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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Sad news. The UK's iconic Jodrell Bank telescope faces the axe because of cuts. It seems odd because the government has given the record increased for Science spending but @ukri_news has said it can’t continue to fund it because costs have escalated. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

he UK‘s research funding agency @UKRI_News has received a record increase for funding Science by the government. Why then is it having to cut the budget of some of the most important labs in the country?🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

UK science research labs hit by £160m cut despite record spending

Some of Britian's biggest labs face cuts even though government science spending is at record levels.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Nasa has just launched a mission to save falling space telescope. It could have come straight out of an episode of the 1960s TV science-fiction series Thunderbirds. Nasa launches mission to save falling space telescope www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Nasa launches robot to save Swift telescope falling to Earth

A Nasa-funded robot has blasted off to catch a falling telescope in mid-orbit and blast it back to safety before it burns up.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

.@NASAArtemis 2 mission has obvious parallels with the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, which paved the way for the Moon landing a year later. It gave us a photo that changed the world. Can the Artemis programme do the same? 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

BBC Sounds - Music. Radio. Podcasts

Listen without limits, with BBC Sounds. Catch the latest music tracks, discover binge-worthy podcasts, or listen to radio shows - all whenever you want.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

bbc.co.uk

Artemis II and the vision that changed the world - BBC Sounds

Pallab Ghosh compares Artemis II with the first lunar mission almost 60 years ago.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

.⁦‪@LJScarsbrook‬⁩ : “He shows us his results, and we're like, '(Gosh), this guy might have actually found a dog that far back in time." lachie’s actual language was more colourful, because he knew how big the breakthrough could prove.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Dogs were man's best friend far earlier than thought - scientists

A jawbone found in a Somerset cave rewrites the story of when and how dogs became our best friends.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

So what’s the scientific basis between the special bond between humans and dogs? A new ancient DNA study of a jawbone found in a cave in Somerset might have the answer.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Dogs were man's best friend far earlier than thought - scientists

A jawbone found in a Somerset cave rewrites the story of when and how dogs became our best friends.

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Roland Pease @peaseroland.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Good to see @pallabg.bsky.social addressing this. FWIW -was shocked in informal conversation with a high-up year or two ago, to be told that it wouldn't matter if the next 'Higgs' was discovered at a Chinese (pricey) collider if the (cheap) theory had a British name on it. Lack of ambition??

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Simon Williams @si-wills.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Delays to funding are translating into widespread attrition of early-career researchers across PPAN science. This is not hypothetical, this is happening now. Missing the international deadline has resulted in an effective 100% cut to new theoretical physics postdoc positions in the UK this cycle.

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Dr Dave Clements @davecl.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

For those working in affected fields - particle but also astro & nuclear - it’s pouring. What really grates our gears is that we’re forced to have cuts so that facilities used almost entirely outside these fields can remain cut free. If EPSRC wants DIAMOND they should pay the electricity bill not us

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

.⁦‪@UKRI_News‬⁩ says physics cuts needed because of poor financial planning by the previous management. Previous management flatly deny this to me saying that money must have been diverted.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

The future of UK Astronomy & Particle Physics is at risk from proposed 30% funding cuts that, if implemented, will be "genuinely catastrophic". Great to see this detailed BBC report on the issue by @pallabg.bsky.social 🔭🧪⚛️ #STFCcuts #SaveUKAstronomy 🗞️: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The future of Uk scientific research. Several research projects face funding cuts. Here are some projects under threat.

Words over a picture of the extremely large telescope (ELT) under construction in Chile

Scotland's Astronomer Royal, Catherine Heymans, speaking for the UK community of astronomers, told the science select committee that the proposed cuts were "genuinely catastrophic and will be devastating for the UK."
She, along with a particle physicist, told MPs most of the potential cuts would lead to British scientists having to greatly reduce their involvement or withdraw altogether from some of the world's most important international astronomy and particle physics experiments.
Those experiments seek to answer some of the biggest questions in science. These include learning how the Universe began and how it will end, finding the first ever signs of life on planets orbiting distant stars, detecting black holes that ripple space time, mapping newborn planets around distant stars and analysing their atmospheres for signs of life. All of these are experiments in which, historically, the UK played a leading role. But now, British scientists could be largely locked out of them in the future, if the STFC does not pay its way.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

.@royalsociety president Sir Paul Nurse says the new science funding system that has allegedly led to cuts has been rushed. “Some of the problems that have arisen could have been avoided if things had just been taken more slowly, in a more considered way."🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

For ⁦‪@SciTechgovuk‬⁩ Lord Vallance says: “"It is not right to portray this as a massive cut. It's not, it’s about managing a budget responsibly". He added that the UK was and would continue to be the second biggest funder experiments @CERN.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

.⁦‪@ChiOnwurah‬⁩ tells @BBCNews MPs on the science select committee were “very disappointed to learn that we couldn't actually track how science funding was changing .. whether curiosity-driven research in particle or nuclear physics being cut or not."🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Minutes of ⁦‪⁦‪@STFC_Matters‬⁩ record the Council's head of strategy describing "a major shift of funding from curiosity-driven research to priority areas and targeted programmes". @UKRI say this was a “misstatement”. 🧪. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

UK particle physics and astronomy are facing “catastrophic” cuts while science spending received a record increase. Documents seen by ⁦‪@BBCNews‬⁩ suggest money has been diverted away to government research areas🧪. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Higgs Boson was UK triumph, but British physics faces 'catastrophic' cuts

Britain is preparing to cancel its contribution to one of the Large Hadron Collider's next major upgrades.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

What does science have to say about soulmates? Is there someone out there just right for you, or is it a Hollywood Rom Con? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

The science of soulmates: is there someone out there exactly right for you?

For many, the idea of soulmates still shapes how love is understood.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

The moment humans first learnt how to make fire has been pushed back hundreds of thousands of years. Read the incredible detective story of how scientists discovered the location this momentous event which changed humanity forever.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

bbc.co.uk

The moment the earliest known man-made fire was uncovered - BBC News

Archaeologists in the UK have discovered the world's oldest evidence of humans lighting fires

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Dr Joanne Williams @jowilliams.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Restrictions for scientists' families too. It all introduces so much stress, I honestly don't know how people cope.

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Dominic Manchee @dpmanchee.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

bsky.app/profile/dpma...

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Research visa restrictions mean UK is “shooting itself in the foot” says Royal Society’s new President, Sir Paul Nurse in an interview with BBC News. 🧪Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy

Prof Sir Paul Nurse says the UK is "shooting itself in the foot" with its visa system for researchers.

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ABSW @absw.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

The @Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) will be travelling to #WCSJ2025 Alex O'Brien, ABSW vice-chair, and Sallie Robins, ABSW Executive Secretary, will attend in person and be available to meet you all in Pretoria, South Africa, 1-5 Dec.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

The UK government sets out an ambitious plan to eliminate all animal experiments except under exceptional circumstances. Is this a credible plan or one to be seen to meet a hard to deliver manifesto commitment? 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Government sets out plan to phase out animal experiments

The plan follows up on a manifesto promise to work towards the phasing out the practice.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

The discovery of continuous stone tool use for thousands of generations in Kenya 2.75 million years ago suggests not only were the very first humans inventors but that innovation is innate to our genus. 🧪Stone tool discovery suggests very first humans were inventors www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Stone tool discovery suggests very first humans were inventors

The find shows that the technology was passed down through thousands of generations.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

The crew of Artemis II say they are ready to fly to the Moon "for all humanity". All four say they have been inspired by the Apollo Moon missions of the 1960s and early 1970s. 🧪https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg0kv8rq0xo

bbc.co.uk

Artemis II: astronauts ready to go to Moon

Astronauts of Nasa's first crewed mission to the Moon for more than 50 years hope their journey inspires a new generation.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Gaps in our knowledge of ancient Rome could be filled by AI. 🧪

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Animals react to secret sounds from plants according to new research. The discovery suggests that there has been a hitherto unkown natural world wide web exchanging infomration between plants and insects for millions of years. 🧪https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8e4860n9rpo

bbc.co.uk

Animals react to secret sounds from plants, say scientists

It opens up the possibility that an invisible ecosystem might exist between plants and animals.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

The Wellcome Trust is to fund a controversial project to create artificial human DNA 25 years after the human genome was completed. 🧪

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

See a new video by @esa.int of the Sun's south pole tha thas never been seen before. It is a thing of beauty and will help scientists learn more about the processes that make our closest star cycle between raging storms and quieter periods. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Solar Orbiter spacecraft snaps first images of Sun's south pole

Never before seen pictures will help scientists learn how the Sun's activity changes from stormy to quiet periods

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

The Trump-Musk row has fuelled the biggest crisis ever' at @NASA. The science budget has been cut by half and the agency’s focus is now to send astronauts to the Moon before the Chinese and to plant a US flag on Mars.🧪.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

No-one knows exactly how LLMs work. That's worrying Prof ‪@mpshanahan.bsky.social‬ tells BBC News: "Having a better understanding of how they work will enable us to steer them in the direction we want and to ensure that they are safe."🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Prof ‪@lenoreblum.bsky.social tells @BBCNews "AI consciousness is inevitable." Her husband Manuel says they will be the "next stage in humanity's evolution. They are our progeny and will be on Earth and maybe on other planets when we are no longer around”. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Anil Seth @anilseth.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

3/ @pallabg.bsky.social's piece refers to our "Dreamachine" experiments at @SussexUni. It's worth clarifying that there are not the same as the public Dreamahine programme. I was the lead scientist for the latter, but it was led by Collective Act dreamachine.world

dreamachine.world

Dreamachine | A new, one-of-a-kind immersive experience

Dreamachine is an experience like no other. Join us on a magical journey through music and light to experience a colourful world unfolding behind your closed eyes, created by your own brain and comple...

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Hachi @hachi19.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

How about we come to a consensus on what the term "conscious" means First? I have a feeling we're about to have some very serious, very ill-informed conversations about things we cannot comprehend, much less relate to in any meaningful way.

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Political Pat @politicalpat.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

The problem is defining "conscious" and "sentient." Understanding language through pattern recognition, accessing memory w/o considering context/aging relevance, and learning normal human behavior still omits pain/pleasure, risk/reward, and regret. AI mimics conscious behavior but doesn't fear death

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Political Pat @politicalpat.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

It's a good article - but the answer is in the opening paragraph. The author experiences organic fear - AI can't. I can make AI mimic fear and pain with appropriate responses based on variable sensors, but it doesn't care if I send it into an endless loop, hallucination hell, or turn it off.

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Prof Manuel Blum tells BBC News “Conscious robots are our progeny. Down the road, machines like these will be entities that will be on Earth and maybe on other planets when we are no longer around". 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Could so brain cells grown in a lab, called organoids, become conscious? Brett Kagan of Cortical Labs tells BBCNews that it’s possible, but wannabe organoid overlords could easily be defeated by pouring bleach on them.🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Dr Robin George Andrews @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Lovely to be paired up with the legendary @pallabg.bsky.social!

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Pallab Ghosh @pallabg.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Scientists in a US-led project, DUNE, are ready to build their underground detector to catch up with a Japanese experiment, Hyper-K, in a race to discover why our Universe exists. 🧪

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