People-perception during COVID-19 outbreak

It was in December 2019 that China reported coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in humans. We did not take it as a death threat until the WHO declared COVID-19 infection a pandemic. The viral infection turned into a public health emergency of international concern.  That’s when people began to rethink about the adversities of the deadly virus.  As the numbers of infected people and casualties started rising on … Continue reading People-perception during COVID-19 outbreak

Keeping your sanity in place!

We are facing a huge COVID-19 challenge all across the globe. People are quarantined at homes and quarantine facilities. There is a lockdown in every country; countries have sealed their borders. Seems like the Coronavirus menace is never-ending! We have succumbed to the lockdown. Every family is within their home space, not for a day but for days together.  India is thickly populated in metros … Continue reading Keeping your sanity in place!

Science Popularization vs Science Communication

I have been a science popularizer for over three-and-a-half decades; I have been a science communicator for just a tad more than one decade. What’s the difference you might ask? A science popularizer is often a scientist with a good turn of phrase or an engaging personality who is able to communicate scientific ideas and facts to the non-specialist in ways that are digestible – … Continue reading Science Popularization vs Science Communication

Science Communication: the Chilean way

From the end of the world, here comes the Outreach League, a network of women communicators from five Chilean Research Centers who joined efforts to collaborate in science communication inititatives. Because you can’t efectively spread the word alone, can you? We are a team of science communicator practicioners, teachers and researchers who together combine lessons learned in a decade of solo work. Our League is … Continue reading Science Communication: the Chilean way

Video as a Tool for Science Communication

Let me tell you a short personal anecdote. Twenty-six years ago, I joined the University of Navarra (Spain) to run a small audiovisual production center called Euroview, whose main goal was to produce audiovisual materials with scientific content. One of the new team’s first initiatives was to organize a meeting of all researchers who might be interested in producing videos to raise awareness of their … Continue reading Video as a Tool for Science Communication

Yes, Science Communication should get involved with Gun Control!

Just nine months ago, I posed the question: should science communication get involved with gun control? I noted the number of homicides committed by using guns in New Zealand (5 in 2014) compared to the United States (over 15,000 in 2016). Ten days ago, one lone gunman with a collection of semi-automatic assault rifles killed 50 people in Christchurch: ten years’ accumulation of homicides in … Continue reading Yes, Science Communication should get involved with Gun Control!

Snakebites – a health priority!

In India, snakebites kill around 50,000 people every year. Almost five times more victims survive the bites of venomous snakes but suffer lifelong disabilities such as paralysis, heart failure, irreversible kidney damage, blindness and much more.  The magnitude of this crisis is underestimated. In spite of the WHO adding snakebites to the list of ‘Neglected Tropical Diseases’ (NTDs) in June 2017, snakebites are not a … Continue reading Snakebites – a health priority!

The Role of Storytelling in Communicating Science: Marina Joubert interviews Lloyd Spencer Davis

I have been out of action: a combination of illness, travel, and other commitments. I could tell you a story about that, but I thought instead, I’d share this with you, which is all about the place of stories in science communication. A couple of years ago, I was in South Africa, where the lovely Marina Joubert looked after me and my family brilliantly and … Continue reading The Role of Storytelling in Communicating Science: Marina Joubert interviews Lloyd Spencer Davis

PCST 2018 Video

Okay, this is a little different. If a picture can tell a thousand words, then by posting a video, I should pretty much not have to say anything at all! This is a video made by Tourism New Zealand to capture the essence of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Conference held in Dunedin, New Zealand from 3-6 April, 2018: The next conference … Continue reading PCST 2018 Video

What’s with the Sugar Story?

I remember “Nana,” my maternal grandpa, who lived up to 85 years of age, who had four teaspoons of sugar in his cup of tea. He would love sweets and would hog them whenever my granny made them during festivals. In India, we celebrate every festival with fanfare and we have too many of them! Grandpa was a tall, thin and lanky man. He had … Continue reading What’s with the Sugar Story?