Roger Highfield
@rogerhighfield.bsky.social
Museum exec, MRC, visiting prof at the Dunn School, Oxford, and UCL Chemistry. Ex Editor of New Scientist, and Science Editor of the Telegraph. Co-author #VirtualYou and more books. Neutron bouncer
Scientists have found a little RNA molecule – small enough to potentially form spontaneously, yet sophisticated enough to copy itself – that cd explain how life on Earth arose. Thanks @edogia.bsky.social of the @philholliger.bsky.social lab! blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/in-the-begin...
In the beginning - Science Museum Blog
A tiny self-copying molecule offers the clearest answer yet to the mystery of the origins of biology, reports Science Director Roger Highfield.
blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk
February 13, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Scientists have found a little RNA molecule – small enough to potentially form spontaneously, yet sophisticated enough to copy itself – that cd explain how life on Earth arose. Thanks @edogia.bsky.social of the @philholliger.bsky.social lab! blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/in-the-begin...
So sorry to have missed this - looking forward to getting a copy of In Search of Now by brilliant @jomarchant.bsky.social !
Hoorah for @jomarchant.bsky.social launching her new book In Search of Now (which looks fabulous) last night in Kensington. Lovely to see my friends and colleagues including @wanderinggaia.bsky.social @helenpearson.bsky.social @castelvecchi.bsky.social @mpshanahan.bsky.social, Marnie Chesterton...
February 13, 2026 at 2:46 PM
So sorry to have missed this - looking forward to getting a copy of In Search of Now by brilliant @jomarchant.bsky.social !
It has been a hoot to work on Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos, which opens at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester today! 🚀
February 13, 2026 at 10:05 AM
It has been a hoot to work on Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos, which opens at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester today! 🚀
Good morning!
February 13, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Good morning!
Reposted by Roger Highfield
Researchers have discovered a little RNA molecule - small enough to potentially form spontaneously, yet sophisticated enough to begin to copy itself - that could explain how life on Earth began over four billion years ago, Science Director @rogerhighfield.bsky.social reports: https://bit.ly/3ZvPS6s
February 12, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Researchers have discovered a little RNA molecule - small enough to potentially form spontaneously, yet sophisticated enough to begin to copy itself - that could explain how life on Earth began over four billion years ago, Science Director @rogerhighfield.bsky.social reports: https://bit.ly/3ZvPS6s
Jupiter is smaller and more squashed than we thought www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/jupiter...
Jupiter is smaller and more squashed than we thought, says NASA | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Data captured during 13 of the Juno spacecraft's flybys of Jupiter reveal the gas giant is narrower at the equator and flatter at the poles.
www.skyatnightmagazine.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Jupiter is smaller and more squashed than we thought www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/jupiter...
Good morning!
February 12, 2026 at 7:20 AM
Good morning!
Inspiring third digital twin meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine today, focusing on emerging technologies in clinical practice—building on the momentum from the first two sessions.
www.rsm.ac.uk/events/digit...
www.rsm.ac.uk/events/digit...
Digital Twins and Emerging Technologies in Clinical Practice: From Discovery to Adoption
This half-day event brings together leading experts from academia, industry, healthcare, and regulation to explore how digital twins are transforming medicine.
www.rsm.ac.uk
February 11, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Inspiring third digital twin meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine today, focusing on emerging technologies in clinical practice—building on the momentum from the first two sessions.
www.rsm.ac.uk/events/digit...
www.rsm.ac.uk/events/digit...
Engineered moths could replace mice in research into “one of the biggest threats to human health” www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Engineered moths could replace mice in research into “one of the biggest threats to human health”
A scientific breakthrough not only promises faster testing for antimicrobial resistance, but also an ethical solution to the controversial issue of using rodents in research. University of Exeter scie...
www.eurekalert.org
February 11, 2026 at 7:54 AM
Engineered moths could replace mice in research into “one of the biggest threats to human health” www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Good morning!
February 11, 2026 at 6:40 AM
Good morning!
Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains?
People with aphantasia are offering a window into consciousness.
www.nature.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Good morning!
February 10, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Good morning!
Bonobo's pretend tea party shows capacity for imagination
Kanzi, a bonobo with exceptional language skills, took part in a make-believe tea party that demonstrated cognitive abilities never seen before in non-human primates www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Kanzi, a bonobo with exceptional language skills, took part in a make-believe tea party that demonstrated cognitive abilities never seen before in non-human primates www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Bonobo's pretend tea party shows capacity for imagination
Kanzi, a bonobo with exceptional language skills, took part in a make-believe tea party that demonstrated cognitive abilities never seen before in non-human primates
www.newscientist.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Bonobo's pretend tea party shows capacity for imagination
Kanzi, a bonobo with exceptional language skills, took part in a make-believe tea party that demonstrated cognitive abilities never seen before in non-human primates www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Kanzi, a bonobo with exceptional language skills, took part in a make-believe tea party that demonstrated cognitive abilities never seen before in non-human primates www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Scientists trace ancient bird flight paths using modern plant diversity www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Scientists trace ancient bird flight paths using modern plant diversity
Scientists used a group of plants called melastomes as a case study to determine how, when and why a mountain range in Hispaniola became exceptionally biodiverse.
www.eurekalert.org
February 8, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Scientists trace ancient bird flight paths using modern plant diversity www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Fascinating, and depressing, to work on Water Pantanal Fire with my colleagues, a free exhibition that has just opened in the @sciencemuseum.org.uk to showcase the work of documentary photographers Lalo de Almeida and Luciano Candisani.
February 7, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Fascinating, and depressing, to work on Water Pantanal Fire with my colleagues, a free exhibition that has just opened in the @sciencemuseum.org.uk to showcase the work of documentary photographers Lalo de Almeida and Luciano Candisani.
Breathing in the past: How museums can use biomolecular archaeology to bring ancient scents to life www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Breathing in the past: How museums can use biomolecular archaeology to bring ancient scents to life
A new interdisciplinary study published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology introduces an innovative framework for translating biomolecular data from archaeological materials into scent recreati...
www.eurekalert.org
February 5, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Breathing in the past: How museums can use biomolecular archaeology to bring ancient scents to life www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Quantum computers will finally be useful: what’s behind the revolution www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Quantum computers will finally be useful: what’s behind the revolution
A string of surprising advances suggests usable quantum computers could be here in a decade.
www.nature.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Quantum computers will finally be useful: what’s behind the revolution www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Great to celebrate the winners of the #QEPrize with Lord Vallance in the @sciencemuseum.org.uk tonight qeprize.org - pioneers of neuroengineering, from BCIs to cochlear implants
February 3, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Great to celebrate the winners of the #QEPrize with Lord Vallance in the @sciencemuseum.org.uk tonight qeprize.org - pioneers of neuroengineering, from BCIs to cochlear implants
Reposted by Roger Highfield
Sir Paul Nurse PRS writes in today's Times on cuts to UKRI funding: "If [discovery-driven science] is not properly supported, we lose the seed-corn of discovery research, harming subsequent science translation, societal improvement and economic growth." Read more(£): www.thetimes.com/comment/lett...
Times letters: Relevance of the Church in the 21st century
Sir, AN Wilson’s article (“More liturgy, fewer lectures please, archbishop”, Jan 31) is rather like the curate’s egg — good in parts
www.thetimes.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Sir Paul Nurse PRS writes in today's Times on cuts to UKRI funding: "If [discovery-driven science] is not properly supported, we lose the seed-corn of discovery research, harming subsequent science translation, societal improvement and economic growth." Read more(£): www.thetimes.com/comment/lett...