The month ahead

India will soon signal whether it wants to be a major player in global science, by signing up (or not) to build a gravitational wave detector. Gravity waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime, predicted by Einstein but never seen. The California Institute of Technology has two detectors in the US but wants a third one further away, to increase reliability. Australia pulled out over the estimated $200m cost; India covets the project but must prove it can deliver the infrastructure and expertise alongside the capital.

To me, extreme medicine means taking ibuprofen and paracetamol together, hammered down with a throat lozenge. In reality, it’s the emergency care you get on mountaintops, in disaster areas and in warzones. As conflicts and natural disasters increasingly demand a global response, the Royal Society of Medicine hosts an inaugural conference in the specialism from 15th-18th April, welcoming such names as the British Red Cross and, er, Professor Popsicle, aka hypothermia expert Gordon Giesbrecht (www.extrememedicineexpo.com).

ScienceEurope, a Brussels-based organisation aiming to gather Europe’s research funding councils and research institutions under one umbrella, has appointed its first director. Amanda Crowfoot, former director of the UK research office—which represents British research councils in Europe—will spearhead ScienceEurope’s aim of making scientists the “third voice in the European Research Area, together with national government and the European Commission” (www.scienceeurope.org).

To entertain the kids in the holidays, visit the Palaces exhibition at London’s Science Museum, opening 7th April. Sculptor Gina Czarnecki has created a stalagmite-like column out of milk teeth to explore the idea of reusing human tissue. Once your little darlings have seen it, they might show some restraint when it comes to their Easter chocolate.