Science Communication Review

New web address

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:35:00 +0000

It turns out that some organisations in Ireland are bizarrely blocking access to sites that have the word "blog" in their address - so to make sure everyone who wants to can read this blog I've just set up a new web address for it. And I've imaginatively called it (drum roll, please): sciencecommunicationreview.com

The old address (sciencecommunication.blogspot.com) will still work but feel free to use the new one too and to spread the word...

And this new address is so long that it might even win a prize for worldslongestdomainname!

Amazing science videos

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:51:00 +0000

A great collection of Top 10 Amazing Physics Videos has been put together by Wired.

My favourite only scrapes in at Number 10 - it's an incredible "musical Tesla coil" which has to be seen and heard to be believed. Have a look at it here:

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Some of the others are interesting but not great - and I don't think everyone would agree that the Number 1 should go to the CERN rappers. It's a quirky little video and fun to watch if you're into your physics but I think the Tesla coil is better!

At least the Wired team welcomes people submitting their own favourite videos - and you can let me know if you've come across any good ones yourself by commenting on this post...

By the way, I first heard about this Wired special in the Science@Culture Bulletin - which is Mary Mulvihill's always fascinating "eclectic and personal guide to popular science and related events." It's recently evolved into blog format which will hopefully bring it to an even wider audience.

Updated Science Journalism training guide

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:30:00 +0000

I've just heard that the European Commission has issued an updated "European Guide to Science Journalism Training".

It's great the European Commission are promoting this topic - and when Patrick Vittet-Philippe spoke at the AlphaGalileo & IRCSET event in Dublin it was very clear that there is a real high-level commitment to this area.

The updated Guide is available on the Europa website and contains...

... an inventory of the training courses in science journalism across the 27 Member States of the European Union, as well as exchange programmes, scholarships and other initiatives supporting science journalism.

Several interesting trends have been indentified by the authors:

Science Communication courses at university level are widespread.
There is a clear recognition of the need to increase the accessibility of scientific information (for example via projects like the “Danish Science Cafés”)
Programmes explicitly dedicated to providing formal qualifications for Science Journalism are quite rare in EU 27.
In Eastern Europe, there are fewer formal support structures for those wishing to become a Science Journalist.
From the information gathered, Germany and the United Kingdom seem to be among the few Member States with comprehensive approaches to science journalism training.

iPhone shakes up science

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:36:00 +0000

One of the best things about Apple's iPhone is the App Store where you can download a lot extra software for your phone (and some of it's even free).

It's been great to see that there are plenty of science-related applications available already - and they really could change the way people interact with science.

My favourite is Molecules which shows 3D molecular models that you can spin around by touching the screen - it's featured in this web video review...

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Google Maps for Science Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Here's a great demonstration of the potential of Google Maps for communicating science that I've just spotted on Mooch.info - in this case it's been adapted by the people at Global Warming Art to show the effect of climate change and rising sea levels on your house.

They've set themselves an ambitious goal:

"that the public and educators should have easy access to the same data and results that have framed the scientific discussion of global warming and climate change."

But of course as anyone who's read the thought provoking book "The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb will appreciate, any attempt at long term prediction like this is bound to be speculative and omit the potential of unexpected events.

To their credit the creators of these sea level maps say this right up front saying that people should "view these maps as rough estimations of how sea level rise may affect coastal areas and not rely on them too heavily". Still though, maybe we're not far off the point where people check maps like these before they buy property...

Science hits the news stands

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:27:00 +0000

It was great to see an Irish science magazine (albeit a supplement) in a prominent position in a suburban newsagents the other day... and it's available on-line too:

"Life Sciences Review is a new publication produced by Business & Finance Media Group that is dedicated to reporting the news and industry trends relevant to this lucrative industry sector."

New NASA videos for schools

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:04:00 +0000

NASA has just released a whole set of new videos aimed at schools - my favourite is this historical one but I don't think they meant it come across as spooky as it does!

Getting ready for Irish Astronomy events in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Thanks to Miruna Popescu for bringing this Irish website called astronomy2009.ie to my attention, it's acting as a focus point for all the activities happening in Ireland in 2009 as part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

Judging from the number of organisations involved there'll be lots going on!

Lightwave flares up across Dublin

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:46:00 +0000

Kicking off with a launch party tonight, Dublin's Science Gallery opens its doors with the Lightwave art & science festival - and its activities will spill over onto the capital's streets between now and 9 February 2008...

"The Science Gallery is a world first. A new type of venue where today’s white-hot scientific issues are thrashed out and you can have your say."

Gravity uncovered on BBC

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:25:00 +0000

I enjoyed watching Brian Cox's rough guide to gravity on the BBC last night. And it was great to see a science show get a good billing in the Irish Times in advance too!

Called "What On Earth Is Wrong With Gravity?" the show was broadcast on BBC 2 as part of the Horizon strand (at 9pm, 29 January 2008).

The BBC press release captures the gist of the show very well:

Hollywood physicist Dr Brian Cox is on a journey to answer a simple question that has baffled the world's greatest scientists for over 400 years – just what is gravity?

Cox takes a road trip around the USA in his quest for an answer, in the third programme of the flagship science documentary strand. He fires a laser at the moon in Texas, bends time to operate his sat nav in Denver, and tries to capture gravity itself in the swamps of Louisiana, all in a bid to find a solution to this cosmic conundrum.

Celebrating 2009 already - the International Year of Astronomy

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:08:00 +0000

This year might have only just started for most of us, but already the American Astronomical Society is bringing people together to help organise plans for the 2009 "International Year of Astronomy". Hopefully there'll be lots of events happening in Ireland too...

In 2008, the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be held from May 31 - June 4 in St. Louis, Missouri, as part of the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society -- in the form of a symposium with associated workshops.

At this meeting, education and outreach professionals will gather to discuss international, regional, and local programs for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the astronomical telescope.

If you are interested in planning activities in 2009, this meeting is an excellent chance to learn more about what various institutions and organizations are proposing to do, and to coordinate your ideas with colleagues around the country and the world. There will also be model workshops to demonstrate and develop techniques for reaching a wide range of audiences.

About the International Year of Astronomy (IYA): In 1609, Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens, and revolutionized humanity's understanding of its place in the universe. Over the last 400 years, new telescopes have allowed us to expand Galileo's work and learn more about the universe, its geography and its evolution.

Using science to sell

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:22:00 +0000

I came across this great video when it was advertised on businessweek.com - it's a very engaging piece on DNA related research initiatives that IBM are using to market themselves.

Its high production values and fascinating story really do help you think about IBM as a very different company to what you might have first thought...

Facing your fears... rationally

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:26:00 +0000

The remarkable Dana Centre in London is hosting an interesting event looking at whether people's fears are rational or not:

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid!
29th November. Dana Centre, London

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Or spiders, or heights? Why? Do your fears and anxieties hold you back? Are they even rational? Does fear serve any useful purpose? Join our panel of experts to explore and challenge your fears.

(via the November 2007 BA-Lert)

Science Week preparations in full swing

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:03:00 +0000

With only a month to go before Science Week Ireland 2007 kicks off on 11 November, science communicators around Ireland are working hard organising a huge variety of events.

Full details are on the Science Week website.

Leonardo's machines

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 18:47:00 +0000

If you're in the Loire Valley in France you might find a visit to the house where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life worthwhile.

The gardens around it are home to lots of large models of his machines that are a lot of fun to play with - the house is called Clos Lucé and its official website is at:

http://www.vinci-closluce.com/

Apple pushes science marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:17:00 +0000

I think it's really interesting that Apple's revamped website includes a big marketing push aimed at scientists.

One particularly eyecatching strand of their science content showcases scientific imagery. Called Inside the Image - How scientists see the world its authors say it is:

"[a] column devoted to the exciting and fascinating world of scientific discovery and how images made in laboratories and publications in science advance our understanding of the world around us."

Leonardo da Vinci manuscript in Dublin

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:27:00 +0000

This weekend I finally made it along to see Leonardo da Vinci's "Codex Leicester" manuscript in Dublin's Chester Beatty Library.

Subtitled "Reflections on Water and the Moon", it was great to see some of his intricate scientific drawings first hand.

And I was a pleasantly surprised at how many people were there - it's not often that an exhibition of a scientific manuscript would attract so many curious visitors.

The exhibition runs until 12 August 2007 and tickets can be pre-booked online.

BBC documentary on Northern Irish astrophysicist

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 21:35:00 +0000

I really enjoyed the recent BBC One Northern Ireland documentary "Northern Star" about the remarkable life of pioneering astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell - unsurprisingly perhaps as I suggested the idea for the programme!

Broadcast on June 13, 2007 it tells the fascinating story of how the Nobel prize for discovering pulsars was not shared with her - despite all her hard work on it. It also gives an insight into how scientists feel about their work - and makes the hard science accessible by presenting it in the context of a very personal story. For a behind the scenes account of the making of the documentary visit the Belfast Telegraph site, and Wikipedia has a detailed biographical account of her life.

Interior design for space craft

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 21:07:00 +0000

As astronauts on board the International Space Station struggle to fix the shuttle and their computers, design aesthetics are probably the last thing on their mind.

The interior design bar has been raised with this new sleek design aimed at the space tourism market - but is it perhaps a bit too minimalistic? Although it does beat the clutter most space craft succumb to! (story via mooch.info)

Beautiful science photos

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:26:00 +0000

I really like the photos in the Photographing Science on-line audio slide show just published by The New York Times (which I first read about on the ScienceCommunication.org site).

Says the story's narrator (and research fellow) Felice Frankel:

"I have the wonderful joy of helping researchers visualise there work"

And she touches on the sometimes controversial issue of:

"How much can we manipulate an image in science?"

Tips on filming science demos for the web

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 23:06:00 +0000

There's great scope for filming science demos for use in the classroom using relatively cheap and easy to use video cameras. But telling good stories that work on tv isn't always easy and takes a little bit of getting used to.

The SciCast Video Skills workshop to be held on 23 June 2007 in Manchester aims to give teacher's a crash course in making good videos (and "mini movies" as they call them):

"A one-day video-skills workshop, organised by the British Interactive Group, based on teachers' workshops run as part of the NESTA/ ETB/IOP SciCast project. Facilitated by science TV professional Jonathan Sanderson, participants will work in small groups to film and edit a short demo-based movie, learning about working in video, from script to performance, and exploring what makes a compelling web video."

This is a really interesting project and their well designed and written website has some great tips on visual story telling as well as some videos showcasing best practice - including a silent movie by the staff of the Glasgow Science Centre.

(This story is also from the Institute of Physics e-bulletion for the North West region of the UK - see below for another interesting story they mention.)

Short film helps get science funding

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 22:31:00 +0000

A major new science initiative called 4th Generation Light Source (4GLS) is being pursued at the Daresbury Laboratory in the UK - and they're using a well made short film to explain why the research is important and worth funding.

You can watch the film online and I really like the smooth moving equipment shots and graphic transitions and overlays they're using in it.

I also like the emphasis on the real world practical applications (and I'll look up the hard science later, honest). It's particularly interesting that they say that the science will be helpful in the world of "security" - i.e. combatting terrorism and drugs by helping detect chemical traces. I remember when it was enough to claim that the research would help make faster computers to secure funding!

And if you're wondering what the facility actually does, well according to their website:

"4GLS will be a world-leading photon facility to enable internationally outstanding science in the UK. The 4GLS facility will combine energy recovery linac (ERL) and free electron laser (FEL) technologies to deliver a suite of naturally synchronised state-of-the-art sources of synchrotron radiation and FEL radiation covering the terahertz (THz) to soft X-ray regimes."

So there you have it. The video glosses over that bit!

(This facility was mentioned in the recent Institute of Physics e-bulletin for the North West region in the UK - compiled by Louise Butcher and distributed to IoP members via e-mail.)

When science communication backfires

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:28:00 +0000

A top chemistry research group has dramatically left the UK's Royal Institution - and I read in a recent Education Guardian article that one of the reasons could be all the science outreach activities that are going on there.

This story emphasises how outreach activities need to be carefully managed to ensure that as many people as possible on the science side have "bought in" to the communications strategy and that they don't feel their research has been sidelined. This is true even for the Royal Institution whose outreach activities have been going on for centuries in the guise of its Christmas Lectures.

According to the article:

"...members of the RI have told Education Guardian there is concern within the organisation that research is playing second fiddle to "public outreach", meaning the communication of scientific issues to the public. The RI is seen as a model of excellence in this respect, opening its doors to more than 30,000 children each year. Its Christmas lectures, held annually since 1825, have introduced world-famous scientists - such as the father of electricity and magnetism, Michael Faraday, and Sir David Attenborough - to young audiences.

One member of the institution says: 'The direction in which the RI is heading is deeply troubling. It is playing down research...' "

Science on stage... and on the streets!

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 23:17:00 +0000

This year's international celebration of science that is "Science on Stage" was as good as ever by all accounts - more details and photos are on the ESA site.

And shoppers on Dublin's Grafton Street might get a bit of a surprise on Saturday, 26 May 2007 when live "physics busking" will be performed by some familiar faces from the Irish delegation to Science on Stage!

Irish science communication competition

noreply@blogger.com (Diarmaid) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:54:00 +0000

An article in today's Irish Times (12 April 2007) highlights an event that sees the seven Irish universities in the Republic go head to head next month in a competition designed to find the ultimate postgraduate science communicator:

The annual Science Speak competition takes place on Thursday May 3rd, in the Royal Dublin Society Concert Hall at 7pm. A panel of judges will hear seven competitors, one from each of the universities who must explain their scientific research in ordinary language and without recourse to technological jargon.

[...]

Science Speak is a joint initiative organised by the RDS and The Irish Times in association with Irish Universities Promoting Science. It is sponsored by the Discover Science Engineering programme and by Wyeth Biotech at Grange Castle, Dublin.

Admission to Science Speak is free of charge but places are limited, so it is advisable to book a seat. book online at www.universityscience.ie or by telephone on (01) 240-7217.