China has also seen its share of global scientific output, as measured in scientific publications listed in the Science Citation Index (SCI), double between 2002 and 2008 from 5.2% to 10.6%, placing it second only to the USA in numerical terms.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Tickets include admission to the Science Fiction Museum, which has enough sci-fi movie props to satisfy the most obsessive trekkie.

CNN: Seattle: What to see

To me, the best sci-fi is about extrapolation of the best science we have into potential applications, then seeing how our culture reacts to those applications.

FORBES: NASA Teams Up With Tor/Forge to Write Novels

The Make it So: Learning from Sci-Fi Interfaces panel at SXSW looked at how science fiction might influence the future of design.

BBC: Beyond the keyboard and mouse

Lives extended, cancers (and a menagerie of other diseases) cured is almost like sci-fi medical technology come true (there may be more science fiction references as you read onward).

FORBES: A Skeptic's Take on Nuvilex After Speaking With Management; Patience Should be Rewarded

Named after Hugo Gernsback, the editor of groundbreaking sci-fi magazine Amazing Stories, the Hugos (originally the Science Fiction Achievement Awards) have been awarded annually for science fiction and fantasy writing since 1953.

CNN: Ustream apologizes for killing Hugo Awards webcast

There appears to be no waning of viewers' interest in science fiction, with Steven Spielberg's alien abduction series Taken giving the Sci Fi Channel its best ratings.

BBC: Doctor Who is sci-fi favourite

Masters of Science Fiction on ABC, a series of episodes directed and written by various prominent sci-fi authors.

ENGADGET: HDTV Listings for August 4, 2007 HD