the challenges of the future.

"Thanks to the continuous support of all its Member States, ESA is at the leading edge of space science in the world, as demonstrated by the recent launch of the two observatories Herschel and Planck, which will bring greater understanding of the origins of the Universe. ESA is also a leader in the science of the Earth and its environment as seen in the launch this year of three satellites all dedicated to delivering data that will allow a better understanding of the mechanism of climate change. Progress in science and technology provides the foundations for the delivery of new services to citizens on Earth and is a powerful factor for innovation and economic growth. It is good news for all ESA Member States that the UK is willing to be a driver of such innovation and growth in the space sector."
The arrival of ESA in Harwell further strengthens the country's expertise in this fast growing sector. 

The entire UK space sector currently contributes £6.5 billion to the UK economy, supporting around 68,000 direct and indirect jobs. The recession busting trends of the space industry has enabled it to successfully ride the downturn, and it is also predicted to grow by an average of 5% per year until 2020.

The Government is determined to help the UK maximise its world-leading strengths in the space sector. It recently announced the Space Innovation and Growth Team which offers a huge opportunity for the UK government to work alongside industry to define a clear plan - a 20 year vision - and come up with a strategy for growth and employment.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and Sotira Trifourki, President of the Association for Astronomy Education in the UK, ran workshops for BAS students on Friday 13th of March.

Miss Trifourki is a task group member of a global team of astronomers who are working to coordinate "The International Year of Astronomy".  Her main work is involved with coordinating a UK wide programme "Universe Awareness" to bring the excitement of space to children in disadvantaged regions using games, animations, hands on learning activities, national competitions and theatre shows. As one of the bloggers participating in the Cosmic Diary, people from all over the world are now following what these astronomers get up to in their daily lives and bringing a human face to the subject.

Miss Trifourki's visit was the culminating point of a very busy week indeed. National Science Week started for BAS students last Saturday with a visit to the internationally renowned Herstmonceux Science centre. As well as enjoying all the hands-on activities, they built telescopes and fired rockets.

This was followed during the week by various activities including building marshmallow skyscrapers, racing maggots and spectacularly firing more rockets.

Miss Trifourki first visited BAS' prep-school where she spent the morning modelling our universe (with plenty of volunteers) and presenting fascinating facts about various objects found in space. Children were then asked to designed and draw their own planets. They exhibited great scientific and artistic skills. 

In the afternoon, Battle Abbey School's senior students were given a brief outlook of Miss Trifourki's various projects. 

March 2009 was the month when Comet Lullin is high in our skies. BAS students were therefore tasked to make their own comets using dry ice.

National Science week was closed with a last visit to Herstmonceux Science Centre on Friday evening to enjoy planets and stars gazing using the centre's fabulous and gigantic telescopes.

Biography Sotira Trifourki

When Sotira, aged six and a half, saw the film E.T., she was completely terrified! But as luck would have it, that inspired her to uncover the mysteries of the Universe. She currently educates children, trains teachers, and supports life-long learning in astronomy and space education.

Sotira is also a task group member of a global team of astronomers who are working to coordinate "The International Year of Astronomy".  Her main work is involved with coordinating a UK wide programme "Universe Awareness" to bring the excitement of space to children in disadvantaged regions using games, animations, hands on learning activities, national competitions  and theatre shows. As one of the bloggers participating in the Cosmic Diary, people from all over the world are now following what these astronomers get up to in their daily lives and bringing a human face to the subject.

Sotira's mission, as she sees it, is to demystify the stereotypical view of scientists in lab coats, inspire people to believe in their dreams, and give them the belief that they can do anything they want to do as long as they give it their best shot.
Place of work: The Greater Manchester STEM Centre, University of Salford
Position: STEM communications and outreach officer.

The STEM Centre works with schools and colleges, aiming to enhance science and technology education within the UK's National Curriculum. Also on offer are local programmes linking with universities, professional organisations, and businesses. Sotira is also the President of the Association for Astronomy Education which aims to support the teaching of astronomy and space education across the UK and Co-Editor of the Science Newspaper.

For more information visit Universe Awareness, Cosmic Diary, and Science Newspaper. For the International Year of Astronomy click here.