Scientists and engineers can experience life in the heart of the newsroom by applying for a British Science Association 2012 Media Fellowship.

A date for your diaries: the Japanese Adhesion Society has announced the dates and venue for WCARP-V.

This one day conference will consider Advances in Protective Clothing through the latest innovations in materials science and design.

The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers are accepting applications for their 2012 Venture Prize. The Royal Society are also accepting nominations for a range of awards.

Laws on the sale of scrap metal in the UK are likely to be changed in order to combat metal theft. Sellers could be made to provide dealers with proof of identity and there may even be a ban on cash payments.

Two physicists have been knighted for their work in developing graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon that is stronger than steel.

Researchers in the Republic of Korea have overcome the obstacles in current methods of fabricating metal nanodot arrays with dot sizes of less than 100nm, which have applications in solar panels and data storage.

China can now boast more materials science papers than any other country, but as we move into 2012, just how far advanced is research and development? Eoin Redahan finds out.

A computer chip that can ‘learn’ could improve our understanding of how the brain works, lead to a better human-machine interface and pave the way for artificial intelligence.

The deadline for nominations for the Institute of Physics Awards 2012 is 13 January.