In the first of a series of seminars organized under the TWAS-AAAS International Programme on Science and Diplomacy, Mary O'Kane reviewed how government support for top research centres in Australia has had somewhat unexpected spin-offs.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) have signed a formal agreement to pursue an ambitious slate of joint projects to enhance efforts at the nexus of science and diplomacy.

A five-day workshop jointly organized by ICTP, TWAS, IOP and APS gave engineers and physicists from developing countries valuable step-by-step advice on how to convert their good ideas into marketable products.

Today is World Water Day (WWD), an annual date to raise awareness about the challenges posed by water quality and quantity. Akiça Bahri, TWAS Fellow, talks about her extensive water management research and experience in Africa.

TWAS executive director Romain Murenzi was among 19 high profile delegates invited to attend a meeting aimed at encouraging and supporting scientific collaboration between the US and DPR Korea.

12-13 May was 'World Bird Migratory Day'. We asked Mexican ornithologist Paula Enríquez Rocha, a member of TWAS's partner organization OWSD, to tell us more about why this day matters.

Richard N. Zare was one of three TWAS members selected to give a TWAS Medal Lecture at this years' conference in Tianjin. TWAS confers this privilege on three of its members each year, in recognition of their achievements in their fields of research. The winners lecture on a main aspect of their work, and are presented with a plaque. The title of Zare's lecture was, simply, 'TB or not TB?'

Last week, TWAS executive director, Romain Murenzi, presented the programmes and activities of TWAS to permanent delegates and observers at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

One year after his retirement, Mohamed Hassan, executive director of TWAS for twenty-six years, has been awarded the Abdus Salam Medal, both for his enduring commitment to the Academy, and the outstanding results he has achieved.

TWAS Fellow Ahmed Azad believes that any plan to achieve development and prosperity in Bangladesh must include a massive, coordinated and expert investment in science and technology. That's why he visited Dhaka University in Bangladesh as TWAS Research Professor to offer his advice in transforming the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences into a productive research and technology resource institution.