Science communication is a field fraught with difficulty, and one which the media has a poor track record on. On 20 April Dr Brian Hughes of NUI Galway gave a talk to the Irish Sceptics Society on the problems faced in communicating scientific research in a way that's both accurate and comprehensible. By John Holden.

Last Saturday in New Zealand, 40 Santas, under the influence, went on a looting spree in Auckland to protest at how commercial Christmas has become. A new mythology of Santa is emerging, writes John Holden