Tonight I attended a science policy debate organised by CaSE at the Institution of Engineering and Technology on London’s Embankment.

I am 46 years of age and I have just discovered Jupiter. This is a surprising revelation, even to me. I have strong memories of being a child besotted with things astronomical. Looking back now, however, I have to wonder at the superficiality of my interests. I was certainly a devotee of space and space rockets.

This’ll be brief. It’s late. Tonight Simon Singh returned to his undergraduate alma mater to speak to students and staff at Imperial College about his adventures in science and his battles with libel. With good humour but serious intent he warned the audience – a full house in Blackettt Laboratory Lecture Theatre 1* – to be on their skeptical guard about nonsense in the world.

On Friday evening the structural biologists of Imperial College and the friends of the structural biologists of Imperial College gathered together for a screening of the film, Naturally Obsessed. Filmed over three years, this hour-long documentary tracks the lives of graduate students Rob, Kil and Gabe, as they battle the recondite mysteries of protein crystallography in their quest to become scientists.

The prospects for much-needed changes to the outdated libel laws of England and Wales received a fresh impulse in the past couple of days as Sense about Science, the Index on Censorship and English PEN joined together to lobby as the Coalition for Libel Reform.

Your royal Highness, members of the Academy, esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great and singular honour for me to accept the Nobel prizes for physics, chemistry and medicine.

According to the New Testament account, after the crucifixion Thomas insists on seeing and touching the wounds of Jesus before he will believe in the resurrection. Jesus shows Thomas but gently upbraids him: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Which is fine, as a basis for faith . If that is your response to the ineffable mystery of existence.

Last month I gave a talk to a group of Imperial College Alumni, all of whom had made a generous donation to the university and still take an interest in what goes on there. An interest keen enough to drag them to a lecture theatre on a grey October evening to hear one of the College’s researchers give an account of their latest work.

Without quite meaning to I realise that I have been generating a series of blogposts about the publication process. Initially I wrote about my struggles to finesse the figures needed to show off the important aspects of our structure of the complex of the 3C protease with a peptide substrate. After we had submitted the manuscript, I discussed the issues surrounding our use of language that had been raised by one of the reviewers.

Last week, the engine on NASA’s brand new Ares 1-X flamed into life and the oddly thin white tube slowly raised itself from the launchpad. It accelerated impressively quickly and arced into the blue Florida sky. Within about two minutes it was travelling at almost five times the speed of sound. Aiming high (picture courtesy of NASA). Right on cue, explosive bolts fired to initiate stage separation.

Yesterday, I had a new experience that tested my scientific mettle to the limit: I got stuck in a lift. There I was, dropping smoothly from the 7th floor of the Huxley building on my way to a student viva, when the lift suddenly jerked to a halt. The metal box then announced, in soothing female — almost Adamsian — tones, “This lift is out of service.” She wasn’t wrong.