D
About science experts vs. fake news in Romania in 1909
The need for public voices of science experts is not as new as we think. In 1909, journalist Nicolae Grigore Mihăescu (NIGRIM) published an essay arguing how necessary it is to involve reputable scientists to counter what he calls "the charlatans of science".
C
How and why are rural children involved in a cave research project
In an international research project on water quality in some rural areas of Romania, and children from the villages are also involved in the project. Researchers go to the villages and teach them how to set up mini-labs at home to find out what bacteria are swimming in their glasses of water. We asked why.
D
Cave research: A beetle disappeared from Bear Cave
When I do public relations articles I prioritize having a very clear story (who discovered what?). This time, however, I put on a journalist's hat and wrote about several discoveries in the field of speleology as they were revealed by the smallest creatures in the dark: viruses, bacteria, insects.
C
How was the "Social media for science promotion" workshop?
Last week I held a workshop for researchers from the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi and UMF Cluj about social media for science promotion especially because the topic is out of my comfort zone. Because it's a "task", and not something I do easily, I learned how important strategy, planning and consistency are - and all of these can be worked on.
N
Science and Communication Newsletter #4
This edition contains a collection of free online science communication courses and a case study in which I explained at length what was involved in writing a science popularization article.I (hopefully) comment on the interesting reading part, where I selected some Romanian research articles on COVID-19.
S
Speculation vs. science: not all studies are created equal (in Mindcraft Stories)
I wrote for the science magazine Mindcraft Stories about how quality studies differ from knee-jerk studies and why it's important not to draw conclusions too quickly from small sample research.
In communication, researchers are being asked by the press and the public to drop the nuances, to stop being so cautious, to risk a forecast. But at these times, I think the reverse is the case: the public needs to understand what the limitations of a study mean, small sample, conclusions not validated by peer review and pure speculation.