"Something I'm not doing these days that I should be doing is meeting more science people. I think that the best dinner party would be where each guest was required to bring a new piece of science news to the dinner table with him. Afterwards, you wouldn't feel you'd wasted any time feeding your machinery with just pieces of food. Nothing about diseases, though. Just pure science news.

Today it was announced that the Science Gallery is the overall winner in the Tourism and Culture category of the Irish Times Living Dublin Award. Thanks to all who contributed to this success, especially the Science Gallery team...

Chris Horn (Chairman of Science Gallery) has some provocative reflections around investment in Irish research in light of yesterday's announcement of an additional €45m investment in research by SFI. Read the full article on Chris's blog.

How could we detect alien civilizations?

What is the real risk to public health from pig meat contamination? What is a dioxin? What is the difference between a PCB and non-dioxin-like PCB? How does a dioxin enter your system? What are the health effects? 

Don't panic...In a week where many different angles and stories have been reported, the Science Gallery gives you an opportunity to chat with leading scientists involved in dioxin research and public health. This is your chance to cut through the hype, ask the questions and get the information you need. 

Lichtenberg figures are truly extraordinary fractal patterns which can be created by irradiating a block of acrylic with electrons from a particle accelerator.

Why is it that people frequently resort to using the same cliche ("think outside the box") to describe original, unprejudiced ideas? This really bugs me, because surely if you are "thinking outside the box" you would find an original way of expressing that ...

I suppose this is at the forefront of my mind as I battle to become one of the elite. I'm currently in my final year of a genetics degree course, which I entered through general science in Trinity. So when, I wonder, can I describe myself as a scientist?

What happens when you look through a prism? … You see the same stuff as before, but from a different angle -- maybe you suddenly understand something from another’s viewpoint, or see the complexity hiding beneath the simple veneer.

Science Gallery’s newest club – Prism – is a place for members to get together to rant, show off and learn about exciting topics in science, as brought to you through popular science books.