Pallab Ghosh
@pallabg.bsky.social
I am a science correspondent for BBC News. I post mostly about science, sometimes science journalism and very occasionally, Spurs. Please share any hot stories, ideas and opinions on all three and anything else currently inspiring you.
Sad news. The UK's iconic Jodrell Bank telescope faces the axe because of cuts. It seems odd because the government has given the record increased for Science spending but @ukri_news has said it can’t continue to fund it because costs have escalated. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
bbc.co.uk
Here’s the latest on what night shifts do to the mind and body and whether a nap can make a big difference.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The hidden cost of the night shift and how to sleep it off
More than three million people in the UK work night shifts, which can greatly impact their health. What can be done to help them?
bbc.co.uk
he UK‘s research funding agency @UKRI_News has received a record increase for funding Science by the government. Why then is it having to cut the budget of some of the most important labs in the country?🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK science research labs hit by £160m cut despite record spending
Some of Britian's biggest labs face cuts even though government science spending is at record levels.
bbc.co.uk
Nasa has just launched a mission to save falling space telescope. It could have come straight out of an episode of the 1960s TV science-fiction series Thunderbirds. Nasa launches mission to save falling space telescope www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Nasa launches robot to save Swift telescope falling to Earth
A Nasa-funded robot has blasted off to catch a falling telescope in mid-orbit and blast it back to safety before it burns up.
bbc.co.uk
.@NASAArtemis 2 mission has obvious parallels with the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, which paved the way for the Moon landing a year later. It gave us a photo that changed the world. Can the Artemis programme do the same? 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
BBC Sounds - Music. Radio. Podcasts
Listen without limits, with BBC Sounds. Catch the latest music tracks, discover binge-worthy podcasts, or listen to radio shows - all whenever you want.
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.@NASAArtemis 2 mission has obvious parallels with the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, which paved the way for the Moon landing a year later. It gave us a photo that changed the world. Can the Artemis programme do the same? www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Artemis II and the vision that changed the world - BBC Sounds
Pallab Ghosh compares Artemis II with the first lunar mission almost 60 years ago.
bbc.co.uk
Artemis II mission was a triumph. Now comes the hard part🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Nasa's Artemis II mission was a triumph - but when will astronauts land on the Moon?
The mission was almost flawless but there are considerable obstacles ahead before a Moon landing.
bbc.co.uk
Has Artemis II shown we can land on the Moon again? Has Artemis II shown we can land on the Moon again? 🧪https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj60nkd8nrko
Has Artemis II shown we can get back to the Moon?
The Artemis II mission has been near flawless to date, but has the test flight shown Nasa is ready to send humans to the lunar surface?
bbc.co.uk
.@LJScarsbrook : “He shows us his results, and we're like, '(Gosh), this guy might have actually found a dog that far back in time." lachie’s actual language was more colourful, because he knew how big the breakthrough could prove.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dogs were man's best friend far earlier than thought - scientists
A jawbone found in a Somerset cave rewrites the story of when and how dogs became our best friends.
bbc.co.uk
So what’s the scientific basis between the special bond between humans and dogs? A new ancient DNA study of a jawbone found in a cave in Somerset might have the answer.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dogs were man's best friend far earlier than thought - scientists
A jawbone found in a Somerset cave rewrites the story of when and how dogs became our best friends.
bbc.co.uk
Good to see @pallabg.bsky.social addressing this. FWIW -was shocked in informal conversation with a high-up year or two ago, to be told that it wouldn't matter if the next 'Higgs' was discovered at a Chinese (pricey) collider if the (cheap) theory had a British name on it. Lack of ambition??
Pallab Ghosh@pallabg.bsky.social · 5mo agoUK particle physics and astronomy are facing “catastrophic” cuts while science spending received a record increase. Documents seen by @BBCNews suggest money has been diverted away to government research areas🧪. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Delays to funding are translating into widespread attrition of early-career researchers across PPAN science. This is not hypothetical, this is happening now. Missing the international deadline has resulted in an effective 100% cut to new theoretical physics postdoc positions in the UK this cycle.
Pallab Ghosh@pallabg.bsky.social · 5mo agoUK particle physics and astronomy are facing “catastrophic” cuts while science spending received a record increase. Documents seen by @BBCNews suggest money has been diverted away to government research areas🧪. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
For those working in affected fields - particle but also astro & nuclear - it’s pouring. What really grates our gears is that we’re forced to have cuts so that facilities used almost entirely outside these fields can remain cut free. If EPSRC wants DIAMOND they should pay the electricity bill not us
.@UKRI_News says physics cuts needed because of poor financial planning by the previous management. Previous management flatly deny this to me saying that money must have been diverted.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
bbc.co.uk
The future of UK Astronomy & Particle Physics is at risk from proposed 30% funding cuts that, if implemented, will be "genuinely catastrophic". Great to see this detailed BBC report on the issue by @pallabg.bsky.social 🔭🧪⚛️ #STFCcuts #SaveUKAstronomy 🗞️: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
.@royalsociety president Sir Paul Nurse says the new science funding system that has allegedly led to cuts has been rushed. “Some of the problems that have arisen could have been avoided if things had just been taken more slowly, in a more considered way."🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
bbc.co.uk
For @SciTechgovuk Lord Vallance says: “"It is not right to portray this as a massive cut. It's not, it’s about managing a budget responsibly". He added that the UK was and would continue to be the second biggest funder experiments @CERN.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
bbc.co.uk
.@ChiOnwurah tells @BBCNews MPs on the science select committee were “very disappointed to learn that we couldn't actually track how science funding was changing .. whether curiosity-driven research in particle or nuclear physics being cut or not."🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
bbc.co.uk
Minutes of @STFC_Matters record the Council's head of strategy describing "a major shift of funding from curiosity-driven research to priority areas and targeted programmes". @UKRI say this was a “misstatement”. 🧪. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
bbc.co.uk
UK particle physics and astronomy are facing “catastrophic” cuts while science spending received a record increase. Documents seen by @BBCNews suggest money has been diverted away to government research areas🧪. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts
Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.
bbc.co.uk
What does science have to say about soulmates? Is there someone out there just right for you, or is it a Hollywood Rom Con? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The science of soulmates: is there someone out there exactly right for you?
For many, the idea of soulmates still shapes how love is understood.
bbc.co.uk
The moment humans first learnt how to make fire has been pushed back hundreds of thousands of years. Read the incredible detective story of how scientists discovered the location this momentous event which changed humanity forever.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...
The moment the earliest known man-made fire was uncovered - BBC News
Archaeologists in the UK have discovered the world's oldest evidence of humans lighting fires
bbc.co.uk
Restrictions for scientists' families too. It all introduces so much stress, I honestly don't know how people cope.
Dominic Manchee@dpmanchee.bsky.social · 8mo agoIn 2018 a former UK Parliament Select Committee held an inquiry on the need for an post Brexit immigration system that worked for science and innovation. Govts ever since have ignored the report recommendations. We now have one of most expensive in world. committees.parliament.uk/work/4608/an...
Research visa restrictions mean UK is “shooting itself in the foot” says Royal Society’s new President, Sir Paul Nurse in an interview with BBC News. 🧪Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy www.bbc.com/news/article...
Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
Prof Sir Paul Nurse says the UK is "shooting itself in the foot" with its visa system for researchers.
bbc.com
The @Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) will be travelling to #WCSJ2025 Alex O'Brien, ABSW vice-chair, and Sallie Robins, ABSW Executive Secretary, will attend in person and be available to meet you all in Pretoria, South Africa, 1-5 Dec.
The UK government sets out an ambitious plan to eliminate all animal experiments except under exceptional circumstances. Is this a credible plan or one to be seen to meet a hard to deliver manifesto commitment? 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Government sets out plan to phase out animal experiments
The plan follows up on a manifesto promise to work towards the phasing out the practice.
bbc.co.uk
The science of #CelebrityTraitors : How we think we’re great at spotting a fake, but are actually terrible! 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...
The science of a trustworthy face - and how to spot a liar (or Traitor) - BBC News
Scientists suggest that trustworthiness is influenced by facial expressions - and levels of attractiveness.
bbc.co.uk
The discovery of continuous stone tool use for thousands of generations in Kenya 2.75 million years ago suggests not only were the very first humans inventors but that innovation is innate to our genus. 🧪Stone tool discovery suggests very first humans were inventors www.bbc.com/news/article...
Stone tool discovery suggests very first humans were inventors
The find shows that the technology was passed down through thousands of generations.
bbc.com
