Monthly Archives: May 2012

Reaching Out: Why are scientists trapped in the ivory tower and what can be done to escape?

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

Jeanne earned her PhD in nutritional and metabolic biology from Columbia University and is currently studying how cholesterol moves inside of our cells as a postdoc at The Rockefeller University.  In addition to her role as a scientist, Jeanne is a science blogger, writing for her personal blog, The Mother Geek, as well as for new and exciting science site for women and all those who like women, Double X Science.  Tying together her research and blogging, Jeanne serves as co–organizer of Science Online NYC (SoNYC), which is a monthly meeting open to anyone who is interested in how science is conducted and discussed.  If you want to know more, you can easily find Jeanne on Twitter, tweeting as @JeanneGarb.  

 

Science.  It’s what drives us forward as a society.  Whether through advancements in medicine or the development of technologies to provide cleaner energy, we depend on science for everyday life.  Day in and day out, thousands of scientists work tirelessly and passionately to make a contribution, however small, toward a greater understanding of how the world works.

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Reaching Out: Science Cafés are great. At least, I think so.

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

Laura Walker is a biological research scientist in the School of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bristol. She spends her days trying to improve lung function during heart surgery, and her spare time communicating science by running Bristol’s monthly Science Café at the Tobacco Factory. Laura is currently studying for an MSc in Science Communication at UWE, and is passionate about facilitating academics and other researchers in their public engagement activities. Continue reading →

Reaching Out: The Café Scientifique Movement

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which looks at how scientists reach out of the ivory tower, communicating science to the public, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they engage and reach out to the public.

Ann Grand runs the café scientifique website (www.cafescientifique.org) and supports the network of existing and budding café organisers in whatever ways she can and wherever they happen to live. She started the Bristol (UK) Science Café in 2003 and attends it regularly. She has given presentations about the Café Scientifique movement at international conferences and workshops. Continue reading →

Reaching Out: Policy as an outreach activity

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which will discuss how scientists can reach out of the ivory tower, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they reach out to engage with the public. 

James Lush works in policy and public affairs at the Biochemical Society. As part of this role he co-organises the Science Question Time (#SciQT) and Talkfest (#talkfest) event series. He is also on the committee of Stempra (the Science, technology, engineering and medicine public relations association). Previously he worked briefly in a variety of press offices, focussing on science and medicine, after receiving a degree in Anatomy from the University of Glasgow. Continue reading →

Reaching Out: Science has a PR Problem

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To tie in with June’s event which will discuss how scientists can reach out of the ivory tower, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science. We will hear from a range of contributors: scientists, writers, enthusiasts, communicators, events organizers, policy makers and teachers, each sharing details about how they reach out to engage with the public. 

First up, scientist Kate Pratt, opens the discussion by explaining how science is often miscommunicated in the press and how this can sometimes lead to public misunderstandings. She raises the question of how scientists can reach everyone, making some suggestions for how to use successful PR strategies.  

Kaite Pratt is a graduate student in molecular biology at Brown University who will be defending her thesis at the end of June. She is leaving the bench to pursue a career in science communications and PR. She blogs regularly at https://www.katiephd.com, www.benchfly.com, and is co-founder of https://www.lookslikescience.tumblr.com.   Continue reading →

The Wisdom in X-rays

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Markus Hammonds is a final year PhD student in Molecular Astrophysics who’s normally found blogging at Supernova Condensate. He spends his life looking at very small things on very large scales, and trying to better understand the chemistry of interstellar space.

Isaac Newton taught us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. What he didn’t mention, however, was the fact that this is true for more than just physics. It’s an unfortunate fact in the academic world, that science costs money. Typically, the better or more exciting the feat being attempted, the more expensive it is. While as scientists we all have to learn to accept this, it still comes as little consolation to those who get caught in the aftermath of cancelled projects. Continue reading →

Comparing planets: could there be life on Mars?

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David Rothery is a geologist and planetary scientist at the Open University.  He chairs the Open University’s level 2 module on planetary science and is a leading member of the science team for BepiColombo, Europe’s forthcoming orbital mission to Mercury. His books include Planets: A Very Short Introduction, Geology: the Key Ideas, and Teach Yourself Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. Cross posted with permission from OUPblog. 

I’ve seen proud posts on the internet from people who saw five planets with the naked eye this Spring. Venus and Jupiter could hardly be missed in the west after sunset, though Mercury was more elusive as it never strays very far from the Sun and is smaller and fainter. Later in the evening Mars and then Saturn have been rising high in the east. Continue reading →

Tool Tales: Leukippos – Synthetic Biology Lab in the Cloud

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To celebrate our first birthday, we are handing the mic over to the audience so that anyone who would like to participate will get five minutes to show off their favourite online tool, application or website that makes science online fun. To complement the celebrations, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science where a range of scientists share details about what’s in their online science toolkits.  Why not let us know how they compare to the tools that you use in the comment threads?

Gerd Moe-Behrens has a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.  During a brief Post Doc at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany his scientific focus was on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. This work introduced him to Systems Biology. This was the starting point for his interest in Synthetic Biology with a special focus on biocomputing. He started to join the Apple developer program, focused on dry lab work and work on an Apple platform (xcode, dashcode, objective c, html5, css3, java). He then founded the Leukippos Institute for Synthetic Biology, a research institute solely in the cloud. He has a strong interest to explore novel forms of scientific work on a web platform. His personal research interests are computer assisted design, morphogenesis and cellular computers. Continue reading →

Tool Tales: Antibodypedia – Searching for the Perfect Partner

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To celebrate our first birthday, we are handing the mic over to the audience so that anyone who would like to participate will get five minutes to show off their favourite online tool, application or website that makes science online fun. To complement the celebrations, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science where a range of scientists share details about what’s in their online science toolkits.  Why not let us know how they compare to the tools that you use in the comment threads?

Chris Surridge is Chief Editor of Nature Protocols and Associate Publisher the Protocol Exchange. He is also involved in a collaboration between NPG and Antibodypedia a database of information about publically available antibodies created by scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.

Antibodies are the workhorses of cell biological research. Take a wander through the research published in any cell biology journal and you will quickly become convinced that almost no research could be done without these adaptable little molecules. Immunoprecipitation, immunolocalisation, immunofluorescence, Elisa, Western blot – it is very difficult to find any research papers in the field that don’t employ at least one of the multitude of antibody based techniques. Continue reading →

Tool Tales: Zombal – Outsourcing for Science

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Science Online New York (SoNYC) encourages audience participation in the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online. To celebrate our first birthday, we are handing the mic over to the audience so that anyone who would like to participate will get five minutes to show off their favourite online tool, application or website that makes science online fun. To complement the celebrations, we’re hosting a series of guest posts on Soapbox Science where a range of scientists share details about what’s in their online science toolkits.  Why not let us know how they compare to the tools that you use in the comment threads?

Benedict Noel is an Australian scientific entrepreneur with BSc and BCompSc degrees from the University of Western Australia. He has always worked for startups, and over the past few years he has become instrumental in mediating between outsourcing contractors and local companies. In late 2009, it came to him that there was a gap in the outsourcing sector — science. He launched his scientific and R&D outsourcing company, Zombal, with the goal of bringing this new sector into the public light.

I’ve always had a passion for science and I’ve earned degrees with majors in Geology, Archaeology and Computer Science. However, I’ve discovered that entrepreneurial pursuits bring me the most happiness.

A few years ago my father asked if I could find a freelancer to do some science work for him — physics calculations. After I really struggled to find an ideal candidate using the available freelancing sites, the idea for Zombal was born – an outsourcing site especially for science. The primary goal of the site is to provide a hub for scientists to register for work, displaying their skills through a profile. If you need assistance from a scientist, you can come to the site, post your requirements and then invite particular individuals to place a bid on your proposal. This online hiring process is made simple for both the employer and the scientist. In fact, we want to make the process of connecting like-minded people as easy as possible. Continue reading →