* Astronomy

Royal Society lectures and debates which can be viewed free-of-charge from the Society's website.

Forthcoming LIVE web broadcasts:

Presidential Address 2005
Wednesday 30 November at 17.00 GMT

To mark the anniversary of the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, it has been a tradition for the President of the Royal Society to deliver a keynote speech on Anniversary Day, addressing important issues in the world of science. The 2005 Presidential Address by Robert May marks the end of his 5-year period of office as President and he will then hand over the Presidency to Martin Rees.

The quandary of the quark
Tuesday 6 December at 18.30 GMT

99.9% of the visible material in the universe is made of quarks and yet we know surprisingly little about them. Christine Davies of the University of Glasgow will describe how the properties of the quark are now being revealed, and the implications that this will have for our understanding of the physics of fundamental particles.

The Puppet Master: How the brain controls the body
Thursday 8 December at 18.30 GMT

The effortless ease with which humans move our arms, our eyes, even our lips when we speak masks the true complexity of the control processes involved. Daniel Wolpert of the University of Cambridge will explain how a key feature of skilled human motor performance is the ability of the brain to perform optimally in the presence of uncertainty.

Michael Faraday Prize Lecture: A silent killer?
Wednesday 25 January at 17.30 GMT
Note the slightly earlier start time of this lecture.
This is the 'golden age' of cancer research and in years to come, increasing numbers of people will live with their cancer rather than die of it. But some cancers present more of a challenge than others. In communicating the challenges and hopes for the future, Fran Balkwill of Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, will demonstrate how cancer scientists can help patients and their families, as well as inspire young people to take up careers in this exciting area of science.

Cosmic Africa
Monday 30 January at 1830 GMT

In a journey that has stretched from the coastline of Namibia to the steamy jungles of Ghana, across crocodile infested lakes and the deserts of Northern Kenya, the cliff-side dwellings of the Dogon in Mali and onto the mysterious archaeological sites of the Egyptian Sahara, this lecture explores Africa's ancient astronomical history.Acclaimed African astronomer, Thebe Medupe of the South African Astronomical Observatory, will look at celestial beliefs from different parts of the African continent and how some of these ancient African perceptions link with current scientific knowledge.