Animate Materials

This report identifies a new and potentially transformative class of materials: materials that are created through human agency but emulate the properties of living systems. We call these ‘animate materials’ and they can be defined as those that are sensitive to their environment and able to adapt to it in a number of ways to better fulfil their function. These materials may be understood in relation to three principles of animacy. They are ‘active’, in that they can change their properties or perform actions, often by taking energy, material or nutrients from the environment; ‘adaptive’ in sensing changes in their environment and responding; and ‘autonomous’ in being able to initiate such a response without being controlled. Artificial materials that are fully animate in all these dimensions do not exist at present, but there are many examples of materials with some features that correspond with our definition of animacy, as well as research that indicates potential ways to improve and extend their capabilities. The development of such materials has been identified by the Royal Society as an area of research with potential to deliver major change, most noticeably in the built environment, from roads and buildings to transport and industry, as well as in sectors such as medicine and clothing. Development and implementation of proto-animate materials are currently being pursued in many disciplines, but without any formal co-ordination. The Royal Society is seeking to support interdisciplinary efforts in the field of animate materials, as well as to improve understanding of their potential, while identifying steps needed to accelerate their development in a socially responsible manner

The use of statistics in legal proceedings : a primer for courts

The judicial primers project is a unique collaboration between members of the judiciary, the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The primers have been created under the direction of a Steering Group initially chaired by Lord Hughes of Ombersley who was succeeded by Lady Justice Rafferty DBE, and are designed to assist the judiciary when handling scientific evidence in the courtroom. They have been written by leading scientists and members of the judiciary, peer reviewed by practitioners and approved by the Councils of the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Each primer presents an easily understood, accurate position on the scientific topic in question, and considers the limitations of the science and the challenges associated with its application. The way scientific evidence is used can vary between jurisdictions, but the underpinning science and methodologies remain consistent. For this reason we trust these primers will prove helpful in many jurisdictions throughout the world and assist the judiciary in their understanding of scientific topics. The primers are not intended to replace expert scientific evidence; they are intended to help understand it and assess it, by providing a basic, and so far as possible uncontroversial, statement of the underlying science. The production of this primer on the use of statistics in legal proceedings has been led by Professor Niamh Nic Daéid FRSE. We are most grateful to her, to the Executive Director of the Royal Society, Dr Julie Maxton CBE, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Dr Rebekah Widdowfield, and the members of the Primers Steering Group, the Editorial Board and the Writing Group. Please see the back page for a full list of acknowledgements

Optimising diagnostics through imaging informatics: Costs and opportunities

YesIncreasing diagnostic capacity is a national priority to expedite the timeliness and appropriateness of patient treatment interventions. Imaging—encompassing a range of technologies including X-ray, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine and ultrasound—is a key diagnostic service and central to decision-making in most, if not all, disease pathways. However, imaging is an expensive discipline accounting for an estimated 3–5% of the annual NHS budget. As a result, it is imperative that we maximise service efficiency while optimising patient outcomes.The manuscript version differs from the published version

Novas fronteiras na Diplomacia Científica - contornando as mudanças de equilíbrio de poder

Currently, the complexity of global problems, such as pandemics and the economic recession, the rise of political and religious extremisms of the most varied orders, such as anti-vaccine movements and the “waves” of “fake news” in the creation of false “myths” and in the spread of lies, and the spread of pseudo-scientific currents, such as “terraplanismo”, deny the validity of scientific knowledge and, therefore, threaten the future of humanity. In this dark context, a large part of society, as a reaction to these movements, defends the increasing role of science in the political life of society and in national and international public policy decisions. With that, the idea of “science diplomacy” gained strength in academic and political forums. Thus, this text is a translation of the article “New frontiers in science diplomacy Navigating the changing balance of power” by the Royal Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This is one of the founding texts of "scientific diplomacy" in the world, as it works with key concepts, such as "science in diplomacy", "diplomacy for science", "science for diplomacy". In addition, he does some case studies on the importance of scientific diplomacy.Na atualidade, a complexidade de problemas globais, como as pandemias e a recessão econômica, a ascensão extremismos políticos e religiosos das mais variadas ordens, como os movimentos antivacinas e as “ondas” de “fake news” na criação de falsos “mitos” e no espraiamento de mentiras, e a difusão de correntes pseudocientíficas, como o “terraplanismo”, negam a validade do conhecimento científico e, por conseguinte, ameaçam o futuro da humanidade. Neste contexto obscuro, grande parte da sociedade, como reação a esses movimentos, defende o aumento do papel da ciência na vida política da sociedade e nas decisões de políticas públicas nacionais e internacionais. Com isso, a ideia de “science diplomacy” ganhou força nos fóruns acadêmicos e políticos.Assim, o presente texto é uma tradução do artigo “New frontiers in science diplomacy Navigating the changing balance of power” da Royal Society e da American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Este é um dos textos fundantes da “diplomacia científica” no mundo, pois trabalha conceitos-chave, como “ciência na diplomacia”, “diplomacia para a ciência”, “ciência para diplomacia”. Ademais, faz alguns estudos de caso sobre a importância da diplomacia científica

Adult-perpetrated Animal Abuse: Development of a Proclivity Scale

There is a clear discrepancy in the reporting of animal cruelty complaints, prosecutions and convictions suggesting that any prevalence figures of abuse are significant under-representations. Therefore, it can be inferred that there is a large number of animal abusers who are unapprehended. Currently there is no validated tool that assesses the proclivity or propensity to engage in animal abuse amongst members of the general public. Such a tool would enable researchers to study individuals who may think like animal abusers or may be unapprehended offenders themselves. This paper presents the newly developed Animal Abuse Proclivity Scale (AAPS) and some preliminary findings. The results from our two studies show that: (1) the psychometric properties of the AAPS indicate that the scale is a highly reliable measure; (2) the AAPS relates to measures assessing offence-supportive attitudes and reflects the gender differences seen in the literature; and (3) the AAPS demonstrates cross-national validity. These findings support that the AAPS, similar to other offending proclivity measures, is a tool that can be used to examine the factors most related to animal abuse propensity. We discuss how the AAPS can contribute to future developments in theory and practice in the field

Dietary patterns by cluster analysis in pregnant women: relationship with nutrient intakes and dietary patterns in 7-year-old offspring

© 2016 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Little is known about how dietary patterns of mothers and their children track over time. The objectives of this study are to obtain dietary patterns in pregnancy using cluster analysis, to examine women's mean nutrient intakes in each cluster and to compare the dietary patterns of mothers to those of their children. Pregnant women (n = 12 195) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children reported their frequency of consumption of 47 foods and food groups. These data were used to obtain dietary patterns during pregnancy by cluster analysis. The absolute and energy-adjusted nutrient intakes were compared between clusters. Women's dietary patterns were compared with previously derived clusters of their children at 7 years of age. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships comparing maternal and offspring clusters. Three maternal clusters were identified: ‘fruit and vegetables’, ‘meat and potatoes’ and ‘white bread and coffee’. After energy adjustment women in the ‘fruit and vegetables’ cluster had the highest mean nutrient intakes. Mothers in the ‘fruit and vegetables’ cluster were more likely than mothers in ‘meat and potatoes’ (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 2.00; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.69–2.36) or ‘white bread and coffee’ (OR: 2.18; 95% CI: 1.87–2.53) clusters to have children in a ‘plant-based’ cluster. However the majority of children were in clusters unrelated to their mother dietary pattern. Three distinct dietary patterns were obtained in pregnancy; the ‘fruit and vegetables’ pattern being the most nutrient dense. Mothers' dietary patterns were associated with but did not dominate offspring dietary patterns

Research groups: How big should they be?

Understanding the relationship between scientific productivity and research group size is important for deciding how science should be funded. We have investigated the relationship between these variables in the life sciences in the United Kingdom using data from 398 principle investigators (PIs). We show that three measures of productivity, the number of publications, the impact factor of the journals in which papers are published and the number of citations, are all positively correlated to group size, although they all show a pattern of diminishing returns—doubling group size leads to less than a doubling in productivity. The relationships for the impact factor and the number of citations are extremely weak. Our analyses suggest that an increase in productivity will be achieved by funding more PIs with small research groups, unless the cost of employing post-docs and PhD students is less than 20% the cost of a PI. We also provide evidence that post-docs are more productive than PhD students both in terms of the number of papers they produce and where those papers are published

Maternal macronutrient and energy intakes in pregnancy and offspring intake at 10 y: exploring parental comparisons and prenatal effects1234

Background: High maternal dietary intakes in pregnancy may lead to increased fetal growth and program neuroendocrine pathways that result in greater appetite, energy intake, and adiposity in offspring later in life. Few prospective dietary studies have explored this relation

Ultrasound clinical progress monitoring: Who, where and how?

Prior to assessment of final ultrasound clinical competency it is important to monitor clinical progress, provide high quality feedback and encourage skills development. The role of the supervisor, mentor and assessor are fundamental to the on-going progress monitoring of ultrasound trainees. This article forms the second part of a larger project which was to elicit ultrasound practitioners’ opinions on how progress should be monitored, where and by whom. An on-line questionnaire was used to gain opinions from ultrasound practitioners. Totally, 116 responses were received from professionals with an interest in ultrasound assessment. Results suggested that experienced, qualified ultrasound practitioners should undertake the role of supervisor and assessor, having been prepared for that role by the training centre. Formative monitoring should take place both within the clinical department and possibly the training centre, using a range of methods. Following completion of the training, practitioners should have a preceptorship period to consolidate their knowledge and skills for 3 to 6 months or until further competencies have been demonstrated. Formative progress monitoring should be a recognised part of ultrasound training. Essentially, staff undertaking supervision and assessor roles should be supported and trained to ensure a high quality, consistent learning experience for ultrasound trainees. Additionally, they should provide appropriate feedback to the trainee and education centre