William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.

All throughout history of mankind people were fascinated by time, its flow, and how to measure it. Thus, the science of horology can into being, as people invented more and more sophisticated ways of measuring the passage of time. Truly, it’s one of the most profound characteristics of being a human, to feel and to ponder the meaning of time, its properties, and will we ever be able to move through it, not with it. Now, however, horology is mainly referred to the art of mechanical watchmaking. (Photo by MB&F)

“Life-size humanoid robot BERTI (Bristol EluMotion Robotic Torso number 1 or RT-1) is a self contained, fully automated Robotic Torso, designed and built by Elumotion to provide a robotic platform based on human anatomy. RT-1 is a highly articulated manipulating platform and includes novel dexterous hands that allow emulation of human gesturing”. – Elumotion.com

Photo: BERTI the robot interacts with a Sony AIBO robot dog at The Science Museum's Antenna Gallery on February 17, 2009 in London. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has announced the winners of a UK national photography competition in which we challenged young people aged 14–18 for their unique take on society and the social sciences by asking them to take a picture on the theme of “Where Do I Belong?” – ESRC Press Office. Photo: “Society hurts”. (Photo by Grace Ridge/ESRC)

Thailand`s Rangsit University is a private institution of higher education with the primary aim of creating graduates in different areas of study, focusing mainly on science, technology, design and management. But what makes this university renowned around the world is its colorful campus, with trees and bushes painted to beautify the campus. Though in 2011 the plants were significantly damaged in one of Thailand’s worst floods in five decades, they continue to enliven the atmosphere at the university.

On July 7, Chinese archaeologists from the Academy of Social Sciences announced that they have reconstituted a 5,300-year-old Mongolion pottery statue found at a relic site in North China, according to Xinhua news agency.

Sharon Beals is a San Francisco based photographer who has photographed nest and eggs specimens collected over the last two centuries at The California Academy of Sciences, The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. While few nests are collected today, these nests and eggs are used for research, providing important information about their builder’s habitats, DNA, diseases and other survival issues.