A Surrey scientist claims to have an answer to what is often considered to be the hardest problem in science (sometimes just known as the “Hard Problem”): why we are aware.

Johnjoe McFadden, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey, has previously proposed that consciousness is generated by the brain’s electromagnetic field, the cemi field. The cemi field theory – that our thoughts are electric fields in the brain – has generated a lot of interest both in the UK and across

A research team, led by Dr Stuart Walker from Essex University, claims to have developed a data transmission method which can achieve world record telecommunications data rates, of over a terabit (one trillion binary digits) per second, on optical fibres which already exist in the majority of in-building communications networks throughout the world. These optical fibres are known as multimode fibres.

Dr Stuart Walker is presenting the world record transmission concept on Thursday 5 Septembe

Researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of Keele have discovered that Dinoponera quadriceps ants, known as Dinosaur ants, and the Mafia have something in common. Both have dominant leaders who give rivals a “kiss of death”, as a signal for their ‘mob’ to punish the offender. The alpha female in a colony of Dinosaur ants marks rival females with a chemical which signals lower ranking ants in the colony to punish the “pretender”. This secures the alpha female’s position as the onl

In a new report, a team of senior women physicists have challenged the scientific and academic establishments to tackle the problem of female under-representation in physics careers. The report, “Women Physicists Speak”, was led by Professor Gillian Gehring of the University of Sheffield and will be launched at a meeting of the Institute of Physics on 5 September. It is the result of an international conference about the issue and makes a number of important recommendations. · Women in Leade

Major breakthrough could lead to successful treatment of viral cancers, without side-effects. Yorkshire Cancer Research funded researchers at the University of York have made a major cancer breakthrough. Using a new technique called RNA interference, they have successfully killed human cervical cancer cells grown in culture without causing damage to healthy cells. The discovery could have major implications, potentially leading to the successful treatment of cancers caused by viral

Computer and optical communications engineers are now using optical structures to produce faster, more powerful, light-based processors and networks. However, according to Dr Andrew Parker from Oxford University, they are well behind the times as nature has been making these optical structures for at least 515 million years. He and his team are now planning to unravel nature`s manufacturing process and use it to create man-made optical devices.

Speaking at the Photon02 Conference in Cardiff