EDITORIAL:  15:25 21 December 2009  | 3 comments

The decade now ending offers hope that we can build a more sustainable relationship with nature in the one to come

ESSAY:  10:00 20 December 2009  | 26 comments

Giving and receiving presents is a simple pleasure, isn't it? No, it's a social and economic battlefield, says philosopher Robert Rowland Smith

INTERVIEW:  18:00 16 December 2009  | 14 comments

The award-winning writer on why his fascination with our place in the universe led him to revisit his least favourite subject at school

INTERVIEW:  10:17 16 December 2009  | 8 comments

As the Royal Society enters its 350th year, its president says its mission is to speak up for science to public and politicians alike

EDITORIAL:  08:00 14 December 2009  | 3 comments

The push to rewrite the entire field by 2012 is unnecessary – and could be dangerous too

EDITORIAL:  19:00 13 December 2009  | 4 comments

The data smartphones generate must remain under their owners' control, and not be hijacked by advertisers or other self-interested parties

EDITORIAL:  12:05 10 December 2009  | 4 comments

Decisions in the English courts can stifle debate of scientific ideas anywhere in the world – it's time the law was reformed

INTERVIEW:  18:00 09 December 2009  | 46 comments

The star physicist reckons he can model the entire universe using tiny computer programs – meanwhile he's trying to reinvent the search engine

EDITORIAL:  11:12 07 December 2009  | 29 comments

We have no need for fallacious arguments to support basic human rights

GALLERY:  11:00 03 December 2009

Think modern technology seen through the eyes of Jules Verne and you've got steampunk. See our pick of the best from the world's first exhibition dedicated to the sci-fi genre