He points out that a good proportion of the more recently elected fellows are women

He points out that a good proportion of the more recently elected fellows are women. In 1847, the society decided to elect its fellows on the basis of scientific merit alone and this more professional approach led it to become Britain’s de facto national science academy. The faster science advances, the more choices we have to make of that kind,” he says.The Royal Society was established in 1660 as an intellectual talking shop for the scientific elite of the day, such as Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle, and, within a year, received its Royal Charter from Charles II. “It is a bet that I very much hope to lose,” he says.”I do think we’re entering a phase where science offers unprecedented opportunities.

It empowers us far more to do marvellous things in information technology, biology and so on but obviously all these developments have a downside,” he says from the splendour of his presidential office overlooking The Mall and St James’s Park.”As my predecessor, Bob May, used to say, quite rightly, we have to decide which doors to open and which to remain closed. He favours fleets of miniature robotic probes to explore the planets rather than a manned mission to Mars and thinks the multibillion-dollar International Space Station is a “turkey in the sky”.Lord Rees the cosmologist has proposed our universe may be just one of zillions, each with its own set of physical laws, and that the universe we find ourselves living in may, in fact, be a mere computer simulation built by a race of super-intelligent beings.He believes there is a 50 per cent chance that human civilisation may not survive in its present form by the end of the 21st century, and has warned that a major environmental collapse within the next hundred years carries the same sort of probability as tossing a coin.Lord Rees the gambler has placed a £1,000 bet that, within the next 20 years, a million people will die as a result of a major man-made biological catastrophe caused either by bio-error or bio-terror. He believes that a butterfly poses more daunting scientific problems than a star and that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is well worth the effort.
He has advocated the exploration of space by a new generation of adventurers willing to take risks by travelling cheap, and is against the kind of costly manned exploration funded by risk-averse governments. Maybe we could design a non-religious celebrity burka with a floral print?”Maybe so, though Miss Beckinsale’s bosom (surgically enhanced or otherwise) would perhaps enjoy more privacy if she had the good sense to keep it out of glossy gentlemen’s magazines.. Lord Rees of Ludlow, known to the many readers of his science books as Martin Rees, is also something of a thought-provoking populariser. The new president of the Royal Society is also Astronomer Royal, master of Trinity College, Cambridge and renowned cosmologist whose deep thoughts frequently turn to deep space, dark matter and the dawn of creation. He is Britain’s top scientist.

Her considered assessment: “What I need is a burka.”"At times like this, it would be so handy to be a Saudi,” she reckons “I’m surprised there aren’t more celebrities in burkas You could completely let yourself go. Expensive cock-ups like this rather prove their point.”* Kate Beckinsale is considering a “nuclear option” in a bid to finally nail speculation that she has opted for plastic surgery.The comely actress – who is frequently the subject of paparazzi snaps – is asked about media intrusion by next month’s GQ magazine. It’s a shiny bookmark, bearing a glossy photograph of the beaming Welshman together with a brief advertisement that lists details of his constituency surgeries.Unfortunately, there’s a problem: innovative as it might be, the bookmark prints details for his surgeries in 2001-2002.”While political historians might marvel in the knowledge that David spent the 1st March 2002 in the Caerphilly branch of Asda, I can’t help thinking that these commemorative gimmicks might not catch on,” reckons one local.”Round here they say people would vote for a blind, one legged donkey so long as it was a Labour donkey. Bidding has already reached six figures.”Sadly, it’s still a little early for anyone actually to admit to employing the troubled entertainer.

A spokesman for First Family Entertainment – London’s biggest panto outfit, who are rumoured to want Barrymore to play Dick Whittington in Wimbledon – says that “no approach has been made.”* Wayne David, the Labour MP for Caerphilly, has been sending out a late Christmas present to the people of his hometown. Theatreland sources report that several producers are engaged in an bidding war to sign him up for Christmas 2006.”While Barrymore’s in the house, his former driver is acting as a sort of agent,” I’m told. “Although he won’t sign anything until the show’s over, several producers want to snare him now, in case his career takes off. “It’s even more amazing that the incident got broadcast.”A spokesman for the BBC tells me: “I think Sue just didn’t realise.”* Whatever the outcome of Celebrity Big Brother, there are signs that Michael Barrymore has achieved a rehabilitation, of sorts.He’s been asked to resume his pantomime career. Britain’s Olympic heroine is famously discreet about her love life, and would not be drawn on the topic. Eventually, Dame Kelly mumbled a flustered response to the effect that she would carry on “being my own person”.Colleagues of Lawley were surprised by the episode, to put it mildly.”I can’t believe no one warned her that she’d be dropping a clanger,” says one.

As I pointed out last week, he recently decided – for the first time ever – to hold an official reception to celebrate Hannukah.* Dame Kelly Holmes is the latest national hero to fall victim to a modern media phenomenon known as the curse of Desert Island Discs.On the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme last week, Sue Lawley quizzed the likeable athlete about her future career plans.Having discussed a series of projects related to PE in schools, she asked if Dame Kelly now planned to: “get married and have children?”This met with an uneasy pause. However, Livingstone is unlikely to be asked to appear in any sort of official capacity.”The general idea is to hold some kind of rally in Trafalgar Square this autumn to mark the anniversary,” I’m told.”But whatever the event, Ken isn’t going to be invited. It’s not so much down to what he actually said, as to his subsequent attitude. He’s still too stubborn even to say sorry.”Despite the ill-feeling, “red” Ken is doing his best to win back the Jewish community’s affection. That means its shares are trading at about a one-quarter discount to their net asset value.