New Department of Energy and Climate Change

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State at the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, said on his appointment: ‘My job is to make sure our policy on climate change is fair for ordinary families and our policy on energy is sustainable for future generations.’ Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, commented that reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be at the heart of urgent decisions to be made on energy.

Inspiring youth

The BA is coordinating a new National Science Competition for 13-19-year-olds. It will identify a UK Young Scientist of the Year and a UK Young Technologist of the Year to inspire other students. Entrants will exhibit the best 35 projects at the new UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair 2009 to be held at Westminster, 4-6 March, to coincide with National Science and Engineering Week. http://www.nationalsciencecompetition.org/

Community action on carbon dioxide

The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) has announced ten finalists in its £1 million Big Green Challenge. The community-led projects have until October 2009 to demonstrate a reduction in CO2 emissions. Projects include a Nottingham credit union providing a 0 per cent interest finance scheme for energy efficiency improvements, and a local energy company selling green electricity.

Geeks no more

Achievement in science at GCSE level is linked to high emotional intelligence, researchers for the exam board Cambridge Assessment have found.  2000 GCSE candidates filled in a questionnaire to assess their emotional intelligence before sitting their exams. Joanne Emery and co-workers found that good empathisers were more likely to score high grades.

More physics A-level entrants

A-level physics candidates totaled 28,096 in 2008, an increase of 2.3 per cent over the 2007 figure of 27,466. Dr. Robert Kirby Harris, Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics, said, ‘Students are increasingly aware that A-levels in physics are well worth all the effort when lining up for university places and the very best jobs, but more still needs to be done to entice girls into the physics classroom.’

Naked scientist wins award

The £10,000 Royal Society Kohn award for science communication for 2008 has been awarded to Dr Chris Smith, presenter of The Naked Scientists, the only weekly science show broadcast on local radio stations. He said, ‘I am hugely honoured to win the Kohn Award, although I couldn't have done it without the fabulous people who work alongside me at the Naked Scientists.’ The show is top of the US science charts for downloads. www.thenakedscientists.com 

Social responsibilities

The General Assembly of the International Council for Science (ICSU) has published a new booklet setting out the key social responsiblities of the scientific community. John Sulston, a member of the ICSU Committee and winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine, stated: ‘We must fully accept [our] responsibilities [to fellow scientists and the public at large] if public confidence in science is to be maintained.’ See http://tinyurl.com/63lwg7

Student + chemistry = terrorist?

The Royal Society of Chemistry has expressed concern over a High Court ruling banning a suspected terrorist from studying chemistry in the UK. Its Chief Executive Dr Richard Pike said, ‘We need to avoid depicting, wrongly, school chemistry as a starting point for attempts by potential young terrorists to produce explosives. There is nothing on the AS-level chemistry course that cannot be found easily on the web and through other means.’

Dr Joanna Carpenter