Sometimes seemingly nonsense questions have interesting answers. Few plants are as emblematic of the tropics as the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera. This tree can be found on just about every postcard depicting a tropical beach, anywhere in the world, and for good reason. Coconuts are improbably suited to human cultivation in places where few other… Read More »What Gender Is a Coconut?
This is one story that should never have been. Science communication is a careful interplay of priorities. Words and approaches must match the knowledge base of the audience, always bringing them to a better-informed place than where they were before, and align with the writer’s goals. Scientific knowledge is our collective best estimate of the… Read More »The Candiru: A Six-Inch SciCom Failure
We at Talk Science to Me receive a fair bit of email through our contact page, most of it inquiring about our services and often leading to fruitful client-provider relationships. Every now and then, though, someone tries to get us to talk science to them a little less honestly. Today, we endeavour to provide an answer.… Read More »We Won’t Do Your Homework But We Will Tell You About The Martian Lichens
As science communicators invested in the ability of science to achieve a better, more informed, less ignorant world, we aim to balance the need for specific scientific language and the desire to make science accessible to a broader audience. Scientific terms exist because scientists, engineers and other specialists need language to efficiently describe complex and… Read More »The Precision You Mean: Trans-inclusive Language In Science And Medicine