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Thomas Alva Edison is famous as one of the pioneering inventors of the incandescent light bulb. The ‘light-bulb moment’ is now shorthand for a bright idea, and another of Edison’s inventions, the phonograph, would jump start the record industry - not bad for a man who was himself almost completely deaf. Kip Heath explores Edison's legacy as part of Disability History Month.

As the pace of discovery in cellular and molecular biology continues to accelerate, it is more important than ever to engage with the unresolved questions that challenge and inspire the scientific community.

Dr Elin McCormack reflects on her experience of working in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in 2021. 

Professor Emily Nurse reflects on her experience of working in the Government Office for Science.

Dr Marina Antoniou reflects on her experience of working in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy in 2019.

Eloise Barber gives an overview of advances in the science of acoustics, from the seventeenth century to the present day.

Dr Christopher Race reflects on his experience of working part-time in the Office for Science at the Department for Transport (DfT) over five months in 2021.

Dr Celine Maistret reflects on her experience of working in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

To celebrate 20 years since the launch of Journal of the Royal Society Interface, we are launching a Perspective competition. The winner will receive a prize of £1,000.  

November 2024 marks 20 years since Journal of the Royal Society Interface was launched to provide a home for innovative cross-disciplinary research at the boundary of the life and physical sciences. The Senior Publishing Editor, Dr Tim Holt, reflects on its importance in the scientific publishing landscape.

The themes of Christopher Priest's novel 'Expect me tomorrow' are reflected in various Royal Society collections and activities, as Keith Moore discovers.

Claudia Astorino (she/her, they/them) discusses how her intersex identity motivated her to explore intersex variation through the lens of evolutionary biology.