Sense About Science was founded by Dick Taverne 10 years ago to further the public's understanding of science and help scientists advocate an evidence-based society.
At the time many scientists seemed reluctant to take part in public discourse, now 5,000 have signed up with the organisation to do just that. There's still some way to go in promoting the public understanding of science in the UK, says Taverne – alternative medicine and the national lottery are thriving, and only one of our MPs is a graduate scientist.
To mark his retirement from Sense About Science, Taverne delivered its annual lecture on Monday 23 April at the Royal Society of Medicine, which posed the question: "What has science ever done for us?"
He argues that … apart from making us wealthy, helping to feed the world, cutting infant mortality, explaining the origins of the planet and our species, letting us fly, watch television, expanding our lifespans, inventing anaesthesia … science has made us more tolerant, compassionate and democratic.
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