Ten Questions Science Must Answer, from the Royal Society

To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Society, its president, Martin Rees, invited 10 big thinkers to isolate the most pressing questions of our time. The Guardian has a great write-up of the 10 questions science must answer.

They are the following:

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1. What is consciousness? —Kathy Sykes, science professor

2. What happened before the Big Bang? —Joan Bakewell, writer and broadcaster

3. Will science and engineering give us back our individuality? —Mark Midownik, physicist

4. How are we going to cope with the world's burgeoning population? —Tracy Chevalier, novelist

5. Is there a pattern to the prime numbers? —Marcus du Sautoy, professor and author

6. Can we make a scientific way of thinking all pervasive? —Brian Cox, physicist

7. How do we ensure humanity survives and flourishes? —John Sulston, Royal Society chairman

8. Can someone explain adequately the meaning of infinite space? —Andrew Motion, former poet laureate

9. Will I be able to record my brain like I can record a program on television? —Lionel Shriver, novelist

10. Can humanity get to the stars? —Piers Sellers, astronaut

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Learn more at the Royal Society.

Photo (cc) by Flickr user FlyingSinger