Seven days in science - 15 October 2010

The Royal Society 350th anniversary event Rise of the Robots takes place at the Society this Friday (15 October), as part of Sci-Fi London’s Oktoberfest.

Next week begins with two-day discussion meeting 2010: what next for stem cell biology? On the Tuesday evening (19 October) , when the discussion meeting comes to a close, Professor Sir Ian Wilmut FMedSci FRSE FRS, University of Edinburgh, will give a talk on Cloning, stem cells and regenerative medicine and the extraordinary opportunities to study the molecular mechanisms that cause inherited diseases are being provided by new methods of producing stem cells. This lecture will be webcast LIVE at royalsociety.org/live and available to view on demand within 48 hours of delivery.

The winner of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books is announced next Thursday evening (21 October). The six books on the shortlist are:

• We Need To Talk About Kelvin by Marcus Chown
• Why Does E=mc2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw
• Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic by Frederick Grinnell
• God’s Philosophers: How the medieval world laid the foundations of modern science by James Hannam
• Life Ascending by Nick Lane
• A World Without Ice by Henry Pollack