Industry News
All Royal Society News
Top stories summarized by our editors
Top stories summarized by our editors

Global science leaders give thumbs up to human gene editing research

12/4/2015

Leaders at a global summit on human gene editing have given the go-ahead for further research in the controversial technology as long as no pregnancies result. Officials from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the UK's Royal Society, and the US National Academies of Sciences and Medicine say human gene-editing research is necessary and should move forward, even on embryos, but studies involving germline cells should not proceed due to moral, ethical and safety concerns. The recommendations aren't legally binding, but researchers could risk losing funding or might not have their work published if they go against them.

NAS to co-host gene-editing policy workshop

9/17/2015

Scientists from Britain's Royal Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences will join the National Academy of Sciences as co-hosts of an international summit on the topic of human gene editing. The technique could eventually be used to prevent or cure some diseases, but it also poses ethical concerns.

Bitterns appear to be rebounding in U.K.

6/18/2015

The endangered bittern appears to be making a comeback in the U.K., according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. "We've probably got more bitterns than we've had for the last 200 years," said the RSPB's Grahame Madge. More than 150 male bitterns, a type of heron, have been recorded so far this year.

Scottish court to review environmental impact for 4 proposed wind farms

5/27/2015

A court in Scotland will review the potential environmental impact of four proposed wind farms, including the 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm, this week. The projects are owned by Mainstream Renewable Power, SSE, Repsol and another developer. If approved, they would have a combined capacity of 2 gigawatts. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said that they pose a threat to seabird habitats on the coast of Scotland.

Researchers: Internet fiber-optic cables are reaching their limit

5/26/2015

Fiber-optic cables used for transmitting Internet data are quickly approaching their capacity of approximately 100 terabits per second, said researchers at a Royal Society meeting in London. The researchers said physicists and computer scientists are searching for new solutions to deal with the shortage, including experimenting with multiple-core fibers to help transmit the growing amount of Internet data.

Researchers: Internet fiber-optic cables are reaching their limit

5/19/2015

Fiber-optic cables used for transmitting Internet data are quickly approaching their capacity of approximately 100 terabits per second, said researchers at a Royal Society meeting in London. The researchers said physicists and computer scientists are searching for new solutions to deal with the shortage, including experimenting with multiple-core fibers to help transmit the growing amount of Internet data.