How many of us really understand how robots work? Or what synapses do? Or how the universe began? Long famed for the quality of its scientific research, Britain is fast becoming a nation of science illiterates: recent figures show a worrying decline in the numbers of schoolchildren taking science subjects to GCSE and A level (in 25 years, the number of physics A-level students has halved), and the problem is just as acute at undergraduate level.

So, to do our bit to help and to celebrate National Science and Engineering Week, we dispatched Damian Whitworth – proud owner of one science O level (biology, grade C) – to boldly explain what no man has explained before. With the help of a stellar cast of leading British scientists, all at the cutting edge of their fields, he sets out to answer – briefly and simply – some fundamental questions.

Can we beat cancer? Click here for the answer

Here Professor Fran Balkwill, 55, who heads the Centre for Cancer and Inflammation at the Institute of Cancer at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry explains where we are in the battle against cancer.

Science: Big questions, small answers

With leading scientists, we set out to answer some of the fundamental questions of life, the universe and everything

BACKGROUND

• Jodrell Bank founder condemns closure plan

• Britain’s window on the stars faces closure

• Turning a blind eye to marvellous things

BACKGROUND

• Clouds of acid make sky bright but eat the ozone

• Encyclopedia of Life to be published online

• Branson calls for hydrogen filling stations

BACKGROUND

• Biofuels cannot save the planet

• Biofuels rush threatens starvation

• Forget biofuels — we need our daily bread

When will robots do the housework? Click here for the answer

Here Professor Alan Winfield, 51, a roboticist and professor at the University of the West of England and a researcher at the Bristol Robotics Laboratories forecasts the ultimate end to domestic drudgery

What is going on in teenagers’ brains? Click here for the answer

Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, 33, is a Royal Society research fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. She is the co-author, with Uta Frith, the developmental psychologist, of The Learning Brain. She explains for us here the mysterious processes that cause sulking and lie-ins.

Can we save the planet? Click here for the answer

Professor Robert Watson, 59, is the chief scientific adviser to Defra and director of strategic development at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Norwich. He is a former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and held senior posts at the World Bank and Nasa. Here he explains how we can save our world.

Is there going to be a pandemic? Click here for the answer

Professor Neil Ferguson, 39, is a mathematical epidemiologist and director of the Medical Research Council’s Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling. He was drawn to his discipline after someone he knew died of HIV and he attended a talk on using mathematics to model the epidemic. Here he explains the science behind giant epidemics.

How will the universe end? Click here for the answer

Dr Maggie Aderin, 36, is an astronomer working on the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble, which is scheduled to launch in 2013. She explains for us here what will happen at the end of time

Will we find extraterrestrial life? Click here for the answer

Professor Colin Pillinger, 64, is a planetary scientist at the Open University. He headed the Beagle 2 Mars lander mission. He assures us that aliens definitely exist, and that we may never meet one..

Can we live for ever? Click here for the answer

Dr Stephen Minger, 52, is director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory at King’s College London. An American, he based himself in London because, "It is the best place in the world to live, especially if you want to do science." He's going to tell us how to live forever

What can our genes tell us about our future health? Click here for the answer

Professor Peter Donnelly, 48, is director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford. He's the best person to explain to us how our genes can predict our future.

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