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How to Communicate Scientific Uncertainty to a Lay Audience | Instapost

Last Thursday I attended a media training session organised by the Science Media Centre. It bought together, journalists, scientists, researchers, press officers and people who communicate science in mainstream media, so both sides can understand and work together to communicate science correctly and to encourage scientists to be more vocal about their work and not fear media interviews. ⠀ ترجمه باللغة العربية 👇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ One key message both journalists AND scientists agreed on was that it was okay to communicate uncertainty in science. I was more surprised that the journalists agreed to this too, even though it’s sort of a public understanding that the lay public expects scientists know everything, and won’t accept “more research is needed” for an answer. When in actual fact, the main consensus was that you should communicate uncertainty when the results of a scientific study are not conclusive because that is science. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Science is not finite, as cliche as

Abdul & the DoDo Lemons SciComm Showcase | GUEST POST

This week, I have another guest on my blog, my friend Abdul who also studied BSc Medicinal Chemistry with me. Abdul graduated from University College London in 2018 with a PhD in Chemistry, before deciding to pursue his artistic passions and turning towards photography and broadcasting. In this blog post, he will be telling us about his experience in presenting Virtually Reality - a showcase by DoDo Lemons.  Enjoy! ~~~~~~ When we try to communicate complex scientific material to the world, we often get fixated on trying to insert every key term or attempt to be fun and engaging, which can make us lose our vision or the scientific message. So today, I’d like to talk about science communication through a different medium. I was lucky enough to be part of an interesting, quirky show exploring concepts of perception and its relation to mental health, such as psychosis. As part of the DoDo Lemons group , an artistic collective, I was asked to host the “ Virtually Reality ”

Making Tea | ONE PARAGRAPH SCIENCE

We all know how to make a cup of tea - right? Wrong! I’m talking about the ongoing debate on how to make a cup of tea — the right way. Do you pour tea into milk instead of pouring milk into your tea? Well according to science, there’s a right way to make a cup of tea which ensures it maintains its flavour and texture. It takes into account the various properties that go into making a cup of tea; whether you use tea bags or loose leaf tea, the chemicals that make up tea, milk and water, how much fat there is in your milk, and even the temperature of your water. With that being said, the scientifically preferred method of making a cup of tea is milk first then tea — if you've already brewed the tea in a teapot — which allows the milk to warm evenly and preserve the taste. Pouring milk into hot tea causes the milk to heat unevenly which causes the proteins in it to denature, meaning they lose their structure and “clump”. But if you're making a cup of tea in a mug: hot water/

منشطات الذهن أو العقاقير الذكية - هل ينمو الذكاء؟

This is the Arabic translation of the blog post: Nootropics aka Smart Drugs - Do they really work هل سمعت عن منشطات الذهن قبل قراءة هذه المدونة؟ أو "العقاقير الذكية" أو "معززات الدماغ" كما يطلق عليها؟ هذه الأدوية التي تدعي أنها من المفترض أن تحولك إلى عبقري و "تحسن من قدراتك الإدراكية" وتستهدف كل شخص يشعر بأنه يريد تعزيز قدرات عقولهم خاصة عند الدراسة أو في العمل.

Crystals and Catalysts is 5!

Do Nootropics, aka Smart Drugs really work?

Previously titled: NOOTROPICS, AKA "SMART DRUGS" - DO THEY REALLY WORK? Have you heard of nootropics before reading this blog post?  Or "Smart Drugs" or "Brain Enhancers" as they're called? These are drugs that claim that they supposedly turn you into a genius and "improve your cognitive abilities" and have been targeted towards everyone who feels that they want to boost their brain's capabilities especially when studying or at work.  But do you actually know what’s in these "smart drugs"??

What is a scientist doing inside an art gallery? (instapost)

What is a scientist doing inside an art gallery? 🔻English translation below🔻 ماذا يفعل العالم داخل معرض فني؟

لقد سألتم جوجل وأنا أجبت! المقالة رقم 200

لقد كنت أفكر في ما يمكن أن يجعل نشر مقالتي ال 200 و تكون جيدًا خلال الأسبوعين الماضيين عندما واجهت تحليلات مدونتي والأشياء التي تبحثوا عنها في جوجل والتي تقودكم إلى ركني المتواضع من الإنترنت . لذا ، هيا بنا ، سأجيب على جميع أسئلتكم بالتفصيل. لنبدأ بسؤالكم الأكثر تفضيلاً: بلورات الليمون هي شكل متبلور من عصير الليمون ، والذي يستخدم في الطهي وإعداد الطعام لإعطاء طعم الحامضة لأي شيء تقوم بصنعه ويمكن استخدامه أيضًا لإنشاء عصير ليمون أو ليمونادا.

YOU ASKED GOOGLE AND I ANSWERED! 200TH BLOG POST

I've been thinking about what would make a really good 200th blog post for the past couple of weeks when I came across my blog analytics and the things that you search for in Google that lead you to my humble corner of the internet. So, let's go, I'm going to answer all of your questions in detail. Let’s start with your most favourite question: Lemon crystals are a crystallized form of lemon juice , which is used in cooking and food preparation to give a citrusy, tart and sour taste to whatever you're making and can also be used to create lemon juice or lemonade.

A day at the SciPEN workshop and a meetup with my STEM friends (instapost)

🔻English translation below🔻 في يوم الخميس الماضي ، التقيت مع العديد من أصدقائي في مجال العلوم خلال ورشة عمل حول سياسة العلوم لأول مرة. تم تنظيم ورشة العمل من قبل شبكة تبادل السياسات العلمية - SciPEN وكانت نظرة ثاقبة كبيرة لمهنة سياسة العلوم وما تنطوي عليه. أعتقد أن النقاط الثلاث الرئيسية للخريجين الذين يتطلعون إلى الدخول في مهنة في السياسة العلمية:

Everything You Need To Know About Solar Geoengineering

Following your interest on my latest Instagram post on Earth Day 2019, here’s the solar geoengineering post you've all been waiting for! This post will be providing most of the known types of solar geoengineering and also critically looking at where this research places us in the battle against climate change. I’m going to keep this as brief as possible so you don't get bored but also full of detailed explanations. N.B. When I mention “cooling the planet”, below,  I mean by only one or two degrees Celcius maximum.

كل ما تحتاج لمعرفته حول الهندسة الجيولوجية الشمسية - النسخه العربيه

بعد اهتمامكم بأحدث بوستاتي في الانستغرام في يوم الأرض 2019 ، إليك مقاله الهندسة الجيولوجية الشمسية الذي كنتم تنتظرونها جميعًا! تقدم هذه المقالة معظم الأنواع المعروفة من الهندسة الجيولوجية الشمسية وأيضًا النظر في المكان الذي يضعنا فيه هذه الأبحاث في المكافحة ضد تغير المناخ. سأبقى هذه المقاله مختصرة قدر الإمكان حتى لا تشعروا بالملل بل مليئاً بالتفسيرات التفصيلية. ملحوظة: عندما أذكر "تبريد الكوكب" ، أدناه ، أعني بدرجة واحدة أو بدرجتين فقط كحد أقصى. هدف إدارة الإشعاع الشمسي هو خفض درجات الحرارة العالمية، لا شيء آخر. هذا لا يحل مشكلة تغير المناخ بالكامل لأن الغازات الدفيئة ستستمر في الارتفاع إذا لم نفعل أي شيء لمنع حدوث ذلك.

Tips for your Masters Dissertation / Project / Thesis (PART 4)

This is the most important part of your bachelors, masters or doctorate degree so it's important you know what you're doing so you hit the ground running and don't waste valuable time being lost. When I was completing my bachelors' dissertation I was completely lost, even though I enjoyed working in the lab, I didn't enjoy the overall process and it left me really stressed and anxious. I only found out the aim of my research once I had completed and submitted my project. Granted I did get a good grade on it and it's still a piece of work I'm proud of, but if I could go back and do things differently or focus on specific parts of it, I would. Click here to read all about my bachelors' project. 

HAPPY EARTH DAY 2019! (instapost)

It’s earth day and it's one of the most important days of the year where most of us are more aware of our planet, our climate and the problems this planet will face in terms of climate change if we don’t take any proper actions. I’m sure my friends will tell you all about what you can do to play a significant role in preventing climate change (check out my stories!) but I’d like to briefly tell you what researchers are doing to prevent climate change.

Antibiotic Awareness and Abuse (extended Instagram post)

 👇English Translation below!👇 مضادات الحيوية وسوء المعاملة !!!

What they don’t tell you about Facts and Theories at School | GUEST POST

I have come to notice one thing, scientists can be rather condescending and mean to anyone who seems to have any arguments against scientific theories and facts. Especially when you’re not a scientist. In fact, some can be downright awful and make fun of you. This defensiveness appears when we scientists think you’ve made some outlandish remark about a fact that we’ve known for centuries…fact being the key word here. It’s amazing to me how little time scientists spend explaining what the difference between fact and theory actually is. What qualifies a fact to be considered the fact, is it simply the complete truth? And if so, why do some individuals attempt to discredit science at every given opportunity?

5 (+1) Tips on Giving Presentations Without Being Nervous (PART 3)

I have given a number of presentations, however, up until recently presentations were something I would hide from and try to avoid at all costs because of my nerves.  But thanks to my philosophy of science lecturer, I gave a presentation which gave me the confidence to fight the voices in my head that scare me away from giving presentations. So, I want to give you some tips that I've learnt along the way. This isn't to say that I'm 100% perfect at giving presentations, there is a lot I need to work on too, but these tips have helped me give good presentations that got good marks. In the midst of giving my thesis presentation. I use my hands a lot to explain my work LOL.

Why we need to talk WITH anti-vaxxers - Opinion Piece

(Arabic translation below) The beauty of the human race is in our differences and our differences in opinions. But often, some strong opinions held by a group of people can lead to detrimental effects on our planet and our health (i.e climate change deniers and the anti-vaccination movement). Basically what I'm trying to say is that we need to stop expecting ignorance and think of a new way to engage in an active discussion with anti-vaccinators in the hope of fixing the damage caused by the anti-vaccination movement.

تغييرات جديدة------New Changes

English translation below!👇👇 : بروح الشمولية في التواصل العلمي ، قررت أن اجعل من مشاركتي على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي ثنائية اللغة وأن أقدم ترجمة باللغتين الإنجليزية والعربية. تلك اللغتين هم لغتي الأم وما أستخدمه يومياً للتواصل مع الجميع ، فلماذا لا يتم نشره على مشاركتي؟ وبمرور الوقت ، سيتم تجميع اللغه العربيه أيضًا ليشمل مشاركات مدونتي {بلورات و محفزات} حيث أعتاد على هذا التغير وأتمنى أن تستمتعوا بالمشاركات الجديدة بقدر استمتاعي بها.  : :