Lost for words — the language of science communication
Naturejobs journalism competition winner Catherine Carnovale explores this distinction. Read more
The importance of broadening science communication
Recently, more and more emphasis has been put on scientists to communicate their research to public audiences. National scientific organizations such as the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the American Society for Cell Biology encourage their members to reach beyond the bench, and many blogs help scientists describe their research to wider audiences. At the University of Pittsburgh, where I’m working on my PhD, graduate student and postdoc organizations on campus share their excitement about science with the public through partnerships with local museums and school districts. Read more
The “black box” effect in science communication
In July 2016 scientists found out how to map the brain into dozens of new areas using neuroimaging. We also discovered that thousands of such brain scanning studies may be flawed. To someone lacking insight into neuroscience, these two equally important studies can seem conflicting. Although “science communication” happens everywhere, science can still feel like a black box to the public, mysteriously churning out breakthroughs which are packaged and relayed by a barrage of tweets and headlines. Read more
Scientific writing: A very short cheat sheet
The life of a researcher is incomplete without undergoing the trauma of writing scientific documents: papers, grants, protocols, theses, and so on and on. Most researchers find this stressful, time-consuming, and difficult; and, despite the enormous time and effort invested in writing, I for one often come across close-to-incomprehensible papers while digging through the literature. Why is that the case, and how do we fix it? Read more
Why don’t scientists always share their data?
Publishing Better Science through Better Data writing competition winner Emma Vander Ende. Read more
What are the benefits of reproducibility in science?
On June 6, 2012, I skipped class to watch the transit of Venus. I was studying in Adelaide, Australia, where the transit lasted from early morning until mid-afternoon and we had a wonderfully sunny day to view it. If I had known a bit more about the history of the transit, I may have been more thankful for that. Read more
Bonding in Boston: The importance of networking in science
A long time ago in a land galaxy far far away, there was a great gathering where those weary of the well-trodden trail of tenureships and grants repaired themselves. The gathering in question was the Naturejobs career expo, a free one-day event organized for students and scientists alike. Featuring some truly inspiring speakers, it gave a much-needed boost to my hope for a career in science that can be both emotionally and financially (yes, $$$) satisfying. Read more
Uncertain Airspace: Changing career paths is disorienting and exhilarating
Sometimes I ask people, “if you weren’t studying biology, what would you do?” … Read more
How is the rise of data-intensive research changing what it means to be a scientist?
There has always been an emphasis on the generation of novel data in science. Being a scientist involves progressing from observation to hypothesis to experiment to output. In the past, a combination of scarce data to look at and low throughput machinery to make more has led to limited experimental outcomes. Read more
What do you dislike about your job?
We ask academics at the Naturejobs career expo, San Francisco, what they dislike about their jobs. Read more
Recent comments on this blog
African astronomy and how one student broke into the field
From Doctorate to Data Science: A very short guide
Work/life balance: New definitions