Just as they have transformed many societal domains, digital tools are having a profound impact on the scientific process. As the co-founder and CEO of a company (Science Exchange) that is based on using digital tools to improve science, I am investing my livelihood and my passion in the belief that the next five years will see an unprecedented amount of change in the research landscape as the technology that connects and empowers scientists improves and as research institutions more fully embrace these digital advances. Read more
Adrian Giordani has a Masters in Science Communication from Imperial College London, where he was also the Editor-in-Chief of I, Science magazine. He is currently a science journalist at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. The publication he works for, International Science Grid This Week, covers news about science and computing in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific regions. Adrian writes about technology such as supercomputing, grid computing, cloud computing, volunteer computing, networks, big data, software and the science it enables. You can follow him on Twitter. Read more
Dr. Prateek Buch is a research scientist and public engagement professional working to involve patients and the public in a world-leading research programme to develop gene and cell therapies for vision loss. Prateek is also a Liberal Democrat, the acting Director of the Social Liberal Forum (socialliberal.net), and is on the executive of Science is Vital, through which he advocates evidence-based policies and promotes the importance of science in public policy. He tweets @prateekbuch and blogs (occasionally) about science and politics at teekblog.blogspot.com … Read more
Joshua Fouts is anthropologist, photographer and writer whose work chronicles the cultural intersections of science, technology and art. He is the creator of “Points of Science,” a global initiative to make science education accessible to all, and executive director of Science House Foundation, an international New York City-based NGO that seeks to spark the imaginations of kids worldwide to the excitement of science and cultural collaboration. You can follow Joshua on Twitter @josholalia. Read more
The latest Soapbox Science mini-series focuses on the role of mentors in science. Tying in with this year’s Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting, where almost 600 young scientists have the opportunity to meet each other and 25 Nobel laureates, we’ll be looking at the importance of supportive relationships and role models. We’ll hear from a mix of mentors, mentees and projects set up to support scientists and we aim to explore not just the positive examples of good mentoring but what can happen when these key relationships are absent or break down. For more discussions around this year’s Lindau meeting, check out the Lindau Nobel Community site. Read more
Over the years science funding has changed significantly. In the past, funding would have been obtained through private benefaction from wealthy individuals. Today, researchers are usually funded by a mixture of grants from government agencies, non-profit foundations and institutions. However, with the increasing popularity of social media and the internet, methods used to obtain money may be undergoing a shift. New routes linking funding sources with scientists are being increasingly explored. Tighter budgets and struggling economies are driving a need for new ways of funding and social media is proving to be invaluable in raising awareness of projects and linking like-minded people more effectively. Read more
Over the years science funding has changed significantly. In the past, funding would have been obtained through private benefaction or from wealthy individuals. Today, researchers are usually funded by a mixture of grants from government agencies, non-profit foundations and institutions. However, with the increasing popularity of social media and the internet, methods used to obtain money may be undergoing a shift. New routes linking funding sources with scientists are being increasingly explored. Tighter budgets and struggling economies are driving a need for new ways of funding and social media is proving to be invaluable in raising awareness of projects and linking like-minded people more effectively. Read more
Over the years science funding has changed significantly. In the past, funding would have been obtained through private benefaction or from wealthy individuals. Today, researchers are usually funded by a mixture of grants from government agencies, non-profit foundations and institutions. However, with the increasing popularity of social media and the internet, methods used to obtain money may be undergoing a shift. New routes linking funding sources with scientists are being increasingly explored. Tighter budgets and struggling economies are driving a need for new ways of funding and social media is proving to be invaluable in raising awareness of projects and linking like-minded people more effectively. Read more
Misha Angrist is the author of Here is a Human Being: At the Dawn of Personal Genomics (HarperCollins), now out in paperback. He teaches at Duke University and blogs at blogs.plos.org/genomeboy.
Us…and Them
And after all we’re only ordinary men.
Roger Waters
As a graduate student, I studied the genetics of Hirschsprung disease, a congenital disorder of the nervous system in the gut (and, as I describe in my book, a disease that would affect my own family many years later). Among the things I found to be most gratifying (and yes, occasionally frustrating) in my doctoral studies were the interactions with Hirschsprung patients and families. We students had pledged our fealty to Science writ large, yes, but we weren’t studying roundworms or fruit flies. Our “subjects” (a descriptor of research participants that, in my opinion, is condescending and should be retired ASAP) were thinking feeling human beings. If we found a highly penetrant mutation in their DNA, it had the potential to alter their reproductive decisions and their lives. It meant something to them.
But even if it didn’t, shouldn’t life scientists-in-training, especially those whose model organism is Homo sapiens, have some sort of mandatory exposure to, you know, life? Should there not be some inevitable, meaningful exchange between researcher and researchee?
This week’s guest blogger is Joel Gill, Director/Founder of Geology for Global Development. Joel has been studying geology since the age of 14 and collecting rocks since long before that. His enthusiasm for the subject led him to study for an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, specialising in Geological Sciences, and a postgraduate MSc in Engineering Geology at the University of Leeds. As part of his study Joel undertook fieldwork across the UK, and overseas in Greece and Chile – applying his skills and knowledge to active seismic and volcanic regions, areas affected by modern and historic landslides, … Read more
Soapbox Science is a guest blog hosted by Nature Publishing Group, providing a forum for the discussion of science news, the history of science, ethics, details of expeditions or outreach activities and book reviews.
The views expressed in each blog post belong to the author(s) and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by Nature Publishing Group.
We welcome contributions from scientists, science communicators, project coordinators or book authors. If you'd like to take to the soapbox and contribute a guest post, please email blogs@nature.com.
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