The month ahead

Take a bracing jaunt to the seaside to catch the Brighton Science Festival, which runs from 12th-28th February. Highlights include a pub chat with Richard Wiseman, magician and psychologist, explosive chemistry shows and Polly Toynbee on whether science and politics mix. No need for a bucket and spade. Visit www.brightonscience.com

Does skin colour point to scientific difference between races? Author Kenan Malik and others will be discussing this contentious issue on 28th January at London’s Wellcome Collection. Should race play a role in contemporary science, or is the term too loaded? The evening debate is free but ticketed. Book at: www.wellcomecollection.org

In the world of Facebook, Bebo and countless others, it’s tempting to wonder: how many friends does one person need? Robin Dunbar, evolutionary biologist and anthropologist at Oxford University, takes the question as the title for his new book (published in February by Faber) about the lingering legacies of our evolutionary past. The answer is 150, which is now known as Dunbar’s number. But don’t hang your head in despair, Gordon. It includes family too.

The Royal Institution in London hosts a monthly book club featuring science-themed novels. On 8th February at 7pm, fiction lovers will be discussing Intuition, by Allegra Goodman. The tale of ambition, love and fraud, set in a Boston cancer laboratory, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize. It’s free and no pre-booking is required—although it might feel a little crowded if you bring all 150 chums. www.rigb.org.