Tag: Science Communication

26 reasons not to trust what you read in the newspaper

Mike in the sunSo we all know we shouldn’t believe everything we read. Tabloids and science have never been the best of bed fellows (or should that be tabloids and the truth?).

But just how widespread is fallacious newspaper reporting? An intriguing little investigation from University College Chester made an attempt to measure the terribleness (or not) of health and nutrition reporting in the British press. For one month, two intrepid investigators bought a British tabloid every day of the week.

Focusing on articles covering food and nutrition, they compared what the newspaper wrote and the research it was (purportedly) based on. Here’s what they found… Read more

Happy Birthday! Dr Stu’s blog is one year old today!

Birthday cakeToday, Dr Stu’s blog is one year old – cue the cake and candles!

This little experiment to write about science, health and technology in an understandable way has been extremely well received and continues to be read by an increasing number of people. After a few weeks of writing practice, the blog officially went live on 26th October 2010 with the acquisition of realdoctorstu.com.

This humble blog has now been read by over 85,000 people, and on also shares its Birthday with the recording of “Under Pressure” by Queen (a legendary song), Churchill’s 1951 election victory and the unarguably great actor Bob Hoskins.

Incidentally, this is my 100th post – but In case you didn’t read all of them, here are some of the highlights from the past 365 days, and why there is an ever-pressing need for science blogging on the internet… Read more

Calling all science writers and bloggers… Is anyone listening?

Scientists: Are we producing too many?
Science: Dull, boring and irrelevant?
I considered giving a health warning with this post. Today, I abandon my usual calm demeanour and embark upon a part-rant, part impassioned call to action. As I climb onto my soapbox, be advised, things might get ugly (well, relatively – I am British after all).

Over the past 20 or so years, millions of dollars (pounds, Yen and Euros) have been invested by governments, charities and professional bodies in an attempt to break down misunderstandings about science within the wider public. Much of it has been done in vain and the successes have been small. When you look at actual data, it makes for some quite shocking reading; the general ‘educated’ public remain frighteningly misinformed about the fundamentals of science…

So is anyone to blame and what the Higgs can we do about it? Read more