Different countries have different objectives, but exploring space relies on cooperation and planningThe face said it all. Moments after floating aboard the International Space Station, Tim Peake, Britain’s European Space Agency astronaut, was on our screens and beaming. Who can blame him? After years of tough preparation, Mr Peake had at last reached space. He is there to do science, and is clearly intent on enjoying himself while he does it.The first module of the International Space Station was lofted into orbit 17 years ago, when Cher’s Believe led the UK singles chart. Since then, the station has grown to the size of a football field. It now functions as a unique laboratory for studying the space environment. Under the latest pledges from supporting nations, the lab will remain in orbit until 2024. Plenty has been learned from building and maintaining it, and experiments playing out. And there is far more science to be done. But as the space station approaches its final years, a fresh focus is called for. The veteran space nations, and those that are emerging, must work together on humanity’s next adventure in the heavens. Continue reading...

Monitoring of space objects should include giant ‘centaurs’ that could rain down debris for thousands of years, astronomers recommendEarth could be at higher risk of being hit by a comet than widely thought, according to astronomers who have suggested keeping a closer eye on distant objects.

As today’s Google doodle celebrates, it’s the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Be wary, as the amount of daylight we experience can affect our bodies and brainsIt’s the winter solstice. The shortest day of the year. Except it isn’t. Today will last 24 hours, like every other day (give or take). Granted, what with the Earth’s rotation gradually slowing down then your typical day is going to get increasingly long, but that’s not anything we need to worry about right now.Obviously, when people say it’s the “shortest day” it means this day has the shortest period of daylight, as opposed to night time darkness, when compared to all the others. This is a consequences of the fact that planet Earth is “tilted” at an angle, so different parts of the planet are exposed to differing amounts of sunlight depending on where it is in its orbit. So that’s nice. Continue reading...

The museum has a key role to play in public education. But that doesn’t just happen in the galleries and exhibition spacesEvery year, the Natural History Museum hosts an outdoor ice skating rink. It’s a great day out for thousands of families. But it’s also a bizarre exercise for an organisation that aims to put climate change at the heart of its programme of public engagement with science. The museum is unable to reveal what the carbon emissions are from making sure an ice rink stays icy when the ambient December temperature is in the mid-teens and the daffodils are already out. But it seems a safe bet that – struggling against a continual thaw – it is consuming many kilowatt-hours of electricity every day. Until the day arrives that Britain generates all of its electricity from renewable sources, the rink will continue to contribute to the emissions that are changing our climate.The museum’s supporters would argue that the work it does through its exhibitions and galleries such as the Darwin Centre, all of which is supported by the revenue from the ice rink, far outweighs its small part in global warming. But messages matter. Climate change needs global buy-in. This will be a painful process, particularly for the generation now paying for greening the economy. It will not be democratically palatable unless most citizens feel they can help to make a difference, and that they too can help to keep the planet safe. That means big things like, say, only saving in ethical funds as well as small things like turning off the lights. But if a major trusted source of information is sending out a conflicting message, they may wonder why they should bother. Continue reading...

With scorched capsules, space dogs and sci-fi art, Cosmonauts tells the moving and shocking story of the Soviet Union’s space programmeWhen astronaut Tim Peake blasted off into space in time for Christmas, he went in a Soyuz rocket, from the very launch pad Yuri Gagarin used to become the first human being in space in 1961.It was not really a triumph for Britain, but for Russia. If seeing Peake soar into orbit in Russian cosmonaut technology with echoes of the Soviet era whetted your appetite for Sputnik and space dogs, or if your kids are into space, or if you want to see one of the most impressive collections of space-age artefacts ever assembled in Britain, the best exhibition to visit over the holidays is Cosmonauts at the Science Museum in London. Continue reading...

From the dentist's drill to the piano, we explore innovations in touch-based, or haptic, technologyNew simulators are allowing students of professions such as dentistry to get hands-on experience of dental procedures.Generic Robotics - a UK company based in Reading - is one of the companies leading this change. Nicola Davis is joined in the studio by its director, Dr. Alastair Barrow, and also by Dr. Barry Quinn, senior specialist clinical teacher at King's College London. Continue reading...

A website and virtual reality project linked to a series on risks to the Great Barrier Reef are aimed at the young generationHe may be approaching his 90th birthday, but there is little sign that Sir David Attenborough plans to slow down. “People ask me to do things. So why not? Really, that’s all,” he told the Observer on the launch of his latest project – a multi-disciplinary exploration of the 2,300km Great Barrier Reef in Australia.The Great Barrier Reef: An Interactive Journey variously offers an outline of serious coral science, updates on the increasingly marked effects of El Niño, and even a Finding Nemo-inspired game. Designed to accompany Attenborough’s new BBC TV series, which begins on 30 December, the website is an attempt to reach an even larger audience. “New mediums, all used at once, give different platforms for kids who will never watch the TV series,” he said. Continue reading...

Two years ago we published an open letter from a Spanish astrophysicist to Mariano Rajoy on the occasion of her leaving Spanish science for a job in the US. On the eve of the Spanish elections, she writes again.

Fertility specialists are reassuring women an updated hormone test is much more accurate than the original, after a study compared the old and new versionsA hormone test used for more than a decade is responsible for highly inaccurate readings of women’s fertility, an Australian study has revealed, but fertility specialists are urging women undergoing assisted reproductive treatments not to panic.The original version of the test, the Anti-Mullerian hormone or “egg-timer” test, was taken off the market three years ago and has not been used since then, having been replaced by updated and much more accurate versions. Continue reading...

Tim Hunt, who made comments about female students falling for male superiors earlier this year, is moving due to professor wife’s new appointmentSir Tim Hunt, the Nobel laureate whose comments about women at an international conference caused a furore earlier this year, is leaving Britain for a life in Japan.Hunt, who won the prestigious science prize in 2001, lost his honorary post at University College London after he spoke at a lunch for female science journalists in South Korea.