In two weeks Australia will play host to a major UN conference focusing on global health and the Millennium Development Goals. More than 70 countries and over 300 organisations will be represented. There will be many compelling stories that matter to Australia and our region. More details and downloads below.

Also, in Canberra today the Australian Academy of Science Think Tank is tackling questions regarding Australia’s mineral deposits. Will we run out of minerals? How much more mineral wealth is still to be found? Do we have the technologies to find it and extract it safely? The media releases are online at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/blog

These issues are being discussed in Canberra at a forum on 19 and 20 August. The media are invited to day one and the speakers are available for interview. The findings will be published later in the year.

2009 L’Oréal For Women In Science Fellow, Sarah Pryke, has a paper in Nature this week – embargoed to Friday. In 2009 she had a paper in Science reporting that your hair colour can determine your child’s sex – if you’re a Gouldian finch. The paper is available for preview on the Science pre-publication list.

L’Oréal Australia’s For Women in Science Fellowships will be presented on Tuesday 24 August with a 6 pm embargo – the 2010 winners are from Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. We are briefing individual reporters on embargo – let me know if you would like more information of if you would like to come to the ceremony in Melbourne.

We’ve compiled our Fresh Science stories into feature packages for rural media. Squeezing water from stones, using bacteria in mining, and Aussie lizards revealing cancer secrets are just some of the stories. For full stories and photos visit www.freshscience.org.au. All the Fresh Scientists have been media trained and are available for interview.

But the big one is the United Nations NGO conference from 30 August – 1 September.

The conference, entitled Advance Global Health – Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, brings together more than 300 non-governmental organisations from over 70 countries. Some 1,500 delegates will explore the challenges of meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

The conference comes at a critical time:

• for the Millennium Development Goals which have been set back by the global financial crisis. The UN Secretary-General has called world leaders to a summit in September to accelerate progress
• and for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which will be seeking a further $20 billion in October.

Officially the Melbourne gathering is the 63^rd Annual UN Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organizations Conference or 63^rd UN DPI NGO. It runs from Monday 30 August to Wednesday 1 September.

The conference will provide an impressive array of speakers, many issues relevant to Australia and our region, and lots of human stories that bring the Goals to life.

There is now a host of information available online including:

• Information on the Millennium development goals
• A summary of the workshop topics and speakers
• A list of public events

For information on all of the above, and more, visit http://www.scienceinpublic.com/blog/category/global-health

Access to the conference is limited to accredited delegates and media only. Accreditation details are on the conference web. The process is coordinated by the UN Information Centre in Canberra. The deadline for accreditation has been extended to Friday 20 August.

This is a UN conference. The key media contact will be Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainte, the Information officer, NGO relations at the United Nations, Department of Public Information, in New York.

I am assisting her as chief of staff at the media centre in Melbourne, as well as coordinating Australian media requests.

In two weeks Australia will play host to a major UN conference focusing on global health and the Millennium Development Goals. More than 70 countries and over 300 organisations will be represented. There will be many compelling stories that matter to Australia and our region. I’m holding briefings for ABC staff at Ultimo today at 3.30 pm and at Southbank on Monday at 12.30 pm. I’m happy to do the same for other major media.

Also coming up next week: Will we run out of minerals? How much more mineral wealth is still to be found? Do we have the technologies to find it and extract it safely?

An Australian Academy of Science forum will tackle these issues in Canberra on 19 and 20 August. The media are invited to day one and the speakers are available for interview.

L’Oréal Australia’s For Women in Science Fellowships will be presented on Tuesday 24 August – the 2010 winners are from Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

More details on both of these next week.

And if you’re Melbourne-based join me for a free brunch with the Naked Scientist, Chris Smith, tomorrow, Saturday morning at 10 am at the Clare Café, 421 Rathdowne Street, Carlton. I have five free tickets for this informal conversation.

But the big one is the United Nations NGO conference from 30 August – 1 September.

The conference, entitled Advance Global Health – Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, brings together more than 300 non-governmental organisations from over 70 countries. Some 1,500 delegates will explore the challenges of meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

The conference comes at a critical time:

• for the Millennium Development Goals which have been set back by the global financial crisis. The UN Secretary-General has called world leaders to a summit in September to accelerate progress
• and for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which will be seeking a further $20 billion in October.

Officially the Melbourne gathering is the 63^rd Annual UN Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organizations Conference or 63^rd UN DPI NGO. It runs from Monday 30 August to Wednesday 1 September.

The conference will provide an impressive array of speakers, many issues relevant to Australia and our region, and lots of human stories that bring the Goals to life.

You can read more about the conference online at http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/conference/

And a summary of the workshop topic and speakers is at http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/ngoconference/conference/workshops

Access to the conference is limited to accredited delegates and media only. Accreditation details are on the conference web. The process is coordinated by the UN Information Centre in Canberra.

This is a UN conference. The key media contact will be Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainte, the Information officer, NGO relations at the United Nations, Department of Public Information, in New York.

I am assisting her as chief of staff at the media centre in Melbourne, as well as coordinating Australian media requests. My contact details are below.

We’re holding two informal briefings for ABC staff – at ABC Ultimo today at 3.30 pm on the Dot Strong Terrace and at ABC Southbank on Monday at 12.30 pm in the Level 5 large conference room. We are happy to hold similar briefings for other major media.

The speakers at the briefing will be:

• Professor Phil Batterham, Conference Co-director
• Niall Byrne, Creative Director, Science in Public and conference media centre CoS

I should note that this is not a formal briefing on behalf of the UN. This is an informal opportunity to give you a heads-up and help you plan for the conference.

RACI Symposium – Cereals & Disease Prevention, Tuesday 4:30pm

Paul MacLean, University of Colorado

Resistant starch could transform our breakfasts, our gut health and help us lose weight.

Paul MacLean has shown that replacing simple sugars and digestible starch with starch that is resistant to digestion in the small intestine can have big consequences.

“It encourages us to burn fat, improves insulin sensitivity and enhances a sense of fullness.”

It may also help us keep our weight down after dieting.

You can add resistant starch to your diet with potatoes, whole grains, legumes, unripe bananas, and cooked and cooled starchy foods like sushi and potato salad.

But, says Paul, “The big public health benefits will come when breakfast cereal makers incorporate resistant starch into cereals bringing improved metabolic health to almost every Western breakfast table.”

Abstract

P. MacLean

Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado, United States

Obesity and its associated metabolic disorders are substantial health issues manifesting on a global scale.

Cereals provide an excellent opportunity to counter this pervasive problem. Their widespread popularity as the day’s first meal could be the agent to broadly alter macronutrient intake in a manner that would improve metabolic health.

Replacement of simple sugars and digestible starch with starch that is resistant to digestion in the small intestine is one such manipulation that may help us pursue this goal.

Resistant starches lower postprandial excursions in glucose and enhance the oxidation of dietary fat. They can improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic regulation after a meal and enhance gut derived satiety signals.

Recent evidence suggests that these starches may also have beneficial effects on metabolic regulation and body composition during weight loss and weight regain.

Resistant starch may emerge from these ongoing studies as an important nutritional component of weight maintenance strategies after weight loss.

Given these characteristics, the incorporation of resistant starch into cereals has the potential, on a global scale, of delivering both great taste and improved metabolic health to the breakfast table.

IUPAC Symposium 1A – Formulation: Efficacy and the Environment

Ingo Fleute-Schlachter, Cognis, Germany

Friendlier pesticides are on the way. Every pesticide contains an active ingredient. But there is more in the can. The formulation may need additives and adjuvants which boost performance: working as emuslifiers, wetters, dispersants, or sticking agents to deliver the pesticide to where it’s needed – the surfaces of leaves for example.

Sometimes, as in many glyphosate formulations, the additives are more toxic or damaging to the environment that the active ingredient itself.

Ingo Fleute-Schlachter will present the work of Cognis to create green alternatives to the additives of the past to create more benign pesticides. They have created a friendlier glyphosate by replacing a toxic adjuvant with new adjuvants based on naturally occurring compounds. He says their blends are at least as good and provide additional benefits.

Abstract

Many solvents traditionally used to solubilise active ingredients suffer from unfavourable toxicity and eco-toxicity, and there is increasing demand to find suitable benign alternatives.

Cognis has developed safer alternatives based on naturally available, renewable raw materials such as fatty acid dimethylamides (DMA). Our latest development has resulted in alkylamides offering higher polarities: N,N-dibutyl lactamide is water insoluble, while N,N-dimethyl lactamide is fully compatible with water, hence showing related properties to NMP.

In addition, ready-to-use EC formulations have been developed for various active ingredients covering a broad range of chemical classes.

These ECs have been designed and optimized to achieve maximum pesticide solvency, excellent behaviour at cold temperatures, crystal formation neither in the concentrate nor in the spray mix, and excellent emulsification performance, even with hard water. Several examples will be presented and discussed to show the benefits achieved through formulation and specific solvent mixtures.

A young Tasmanian electrical engineer, Natalia Galin, has turned US technology into a robust helicopter-borne radar system that can accurately measure the thickness of snow on polar sea ice.

She is the first of the 2010 Fresh Science winners. Her story is below.

We will announce three more Fresh Science stories tomorrow with a press conference at 10.30 am at Melbourne Museum, Activity Room B. They will be:

• improving bushfire weather prediction – Andrew Dowdy from the Bureau of Meteorology
• silk microchips – Peter Domachuk from The University of Sydney
• what black holes eat for breakfast –David Floyd from The University of Melbourne.

Other dates for your diary:

You’ll see another six Fresh Science stories this week, keep an eye out on www.freshscience.org.au for details and images.

Look out for a lively discussion of chemistry and pesticides in July when ‘Chemistry for a Sustainable World’ is the focus of two major conferences that will be held together from Sunday 4 July to Thursday 8 July 2010 at the Melbourne Convention Centre – the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s National Convention, RACI 2010 and the 12th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry. We’ll be helping with media.

And at the end of August look out for a large UN conference in Melbourne to discuss global health – the 63^rd UN Department of Public Information NGO conference makes its third trip away from New York. We’re also helping with this one.

The Medical Writers are exploring the changing face of media this month. The Internet, digital technology and the rise of social networking have changed consumer demand and work opportunities for journalists forever. Join the Victoria branch of AMWA for a discussion on what the media world is today and what it may be tomorrow. Details below.

Join us Monday night for Fresh Science at the Duke (the Duke of Kent in La Trobe Street, Monday 7 June). Chris Krishna-Pillay will put this year’s 16 Fresh Scientists through their paces with sparklers, haikus and limericks – details below

Kind regards,

Niall

—

Creative Director, Science in Public

0417 131 977

niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Hobart engineer measures the climate on ice

Young Tasmanian electrical engineer Natalia Galin has turned US technology into a robust helicopter-borne radar system that can accurately measure the thickness of snow on polar sea ice.

Her work will improve NASA’s satellite measurements of what’s happening to the Antarctic sea ice, and will contribute to more accurate climate models. It will be presented for the first time in public this week at Fresh Science – a national science talent search – at the Melbourne Museum. Natalia is one of 16 winners from across Australia.

High resolution photos of Natalia working in Antarctica are available.

When the world’s climate scientists measure the thickness of snow on polar sea ice in future using satellite radar, the accuracy of their results is likely to depend on Natalia Galin’s work at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science where she is now completing a science PhD.

The measurement is one of the keys to understanding just how our climate is changing. And Natalia Galin has been working hard at modifying, programming and operating specialised radar equipment in a helicopter off Antarctica to provide accurate readings of snow thickness which will be used to calibrate satellite remote sensing. And she will be revealing her results for the first time at Fresh Science.

“Thickness estimates are considered the Holy Grail of the sea ice world. We can only measure directly how much of the ice is floating. And if we get that measurement wrong, we multiply the error of the estimating the thickness of what’s below the water by 8 to 9 times.”

That’s important because polar regions play a key role in the Earth’s climate system. In winter, when the air temperature can be -50 °C, the sea water under the ice is at about -1.8 °C—and the ice acts as insulation preventing the sea water from losing heat. And the heat of that sea water ultimately drives global currents and climate systems.

There is strong evidence that there has been massive sea ice loss in the Arctic, Galin says, but at present we are lacking similar information about what is happening in the Antarctic. In particular, the thickness and variability of Antarctic sea ice and snow cover are poorly understood.

Radar is a particularly attractive way of making the measurements as it not only penetrates snow and ice, but the reflected signal also provides information about internal structure. In the Arctic, satellite readings can be checked against those taken from submarines travelling under the polar ice cap, but Antarctica is a neutral, weapon-free zone, meaning no submarine data.

So, in a collaboration with the University of Kansas, Natalia has taken radar designed there, and used by NASA in fixed wing aircraft—and has modified it for operation in helicopters. It has taken her two years to develop a system robust enough to function accurately in such an unstable environment. She has now checked her helicopter radar estimates against physical measurements of the snow depth taken from sleds on the ice floes.

Natalia Galin is one of 16 early-career scientists presenting their research to the public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian Government. Her challenges will include presenting her discoveries at a Melbourne pub in haiku or limerick.

• For interviews contact Natalia Galin on 0423 275-481
• For Fresh Science contact: Sarah Brooker on 0413 332-489 and Niall Byrne on 0417 131-977 or niall@freshscience.org
• Print quality photos of Natalia on the Antarctic ice visit www.freshscience.org.au. At the bottom of the release are downloadable photos.

The Future of Journalism

The Internet, digital technology and the rise of social networking have changed consumer demand and work opportunities for journalists forever. Join the Victoria branch of AMWA for a discussion on what the media world is today and what it may be tomorrow.

Guest speaker: Louise Connor, Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, Branch Secretary Victoria

When:        Tuesday 22 June @ 6.30 pm

Where:       The Clare Cafe Bar Bistro (formerly The Clare Castle Hotel)

421 Rathdowne St, Carlton

Cost:            Free for AMWA members, $10 for non-members

Drinks and meals at pub prices

RSVP for numbers to L.E. Ohman leohman1@bigpond.net.au or Jacinta Miller membership@medicalwriters.org

The Future of Journalism

At a time of massive restructure of our industry and the introduction of new technologies, new consumer demands and changed work opportunities for journalists we all need to consider what the media world is today and what it may be tomorrow. We also need to consider the impact on our communities and our profession. What will the role of a journalist be in 10 or 20 years? MEAA Branch Secretary Louise Connor will discuss the Alliance’s Life in the Clickstream: Future of Journalism project and how journalists can find a way to flourish in this challenging new environment.

For background: www.thefutureofjournalism.org.au

Fresh Science at the Duke of Kent

Monday 7 June 7pm

Fresh Science is a national competition that identifies new and interesting research being done by early-career scientists around the country, trains the scientists, and releases their stories to the media.

Sixteen scientists – chosen from over 130 nominations – will be media trained on Monday before talking at the pub, over dinner, and to schools at the Museum and at country schools. Their stories will appear in media around the world.

Join us for a drink and meet this year’s Fresh Scientists this Monday, 7 June.

Where:                 Upstairs at the Duke of Kent, 293 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

(Between Queen & Elizabeth St)

Cost:                      The science is free, all meals and drinks at bar price

RSVP:                   AJ Epstein, aj@freshscience.org, (03) 9398 1416

The Fresh Scientists this year are:

• Peter Domachuk, School of Physics, University of Sydney
• Naomi McSweeney, School of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Australia
• Andrew Dowdy, Bureau of Meteorology
• Julien Ridoux, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne
• Bridget Murphy, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney
• Dave Ackland, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne
• Colin Scholes, CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies
• Bianca van Lierop, School of Chemistry, Monash University
• Jason Du, CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
• David Floyd, Anglo-Australian Observatory /The University of Melbourne
• Nasrin Ghouchi Eskandar, Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia
• Rylie Green, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales
• Jennifer Firn, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
• Natalia Galin, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania
• Andrew Ward, South Australian Research and Development Institute
• Jacek Jasieniak, CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies

Look out for their stories in the media in the coming weeks and at www.scienceinpublic.com.au

Could it really happen—a secret geo-engineering project financed by a billionaire eco-warrior in frustration at the lack of government action on climate change? It is possible, but how likely? ABC’s Bluebird alternative reality project explores real issues in geo-engineering.

Getting fire-safety messages into the home, using bacteria to break down rocks,  cleaning up soil with ultrasound and the meat quality of beefier cattle were just some of the fascinating research projects about which I heard at the Cooperative Research Centres Association (CRCA) Conference in Alice Springs last week.

Next week, look out for discoveries in environmental science, astronomy, medicine, waste treatment, weed management, cosmetics and IT as up-and-coming researchers present their work at Fresh Science.

More on all of these below.

Kind regards,

Niall Byrne

Contents:

Will eco-warrior billionaires hack the earth?

Beefier cattle, bushfire messages and breaking rocks with bacteria—young scientists present at the CRCA conference

Fresh Science begins on Monday 7 June

Will eco-warrior billionaires hack the earth?

Could our failure to act on climate change encourage an underground movement to take action and attempt to fix climate change through geo-engineering? It’s a real threat according to leading academics.

As climate provocateur, Bjorn Lomborg pointed out to Robyn Williams recently on the ABC’s Science Show, many geo-engineering possibilities are inexpensive enough to be within the reach of a billionaires like Bill Gates and Richard Branson —and Governments seem hamstrung about coming to agreement on any other action.

“The major challenge [with geo-engineering] is not technological, it is acceptability and governance,” Peter Cox of Exeter University, who helped prepare the Royal Society of London report on geo-engineering told Williams. “So, from my perspective, I can’t see anything happening unless it is done unilaterally and…it’s done secretly.”

All this makes the ABC’s Bluebird AR project topical. It’s an intriguing way to explore the ethics of climate action through the medium of an alternate reality drama/game that plays out this week.

Where do you sit? Join the debate. Become part of the action at http://abc.net.au/bluebird. Get involved in Bluebird AR. Firm up your views. Fence-sitting is not an option. If we do nothing about climate change, someone else may take things into their own hands.

Science commentator Tim Thwaites is available to talk on the science and issues of geo-engineering at (03) 9398 1416 or 0422 817 372. And Sam Doust, creative director of Bluebird AR, is available to discuss the ABC alternative reality program—contact Gemma Gray,  Marketing Coordinator, ABC Innovation T: 03 9626 1987 E: gray.gemma@abc.net.au.

And we have on offer an op-ed by Tim Thwaites, available at  http://www.scienceinpublic.com/blog/other/eco-warrior-geo-engineering.

For further information:  Niall Byrne, +61 (3) 9398-1416, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or Carolyn MacDonald, Head Marketing, ABC Innovation on 03 9626 1982 or Macdonald.Carolyn@abc.net.au.

Beefier cattle, bushfire messages and breaking rocks with bacteria—young scientists present at the CRCA conference

Eight early-career CRC scientists are keen to talk to the media about their work. They were invited to speak at the CRCA’s Pathfinders 2010 Challenge and Change Conference in Alice Springs last week where they also did a day’s media training.

Briony Towers, of the Bushfire CRC, found that children are good channels for getting fire-safety messages into homes. Contact her on 0400 543 336.

Carla Zammit, of the Parker CRC for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions, has found salt-tolerant bacteria that can break down rocks. She suggests that these microorganisms could replace smelters and chemical plants in the extraction of heavy metals from ores in Western Australia. Contact Carla on 0434 894 040, or email carla.zammit@postgrad.curtin.edu.au or czammit@hotmail.com.

Kandasamy Thangavadivel, of CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, has worked out how to use ultrasound to clean up finely textured soils contaminated with DDT. Contact Kandasamy on 0430 056 933.

Peter McGilchrist, of the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies, reported to the conference that muscular beef cattle can more consistently deliver better meat. His work is likely to drive selective breeding programs. Contact him on 0419 986 056.

These are just some of the stories presented at the CRCA conference, Pathfinders 2010 Challenge and Change Conference, last week. See the media releases at http://www.crca.asn.au/media/annual-conference.

Media contacts: Laurelle Halford Ph 0417 222 211, email laurelle@creativeterritory.com;

CRCA Media Ph 0419 250 815, email crcamedia@gmail.com

Fresh Science begins on Monday 7 June

Look out next week for Fresh Science—research stories from 16 early-career scientists selected in a national competition.  They will be talking about their work to the media and high school students—and they have all made discoveries of note.

You’ll hear about silk chips, nano-cosmetics, the cancer secrets of lizards, using plastic for electrodes and for capturing carbon, making weeds tastier, a new use for pig effluent, measuring Antarctic sea ice, new shoulder implants, sizing up black holes, heat-resistant insulin, a new clock for computers, and treating waste with new micro organisms,

Stay tuned for more details as their stories are released.

Also, you can meet them at the pub on Monday evening 7 June, upstairs at the Duke of Kent, 293 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, from 7pm.

The 2010 Fresh Scientists are:

• Peter Domachuk, School of Physics, University of Sydney
• Naomi McSweeney, School of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Australia
• Andrew Dowdy, Bureau of Meteorology
• Julien Ridoux, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne
• Bridget Murphy, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney
• Dave Ackland, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne
• Colin Scholes, CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies
• Bianca van Lierop, School of Chemistry, Monash University
• Jason Du, CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
• David Floyd, Anglo-Australian Observatory /The University of Melbourne
• Nasrin Ghouchi Eskandar, Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia
• Rylie Green, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales
• Jennifer Firn, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
• Natalia Galin, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania
• Andrew Ward, South Australian Research and Development Institute
• Jacek Jasieniak, CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies.

The first batch of Fresh Science stories will be released on Tuesday 8 June. All stories are embargoed until release.

Call me for more information on Fresh Science, or go to http://freshscience.org.au/.

Kind regards,

Niall Byrne

Science in Public
26 Railway Street South, Altona Vic 3018

ph +61 (3) 9398 1416 or 0417 131 977

niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Full contact details at www.scienceinpublic.com.au

This is my occasional bulletin for journalists with an interest in science stories.

Today:

• Geelong researchers are trialling a drug that may stabilise adult onset diabetes. It’s an old drug reborn – it was used for many years to treat eye disease. Why Geelong? Apparently “Geelong is developing a global reputation as a good area in which to undertake clinical trials.”
• Next week the ABC launches an interactive, alternate reality drama titled Bluebird. While the whole experience is fictional, Bluebird is founded on real science and will look at how practical, effective, dangerous or realistic geoengineering can be.
• Look out for biodiversity – it’s the UN Year of Biodiversity. Yesterday the Rudd government announced a major program to promote the year and encourage community organisations to get involved. The $300,000 program is being coordinated by the Council of Australasian Museum Directors.
• If you’ve written some great science or environmental stories consider nominating for one of the $10,000 Eureka Prizes for Journalism.
• And next Wednesday science commentator and communicator Julian Cribb will be in Melbourne discussing food security. He fears that food crises’ could be the cause of major international conflicts and mass refugee movements in the near future.

More on all of these below.

Eye drug finds new life in Geelong diabetes trial

Modern drugs can stabilise adult onset diabetes but with some serious side effects. A Geelong-based company, Verva Pharmaceuticals, has a new approach – a drug used for many years to treat eye disease. In animal testing, the drug restored sensitivity to insulin. But will it be effective and safe in people?

Verva is collaborating with Deakin University, and physicians at the Geelong and Box Hill Hospitals to conduct a clinical trial. They are looking for 80 people with adult-onset diabetes (also called type-2 diabetes) who are not currently being treated with diabetes medication. Other hospitals are likely to join the trial in the coming months.

The clinical trial builds on work at Deakin University’s Metabolic Research Unit (MRU) which has developed a technique for rapidly screening compounds as potential diabetes treatments. Their tests found that a compound used in the 1970s as therapy for eye disease could re-sensitise tissues to insulin.

Many experts say diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. Its incidence is increasing dramatically worldwide, in concert with the growth of obesity. The number of patients with diabetes in Australia is expected to double in the next 20 years. According to business information company Datamonitor, the multi-billion dollar worldwide market for diabetes therapy is expected to double faster than that—in only seven years.

“Geelong is internationally known as a particularly good area in which to undertake clinical trials,” Wacher says. “It is the right size and diversity, and serves as a therapeutic hub for a regional population from which we can recruit trial participants. Geelong Hospital has good facilities, and the investigators and clinical team with whom we work have extensive laboratory and clinical experience with large international pharmaceutical companies.”

For further information: Niall Byrne, +61 (3) 9398-1416, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au and at www.vervapharma.com. For interview: Vince Wacher PhD, CEO Verva Pharmaceuticals, +61 (448) 871 479, vwacher@vervapharma.com

ABC’s Bluebird project revealed

Blowing sulphur particles or reflective materials into the atmosphere, releasing iron into the ocean, burying carbon deep in rock—how practical, effective, dangerous or realistic is geoengineering? Will it save or destroy the world? Should we try? Who decides?

That’s exactly what the ABC is about to explore in a new form of interactive storytelling using online, social media and an alternate reality story—and we thought you would like to know about it. While the whole experience, entitled Bluebird, is fictional, it is founded on real science.

And the science issues will be explored by Robyn Williams on the Science Show.

More information will be revealed over the next two weeks.

You can start to explore the project at http://abc.net.au/bluebird

For further information:  Niall Byrne, +61 (3) 9398-1416, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or Carolyn MacDonald, Head Marketing, ABC Innovation on 03 9626 1982 or Macdonald.Carolyn@abc.net.au.

Look out for biodiversity – $300,000 for a year of activity

Yesterday the Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry, Richard Marles announced a $300,000 grant from the Rudd Government to help raise awareness of Australia’s biodiversity during the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity.

The Council of Australasian Museum Directors (CAMD) is using the funds to establish a national framework to support local International Year of Biodiversity action. This will include a national website, marketing and promotional activities and project officers to stage and support events.

CAMD will also support local awareness projects, ranging from walks and water-borne excursions, to performance and web-based activity through small grants rounds.

The first five projects from Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia were launched yesterday.

Look out for more on this initiative in the coming weeks.

Media contacts:  Pauline Braniff, Marles’ Office, 0419 664 016; Graham Durant, Questacon, 02 6270 2801, 0409 321 413

Journalism prizes

Several of the $10,000 Eureka Prizes are open to journalists especially for science and environmental reporting.

Entries for the 2010 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes close midnight AEST Friday 7 May.

Of the 19 prizes on offer, the following recognise journalism and communication:

• Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge – awarded to an individual, group or organisation for work that demonstrates achievements in deepening the broader community’s understanding of climate change, its impacts and the need for action.
• Environmental Journalism – awarded to a journalist(s) or communicator(s) whose work is assessed as having most effectively communicated environmental issues to the public.
• Promoting Understanding of Science – awarded to an individual or group of up to four people for an outstanding and innovative program of science outreach delivered within the past 2 years.
• Science Journalism – awarded to a journalist(s) or communicator(s) whose work is assessed as having most effectively communicated scientific and/or technological issues to the public.
• Science Photography – awarded to an Australian/s over the age of 18 for a single photograph taken in the past 2 years that most effectively communicates an aspect of science.

For further information and a full listing of prizes please go to http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/enter or contact us at eureka@austmus.gov.au or on 02 9320 6483.

The Coming Famine: Risks and solutions for global food security

In coming decades, the world faces the risk of major regional food crises leading to conflicts and mass refugee movements.

So says Julian Cribb and he’ll be in Melbourne next week talking about the key factors in emerging global food insecurity: emerging scarcities of all the primary resources – land, water, oil, fertilizer and R&D – required to produce food, at a time of changing climate.

Julian will also propose some solutions. He is speaking next Wednesday 28 April at the Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre, The University of Melbourne.  For more information contact Julian: julian.cribb@work.netspeed.com.au, Seminar information at: www.landfood.unimelb.edu.au/info/seminars/2010/juliancribb.html

Nanotechnology is here.

It’s at the heart of the chips in your computer and in the new hard disk with all your photos and videos on it; it’s the next generation of (plastic) solar cells; there are nano-gold particles finding cancer cells; carbon nanotubes and much much more.

Australia’s nanoscientists are in Sydney from tomorrow for a week discussing both the benefits and the risks of nanotechnology. They’re joined by dozens of leading international scientists exploring these issues.

And tomorrow evening James O’Loghlin from the ABC’s New Inventors will host a speculative discussion exploring the development, regulation, commercialisation and use of nanotechnology applications.

Tall ship Stad Amsterdam brings Charles’ Darwin’s great, great granddaughter, Sarah Darwin, to Melbourne as part of a recreation of the voyage of the Beagle. She’s running the science program for the voyage. The ship arrives Tuesday morning and Sarah speaks Thursday evening in Williamstown about her ancestor and the science of the voyage.

And Michael Oppenheimer, a long-time member of the International Panel on Climate Change, and Princeton geoscientist is talking in Sydney tomorrow for Sydney Ideas and the Institute for Sustainable Solutions, The University of Sydney. His theme: how global warming policy can catch up to global warming science. He’s great talent – here he is on the Colbert Report: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/82063/february-12-2007/michael-oppenheimer

I’ve included contact details for each story below. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on 0417 131 977.

Kind regards,

Niall Byrne

Nanotechnology: a new national strategy

Kim Carr released the National Enabling Technology Strategy. It sets the scene for a week of nanotechnology activity in Sydney at the international ICONN conference.

Here’s a snippet from their release:

$38M TO GET NEW TECHNOLOGIES WORKING FOR AUSTRALIA

The Rudd Government is introducing a comprehensive national framework to guide the safe development of new technologies such as nanotechnology and biotechnology as part of a $38.2 million National Enabling Technologies Strategy released today.

“Technologies like nanotechnology and biotechnology have enormous potential, but we can only realise that potential with the community’s support,” said Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr.

“Health, safety and environmental protection are paramount for the Government. This strategy is about ensuring we meet the highest standards while at the same time maximising opportunities to develop these cutting-edge technologies.

“The responsible development of enabling technologies will support new industries, new export opportunities and, most importantly, new jobs.

“These technologies promise to give us breakthrough medicines, faster computers, new biofuels, stronger and lighter materials, better solar cells, more abundant and nutritious food, purer water, and much more besides.

“They will be worth trillions in the years ahead. It is essential that Australia has a stake in this market.”

The strategy provides a comprehensive national framework with three funding components:

• $10.6 million to support policy and regulatory development, industry uptake, international engagement and strategic research;
• $9.4 million for public awareness and community engagement to increase understanding of enabling technologies; and
• $18.2 million for the National Measurement Institute to improve measurement infrastructure, standards and expertise and ensure that Australia leads the way internationally.

The strategy is available at www.innovation.gov.au/enablingtechnologies

Media contacts: Patrick Pantano, Minister’s Office, 0417 181 936, Peter Chesworth, Department, (02) 6213 6058 / 0408 656 830

Nano, nano, nano…this week in Sydney

The 2010 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN 2010) starts tomorrow at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour.

Some of the top speakers include:

• Stuart Parkin from IBM is the king of spintronics – using the spin of electrons to store information. It’s the key to massive increases in computer storage and he’s got some other big ideas – memory that will mean that your computer is instantly on – it never forgets.
• Andrew Bartholomaeus from Food Standards ANZ will talk about nanoparticles in food – both the new and the old. It turns out that much of our food naturally contains nanoparticles. But what should we do about new kinds of particles.
• Michal Lipson – whose photonic research could lead to an invisibility cloak, and other more practical applications like optical computing.
• David Awschalom from the University of California is also talking about spin and ‘engaging diamonds in quantum computing’ – his pun.
• Chuck Geraci from the US Institute for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is talking about how to protect workers’ health and safety.
• Tom Faunce from ANU will be discussing the potential of nanotech to contribute to public health – and of the need for good regulation to deal with safety concerns.

And we’ll explore solar panels, nano gold for windows and cancer tests, purifying water and much more.

We’ll also find out what the Australian public thinks about science.

More information about ICONN 2010 is at http://www.ausnano.net/iconn2010/

Media contacts: We are running the media room at the conference. If you want to talk with any of the speakers, or attend the conference, please contact me on 0417 131 977, or my colleague Margie Beilharz on 0415 448 065.

Big issues about small technologies

ICONN 2010 – Nanotechnology free Public Forum 6-8pm, Tuesday 23 February, Sydney.
James O’Loghlin from the ABC’s New Inventors chairs a free forum exploring how a nanotech product finds its way through development, regulation, commercialisation and use.

The panel members include:

• a scientist: Prof. Matt Trau from Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
• a regulator:  Prof. Brian Priestly from Australian Centre for Human Health Risk Assessment
• an industry representative:  Dr Stuart Hazell, former CEO of PanBio
• a consumer:  Tricia Greenway from the Consumer Health Forum

The panel members will broadly map how a new technology goes from development to the public and will examine what happens at each major stage.

There is no need to book. For more information call techNyou Information Service, 1800 631 276.

More information about ICONN 2010 is at http://www.ausnano.net/iconn2010/

Inspect tall ship Stad Amsterdam, re-enacting Darwin’s Beagle voyage, and interview Sarah Darwin, Tim Flannery and others

Arriving at Williamstown Workshop Pier at 11am on Tuesday 23 February, escorted by local Tall Ships One & All, Enterprize and Young Endeavour.
The press are welcome on board from about 12noon to 2pm, to look over the ship and interview guests.
As part of the Beagle Project the Dutch clipper Stad Amsterdam is retracing Charles Darwin’s Beagle journey for TV station VPRO, who are producing a 35-part TV documentary ‘Beagle, On the Future of Species’. The journey is also a cross-media project which can be traced via webcams, weblogs, widgets, videos, photos, mobile, Twitter and other social networks. Along the way, fossil hunters, DNA researchers, geologists, oceanographers and other scientists are conducting in-depth research to evaluate the current condition of the earth.

Guests available for interview from 12noon to 2pm include:

• Tim Flannery, conservationist, academic and chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council
• Daniel Dennett, philosopher and author of Breaking the Spell, Freedom Evolves and Darwin’s Dangerous Idea
• Redmond O’Hanlon, UK naturalist and author of travel books
• Hans Fels, Beagle project creator and initiator, as well director of the TV program
• Richard Slootweg, Captain of the Stad Amsterdam.

For permission to board, you must RSVP to Cleo Ferraira at c.ferreira@vpro.nl and hold a photo ID. In your RSVP include your full name and your ID number.

You can interview Redmond O’Hanlon and Richard Slootweg, who are on board now, by Skype.

In conversation with Sarah Darwin, Thurs 25 February

Sarah Darwin is Charles Darwin’s great, great granddaughter and a biologist. She is re-tracing her ancestor’s steps on the Stad Amsterdam. Sarah is available for interviews by telephone.

Sarah, Redmond O’Hanlon and Hans Fels will be speaking at a public reception at 5.45pm Thursday 23 February to celebrate the success of the year-long Evolution Festival and Darwin’s 201st birthday.

The Stad Amsterdam will be berthed at the Pier but will not be open for inspection. Tall ship One & All will be open for tours from 4pm to 6pm and tall ship Enterprize will be open from 5pm to 6pm. The talk will kick off at 5.45pm and the event will close at 7pm. Light refreshments will be provided. The Pirates Tavern will be open till late and food will be available outside the Tavern.

For further information please contact my colleague Sarah Brooker on (03) 9398 1416, 0413 332 489 or sarah@scienceinpublic.com.au

RSVP for numbers by Tuesday 23 February to events@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au or 9932 2001.

The Stad Amsterdam will also be visiting Adelaide on 1 March and Perth on 14 March.

Media contact for interviews is Cleo Ferraira at c.ferreira@vpro.nl, mobile +31-6-54371197, skype: cleorani, twitter: @Beagle_Cleo

Michael Oppenheimer, lead IPCC author, on Global Warming: science and policy

Michael Oppenheimer, lead author on the Third and Fourth Assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is coming to Australia to talk on climate change science and policy as a guest of Sydney Ideas.

The science shows that climatic changes are due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and that there is a long lag before the full effects are manifest. Society has limited ability to cope with the changes that would occur in the absence of emission abatement measures, and governments agreed in Copenhagen that the increase in global temperature should be below two degrees Celsius.

Michael reviews the evidence and presents a framework for policies at the local, national and international levels to both mitigate emissions and adapt to the level of warming which is inevitable.

Michael Oppenheimer, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University, will give a public talk titled ‘Global Warming: How policy can catch up to the science and solve the problem’ on Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 6.30pm in the International Ideas series.

His talk will be introduced by Sam Mostyn, Director, Institute for Sustainable Solutions, University of Sydney.

For more information please contact Katrina O’Brien, Sydney Ideas Media Officer, on (02) 9036 7842 or katrina.obrien@sydney.edu.au

Kind regards,

Niall

Nanotech – free public forum

Presented by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science & Research

For ICONN: Australia’s International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

James O’Loghlin from the ABC’s New Inventors hosts a speculative discussion on how nanotechnology products are developed and reach the consumer.

Our panel of experts will discuss the development of a nanotechnology product from research and development, through to risk and safety assessment for regulatory approval, then to commercialisation and finally reaching the consumer, examining the different issues that can arise at each stage.

Matt Trau, from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at UQ, has an invention incorporating nanotechnology.

Our panel will  explore how his invention might become a product and reach patients:

• Brian Priestly from the Australian Centre for Human Health Risk Assessmentwill help us through the regulatory hurdles
• Stuart Hazell, former CEO of PanBio, will guide us through the ‘Valley of (commercial) Death’.
• Tricia Greenway from the Consumer Health Forum will ground our thinking and remind us what the public really wants.
• Dr Kristin Alford from Bridge8 and
• Tom Faunce from the Australian National University will  prod and nudge our panellist on communication, the law and other issues.

Come and hear an informative discussion about how new technologies reach you, and how the public might be more involved in influencing which technologies we adopt.

FREE EVENT

Date: Tuesday 23 February, 6pm-8pm

Venue: Bayside Auditorium A, Level 1, Sydney Convention Centre Darling Harbour.

Enquiries: 1800 631 276

This forum is part of the 2010 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN 2010)

For more information about ICONN visit – http://www.ausnano.net/iconn2010/

For media contact Niall Byrne.

The deep ancestry of Charles Darwin and his great, great grandson will be revealed tomorrow, Thursday 4 February, at a press conference at the Australian Museum in Sydney, 1pm.

Chris Darwin, 48, of the Blue Mountains, NSW provided a DNA sample for the National Geographic and IBM’s Genographic Project from which his deep ancestry will be revealed.

Later at 5 pm celebrate Darwin’s 201^st birthday, and hear of plans for this year – the UN International Year of Biodiversity – with Chris Darwin and the Genographic team in a cocktail reception.

And pencil in 25 February for a Melbourne reception coinciding with tall ship Stad Amsterdam’s visit as part of the recreation of the voyage of the Beagle. More details nearer the time.

Also, nanotechnology hits the front page at the 2010 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Sydney from 22-26 February. We have speakers covering the field – from the potential of nanotechnology to transform our lives, to the safety implications.

The Australian Science Communicators hold their national conference in Canberra from 7-10 February.

And the winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Ada Yonath is in Australia later this month talking in Sydney and Melbourne.

The evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, is visiting Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide in March.

Also look out later this year for the laser’s 50^th birthday. The inventors could not have imagined that by 2010 the laser would be working every day in almost every home and business.

More on all of these below.

Kind regards,

Niall Byrne

+61 (417) 131 977

niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

http://www.scienceinpublic.com/blog/

DNA science reveals Charles Darwin’s deep ancestry – Media conference 1pm, Thursday 4 February, Sydney

Charles Darwin, the man who changed the way we understand ourselves and our place in the world by introducing the concept of ‘Natural Selection’ could never have envisaged that 200 years after his birth, genetic science would be able to reveal his own ‘deep ancestry’.

National Geographic and IBM’s Genographic Project has tested the DNA of the great, great grandson of Charles Darwin, Chris Darwin, 48, of the Blue Mountains, NSW.

A media conference will be held at the Australian Museum on Thursday 4 February, 2010 at 1pm to announce the results and explain Darwin’s own origins dating back 60,000 years.

Here are the details.

Who: Chris Darwin, great, great grandson of Charles Darwin

Dr Spencer Wells, Project Director, The Genographic Project

Dr Ajay Royyuru, Computational Biology Centre, IBM

Dr Simon Longstaff, Chairman, Genographic Project Advisory Board

What: Charles Darwin’s direct DNA migratory history dating over 60,000 years

When: Thursday 4 February 2010, 1pm to 2pm

Where: Rooftop Terrace, Australian Museum, College Street, Sydney

(media to enter on William Street at the business entrance and take lift to rooftop)

Media Resources/Pics:

Photographs of Chris Darwin undertaking the Genographic swab test are available: Contact Minta Burn 02 9331 3577 or 0450 872384; mburn@momentum2.com.au

Disc of images available at the event. DVD footage selects from The Genographic Project’s latest documentary, The Human Family Tree, National Geographic Channel, will be available for television broadcast.

For further information contact:

Ms Kim McKay – in Sydney: +61 (0)418 440 626; 02 9331 3577; kmckay@momentum2.com.au

Ms Glynnis Breen – in the US: +1 202 857-7481; +1 202 315 8562; gbreen@ngs.org

More information about the Genographic Project can be found at: www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic

Celebrating the Evolution Festival and Darwin’s 201^st birthday

5-6 pm, Thursday 4 February, Australian Museum, corner of College & William Street (enter via William Street Business Entrance)

In the Surviving Australia Gallery

With:

• Chris Darwin: great, great grandson of Charles Darwin
• Spencer Wells: Explorer-in-Residence and Director, The Genographic Project, National Geographic Society, and the principal investigators from around the world
• Phil Batterham: Director, Evolution the Festival
• Michael Harvey: Head of Exhibitions, Australian Museum

Hear about research into our deep ancestry, Chris Darwin’s DNA revealed, and find out how you can be involved in the UN International Year of Biodiversity. Refreshments provided.

RSVP today to Niall Byrne, 03 9398 1416, 0417 131 977 or niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Parking available for $12 – instructions at http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Visitors-with-disabilities

Beagle Project comes to Australia: a tall ship recreates the voyage of the Beagle

Clipper Stad Amsterdam, a three-mast tall ship, will be visiting Australia during February and March as part of the global Beagle project.

The Beagle project is a year-long voyage with an international crew of scientists, philosophers, historians, artists and biographers crossing the oceans of the world, from Brazil to Patagonia, and from the Andes mountain range to the Galapagos Islands. Stad Amsterdam will sail the Pacific Ocean to Australia and pass through the Cape of Good Hope.

The Clipper will function as a sailing laboratory and a thermometer for the planet. Fossil hunters, DNA researchers, geologists, oceanographers and other scientists will conduct in-depth research along the route to evaluate the earth’s current condition.

Stad Amsterdam is visiting Australia:

• Sydney: 11-16 Feb, Overseas Passenger Terminal Melbourne
• Melbourne: 23-26 Feb, Workshops Pier, Williamstown
• Adelaide: 1 Mar – port dates & berth to be confirmed
• Perth: 14 Mar – port dates & berth to be confirmed.

Advances in nanotechnology: ICONN 2010

The potential for nanotechnology to transform our lives will be discussed at the 2010 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN 2010) on 22-26 February 2010 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

There are a host of international and Australian speakers willing and able to talk about the latest advances and also the safety and regulartory issues associated with nanotechnology

The highlights include Andrew Bartholomaeus, from Food Standards Australia New Zealand, discussing nanotechnology and food and the challenges of regulation in this area. Tom Faunce, from Australian National University, will also address the challenges of regulating nanotechnology in Australia, while Chuck Geraci from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the USA will talk about worker safety.

Other topics up for discussion include the legal and societal consequences of nanomedicine; how the spin rather than the charge of an electron can create smaller, more versatile electronics; a sunscreen trial; and the potential for nanotechnology to enhance our lives.

Contact me for a list of speakers with newsworthy stories.

More information about ICONN 2010 is at http://www.ausnano.net/iconn2010/

Ada Yonath, 2009 Nobel Laureate, visits Sydney and Melbourne

Ada Yonath shared the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with two others for her work on ribosomes – the molecular machines in our cells that translate DNA into life.

She is Professor of Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.

Using synchrotron light she mapped every atom in the ribosome revealing how they function.

Her work is also opening up new approaches for antibiotics – many of which work by attacking bacterial ribosomes.

Ada will present a public lecture titled ‘The amazing ribosome’ at the Cuming Theatre, School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, at 11am on Wednesday 17 February. More info here.

In Sydney, Ada is giving a public lecture titled ‘Polar bears, the genetic code and tiny antibiotics that paralyze the giant ribosome’ at Leighton Hall, The John Niland Scientia Building, the University of New South Wales at 11.30am on Thursday 18 February.

Australian Science Communicators National Conference – 7-10 February, Canberra

Australia’s science communicators will be meeting in Canberra next week, to present and debate the challenges of communicating science to the public. The conference features a symposium on communicating climate change, and will both use and debate social media in science communication.

We’re hoping that Kim Carr’s new science communication initiative will be announced at the event.

More information is at www.asc.asn.au/

Look out for Dawkins – Darwin’s pitbull

Richard Dawkins is visiting Australia in March. He’s speaking on:

•         Thursday, 4 March in Brisbane – www.qtix.com.au/show/Richard_Dawkins_10.aspx (SOLD OUT)

•         Friday 5 March at 7pm at the Melbourne Town Hall (with Robyn Williams). The session kicks off the literary year for the Melbourne Writer’s Festival – www.mwf.com.au/2010/content/mwf_2009_home.asp (SOLD OUT)

•         The 2010 Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne on 12-14 March – www.atheistconvention.org.au/

•         Sydney Opera House, Sunday 7 March for the Sydney Writers Festival – www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/richard_dawkins.aspx

•         Adelaide Writers Week – details to be announced – www.adelaidefestival.com.au/servlet/Web?s=2290869&p=AF_Events_Writers

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, author and outspoken atheist. He was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2007. In his latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth, he takes on the creationists and all those who question evolution through natural selection.

50^th anniversary of the laser – a heads up

Sunday 16 May 2010 marks 50 years since Ted Maiman from Hughes Research Labs, California, surprised the world with the first operating laser. Today lasers are all around us – in our CD and DVD players, on building sites, in lecture theatres, operating theatres, industry and much more. Look out for events marking the anniversary, including public talks, scientific conferences and laser graffiti.

The word laser is an acronym formed from the words ‘Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation’.