Science communications

#goodbyephilae #goodbyerosetta

by Amanda
September 29, 2016April 28, 2023

This single-frame Rosetta navigation camera image was taken at a distance of 71.9 km from the centre of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on March 9, 2015. The image has a resolution of 6.1 m/pixel and measures 6.3 km across. The image has been processed to bring out the details of the comet’s activity.

~~Talk Science To Me staff are a bunch of hard-nosed, emotionless science communicators who check their feelings at the door each day to report the cold, hard facts…~~

Okay, strike that — as you know from previous blog posts, we’re passionate about science and unafraid of wearing our hearts on our sleeves. When little Philae crashed onto Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko almost two years ago, staff joined many others around the world in getting a little teary about its last tweet. As the lander, lost and off course, settled into what could have been a terminal nap, we were left with the image of the ever-present Rosetta orbiter circling a lump of icy rock in deep space, hovering expectantly for its little friend to wake up and communicate once more. Definitely Pixar-worthy!

Halley’s comet, impending doom and communicating science

by Amanda
May 17, 2016April 28, 2023

On May 18, 1910, Halley’s comet made its closest recorded contact (0.15 astronomical units,* or approximately 23 million kilometres) with our planet, and the Earth passed through its tail. The event was full of scientific excitement and wonder, since photographic plates and spectroscopy were newly available to researchers. With these new tools, astronomers and the public got a better view of the comet itself and also a first inkling of what it contained.

Exciting times for science!

Around town, a.k.a. back to school

by Amanda
May 13, 2016April 28, 2023

One of the reasons for highlighting upcoming science conferences in Vancouver in my Around Town series is that it gives me a push to find out more on a subject I may have little exposure to. It’s also a great inspiration for a regular series of blog posts!

A tablet set up in front of a keyboard in grayscale.

Bench to blog: Part 2

by Amanda
May 6, 2016April 28, 2023

At Talk Science to Me, we receive requests throughout the year from people who are right at the beginning of a career shift from science to science writing. Although we don’t have entry-level positions available, we do have experience in making The Switch. In this two-part series (see part 1 here), Amanda, our science writer, gives some insight into why and how she made the move out from behind the bench.

A fountain pen over a well-annotated book page.

Bench to blog: Part 1

by Amanda
April 29, 2016April 28, 2023

At Talk Science to Me, we often receive requests from people who are right at the beginning of a career shift from science to science writing. Although we don’t have entry-level positions available, we do have experience in making The Switch. In this two-part series, Amanda, our science writer, gives some insight into why and how she made the move out from behind the bench.

Image of a hand collecting green and blue bubbles.

Predatory publishing: Open access on the prowl?

by Amanda
December 8, 2015April 28, 2023

If you follow science communications in general out there on the Web, you’ll have noticed last month’s Open Access (OA) Week, when the academic and research publishing world celebrates making knowledge available for all. Maybe you’ve wondered what OA is all about, and what makes it different from traditional research publishing. You may also have caught a whiff of the predatory publishing controversy that seems to dog the OA world.

by Amanda
May 11, 2015April 28, 2023

Apart from sticking to deadlines for timely submission, what other useful habits could/should writers adopt to help workflow? Here are some habits that could help keep the words coming, and why they might help.

Crowdfunding science: Why donate, part II

by Amanda
February 15, 2015April 28, 2023

Why support crowdfunding for science research?

Graphs from CF1. We were curious about this question, and we decided to take the opportunity presented by the annual meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Science and the first conference of the newly formed Citizen Science Association, which both took place in San Jose last week and this weekend. We put together a short survey and tweeted/blogged/Facebooked it to the attendees and our followers: to you laypeople, this is what’s known as a “convenience sample” (convenience sampling is the reason so much basic research is done on university students). We figured a few thousand people keen on advancing science generally and citizen science in particular would be a great way to find people who had supported science crowdfunding.

The response, unfortunately, was not what we’d hoped. We had seven responses, with one respondent giving reasons for supporting science via crowdfunding. A huge thank you to those who participated. While we sure won’t be publishing any papers with these responses (and that was never the plan anyway!), we can talk about the data points we got—and for those who are keen to learn more, we’ve added some links at the end.Read More »Crowdfunding science: Why donate, part II

Crowdfunding science – Why donate?

by Amanda
February 12, 2015April 28, 2023

If you work in science research at almost any level these days, you’ll be aware of how difficult it is to get funded to carry out or continue with a project. Whether you are a doctoral student working on a cherished thesis or an “established” academic, you know that the monies available are slipping behind the needs and desires of the industry. No matter how excellent, hot-shot or meaningful the work is, grant funds are drying up.