Every section of UK society is shouting about why they should escape government cut-backs.
Scientists are no exception. And whoever is in charge of PR for the British Science Festival taking place this week has done a spectacular job of grabbing the headlines.
Lady Susan Greenfield, eminent neuroscience and former director the Royal Institution, gave a speech on “Mind Change”, essentially the change to our brains caused by too much computer use. Describing Mind Change as “the biggest threat to humanity after climate change”, and called for a research programme to look at the issue. (A subtext to this is ”are computers turning our children’s brains to mush: guaranteed to attract attention).
Cannabis should be available on license for recreational use, and taken out of the hands of criminal. So said Roger Pertwee, professor of neuropharmacology at Aberdeen University
Possession of cannabis, now a class B drug in the UK (against the clear recommendation of the Drugs Advisory Committee), carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison plus a fine. There were 158,000 convictions for cannabis possession a year. This is an issue close to the heart of many Brits, and guaranteed to get press coverage.
Psychological profiling of killers is ’worse than useless’, deeply unscientific and wastes police time. So says Craig Jackson and his team of psychologists at the University of Birmingham. This headline grabbing research will no doubt disappoint many fans of crime dramas, but will also get the public’s attention and point out that science can perhaps help catch criminals and save the police money.
And two more light-hearted stories that grabbed the headlines from the Festival….
The price of love? Losing two of your closest friends
Football: the benefits of playing into the second half (of your life)
So, the festival has been a media success, if success is measured in terms of headlines.
Let’s hope it has made a difference, there is a lot of competition for money out there.
//Esther Crooks
