Are you a researcher with an interest in human-focused biomedical technologies? Register now to join our Science+ meeting in London on 3-4 February 2026. Apply to present your poster at the meeting now: https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2026/02/life-sciences/

If intelligent life does exist out in the cosmos, should we try to communicate with it? Scientists from SETI (The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and METI (Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) give their views: Made in partnership with #BBCIdeas: bit.ly/3YV83BZ

A new generation of ultrafast laser light sources promises to answer fundamental questions in chemistry and materials science. Join our upcoming residential scientific meeting in Edinburgh to explore them in depth. You can also apply to present a poster at the meeting. https://bit.ly/3XhtqNj

Nominations for all of our medals and awards are still open. Help us recognise and celebrate outstanding contributions to science from across the globe by making your nominations by 20 February 2026: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/nominations/

Join Sir Michael Ferguson FRS for the Leeuwenhoek Prize Lecture on 26 January 2026, as he explores how science can provide opportunities to make better, safer medicines and diagnostics for neglected infectious diseases. Register now: https://bit.ly/4j9U58P

The Royal Society's Hughes Medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of energy. With nominations open until 20 February, make your submission now: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/hughes-medal/

And finally in our countdown of the year's most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org papers, the most popular paper of 2025 takes a look at why men's height and weight have increased almost twice as fast as women's over the past hundred years. bit.ly/3Yx8emT

The second-most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org paper of 2025 reveals that arthropods (like insects, crabs and spiders) owe their success to grouping their body into specialised segments like head, thorax and abdomen, a process known as tagmosis. https://bit.ly/48GCAcG

The third most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org paper of 2025 covers a viral sensation - the so-called 'Chicago Rat Hole'. The research reveals that in fact, this rodent-shaped indentation is most likely a case of mistaken identity: https://bit.ly/3XX0URp

The fourth most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org paper of 2025 finds that children and chimps share a curious trait: both are fascinated by social interactions. https://bit.ly/4pCSRW1

#OnThisDay in 1831, the HMS Beagle departs on its second voyage with an unknown young naturalist aboard. The ship will eventually visit the Galapagos Islands where the scientist, Charles Darwin, will begin to formulate his theories on evolution. #HistoryOfScience

Dolphins turn out to be ocean innovators in paper number 5 of our 2025 @royalsocietypublishing.org countdown: the authors look at the dolphins of Shark Bay, Australia, who use marine sponges as tools to protect their beaks whilst hunting on the seafloor. https://bit.ly/4qdXfKS

Edith Bülbring FRS, physiologist and pioneer in the study of smooth muscle was born #OnThisDay in 1903. Bülbring came to Britain with her family to escape Nazi Germany. She went on to have an impressive research career and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1958. #WomenInSTEM

'I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam.' These words were spoken by mathematician and computing pioneer Charles Babbage FRS, born #OnThisDay in 1791. He is known for his work on the 'Difference Engine' and 'Analytical Engine', the mechanical forebears of today’s computers.

Number 6 in most popular papers from @royalsocietypublishing.org this year looks at a surprising adaptation sulphur-crested cockatoos have made to city life in Australia: the ability to operate public drinking fountains. https://bit.ly/4j1hucp

Born #OnThisDay in 1780 was the polymath Mary Somerville. She was the first woman to have a paper read to and published by the Royal Society with her paper on the relationship between light and magnetism, and she in fact inspired the coining of the word 'scientist' itself. #WomenInSTEM

Happy birthday to Sir Isaac Newton PRS, born on Christmas Day, 1642. One of the most influential scientific minds in history, his work spanned optics, colour theory, planetary motion and gravitation, calculus and classical mechanics, as well as more archaic fields such as alchemy. #OnThisDay

Number 7 in our year-end countdown of most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org papers takes a look at a twist in avian biology: up to 6% of individuals in five wild bird species naturally switch sex, a discovery that could reshape conservation strategies. https://bit.ly/4qihFCL

If you're indulging in a large festive dinner this week, this man could probably tell you how much energy you would need to cook it: James Prescott Joule FRS, born #OnThisDay in 1818. His work on heat was crucial to the first law of thermodynamics, and the SI unit for for energy is named for him.

No.8 in our list of the most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org papers of 2025 reveals that rig sharks can create clicking sounds, the first evidence of active sound production in sharks: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/12/3/242212/117580/Evidence-of-active-sound-production-by-a

Make your nominations for our medals and awards now, including our Royal Medal for the applied sciences. Find out more on our website: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/royal-medals/

A new generation of ultrafast laser light sources promises to answer fundamental questions in chemistry and materials science. Join our upcoming residential scientific meeting in Edinburgh to explore them in depth. You can also apply to present a poster at the meeting. https://bit.ly/3XhtqNj

No.9 in the most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org papers of the year: wild sea bream can recognise individual divers using visual cues, remembering who brings them snacks. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article/21/2/20240558/63692/Wild-fish-use-visual-cues-to-recognize-individual

Born #OnThisDay in 1887 was Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Despite having almost no training in mathematics, he is regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He became one of the youngest Fellows in the Royal Society's history when he was elected in 1918 at the age of 31.

Number 10 in our 2025 @royalsocietypublishing.org paper countdown: herring gulls respond differently to loud and soft conversations. Want to keep your chips? Raise your voice! https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article/21/11/20250394/234054/Herring-gulls-respond-to-the-acoustic-properties

#DidYouKnow that nominations for most of our medals and awards are open to teams as well as individuals? Find out more: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/nominations/

#OnThisDay in 1872, the expedition of HMS Challenger set sail from Portsmouth, travelling nearly 70,00 nautical miles and cataloguing over 4000 unknown species over 4 years. This pioneering expedition, organised by the Royal Society, laid the foundations of oceanography.

As 2025 draws to a close, take a look at the 10 most popular papers from @royalsocietypublishing.org from the year, from dolphin innovations to the infamous 'Chicago Rat Hole': https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12/popular-papers-2025/

Research into #AI has been happening in the UK long before the current explosion of LLMs. On our blog, Royal Society Modern Records Archivist Jon Bushell takes a look at the AI research of Christopher Longuet-Higgins FRS in the 1960s and 70s: https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12/brain-boxes/

Ann Bishop FRS, British protozoologist and parasitologist who worked to understand the malaria parasite, was born #OnThisDay in 1899. Her work on drug resistance in both parasites and host organisms earned her election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1959. #WomenInSTEM

Three outstanding international researchers are set to establish new research groups in the UK through the Royal Society’s fast-track scheme for global talent, the Faraday Discovery Fellowships Accelerated International Route. #RSGrants royalsociety.org/news/2025/12...

New President of the Royal Society Paul Nurse sat down with new Director of The Francis Crick Institute Edith Heard FRS for a reflection of his years leading @crick.ac.uk, the role of science in society today, and more. Watch the full conversation now:

Are you a researcher with an interest in human-focused biomedical technologies? Register now to join our Science+ meeting in London on 3-4 February 2026. Apply to present your poster at the meeting now: https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2026/02/life-sciences/

Trailblazing mathematician Mary Cartwright FRS was born #OnThisDay in 1900. She was one of the pioneers of what would become chaos theory, the first woman to serve on the Council of the Royal Society, and the first to win our Sylvester Medal for contributions to mathematics. #WomenInSTEM

Nominations for the Royal Society's medals and awards are still open. Help us celebrate excellence across the sciences and across the world, with nominations open to both individuals and teams. Find out more: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/nominations/

French natural philosopher and mathematician Émilie du Châtelet was born #OnThisDay in 1706. Her 'Institutions de Physique' caused debate throughout Europe, and her translation of Newton's 'Principia Mathematica' is still considered the standard translation in France. #WomenInSTEM

The work of Sheina Marshall FRS on plankton and coral reefs revealed new dimensions of the ocean’s complexity, as Eloise Barber explains over on our blog: WomenInSTEM https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12/plankton-tales/

Born #OnThisDay in 1546 was Tycho Brahe, astronomer, supernova-spotter, alchemist, duelist, instrument-maker, Johannes Kepler’s mentor, keeper of a drunken pet elk and sporter of a distinctive metal nose. Find out more about this larger-than-life character: https://bit.ly/44PUIhK

Our Davy Medal is awarded to an outstanding researcher in the field of chemistry. Open to teams and groups as well as individuals of all career stages, make your nomination now: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/davy-medal/

Should we try to talk to aliens? Do they already know about us, and what are the risks of trying to make contact? Experts answer these questions and more in our new video made in partnership with #BBCIdeas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHHAhFzLuCA

Born #OnThisDay in 1863 was astronomer Annie Jump Cannon. Cannon, who lost most of her hearing early in life, was one of the Harvard Computers, and her work was vital to the modern classification of stars. She classified around 350,000 stars during her career. #WomenInSTEM #DisabilityHistoryMonth

Born #OnThisDay in 1815 was mathematician Ada Lovelace. She is known for her work on the Analytical Engine with mathematician Charles Babbage, an early proposed mechanical computer for which she wrote one of the first algorithms. #WomenInSTEM

President of the Royal Society Sir Paul Nurse has spoken out on the challenges currently facing science, criticising those who put ideology ahead of evidence and called for smarter funding of UK science: https://royalsociety.org/news/2025/12/new-president-speaks-out-on-challenges-to-science/

Born #OnThisDay in 1906 was American computer scientist Grace Hopper. She was a pioneer of computer programming, developing programming languages like COBOL. She was one of the first programmers on the Harvard Mark I computer and is credited with writing the first computer manual. #WomenInSTEM

This year's Christmas Lectures from our friends at @rigb.org with Maggie Aderin-Pocock promise to be out of this world. Catch them on BBC Four and iPlayer on 28, 29 and 30 December:

Nominate now for our Royal Medals, including the Royal Medal for the physical sciences. Find out more about the application process and make your nomination by 20 February 2026: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/royal-medals/

This week we were happy to announce the winners of the @royalsocietypublishing.org #RSPPhotographyCompetition 2025, with this stunning microscope image of two exceptional threads of silk from the Australian net-caster spider by Dr Martín Ramírez taking the overall crown: https://bit.ly/48GDCUJ

This week we were pleased to present our new portrait of Professor Hannah Fry by artist and winner of this year's Sky Arts #PortraitArtistOfTheYear Chloe Barnes. Image: Hannah Fry, 2025 © Chloe Barnes https://royalsociety.org/news/2025/12/hannah-fry-portrait-sky-arts-portrait-artist-of-the-year/

#DidYouKnow that you don't need to be a Fellow of the Royal Society to be nominated for one of our medals and awards? Find out more about nominations and make yours now: #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/nominations/

Born #OnThisDay in 1931 was plant scientist Enid MacRobbie FRS, whose work helped explain the workings behind the stomata of plants. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1991. #WomenInSTEM https://royalsociety.org/people/enid-macrobbie-11862/