HUNDREDS of Britain's top scientists will head to York later this year to throw light on some of the world's latest scientific discoveries.

They will be taking part in the BA Festival Of Science, which the city will be hosting from September 9 to 15.

One of the festival highlights will be the BA Award Lectures, presented by five outstanding science communicators who have scooped prestigious awards from the BA - the British Association For The Advancement Of Science.

They will be focusing on topics including the importance of accurate face recognition in our surveillance society, and how bird song can help in the understanding of the origins of human speech.

Other lecture topics include why do earthquakes become disasters, and what are engineers doing about it - and does the universe need humankind?

Roland Jackson, chief executive of the BA and one of the judges, said: "The BA Award Lectures seek to reward exceptional younger communicators, who bring science to life with passion while also tackling its impact on society.

"The entertaining lectures are a very popular component of the festival programme and attract an extremely broad audience.

"This year's winners promise to deliver thoroughly engaging talks, explaining their current innovative work and its relevance to our everyday lives, which I am sure local visitors will enjoy."

More than 350 scientists will be attending the festival which, in addition to talks and debates at the university, will include a host of events throughout the city, as part of the Festival In The City programme.

The Festival Of Science is organised in partnership with the University of York, Science City York and the City of York Council.

It is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry, BP and Yorkshire Forward. For more information, visit www.the-ba.net/ festivalofscience