Crystals And Catalysts

This weeks science news: how being creative may make you prone to certain psychological disorders; sleeping brain cells, and killer nanoparticles.

If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself. - Albert Einstein I love writing. And I have always loved journalism & science. If I didn't have a career in science, I would have definitely had a career in journalism. Science communication is the best mix between science and journalism. I aspire to be a good, professional science writer. A good science writer is able to write a post that caters to different tastes and they can also explain scientific concepts well via written communication to someone who lacks the understanding. I hope my posts convey this. However I do enjoy working in the laboratory, and I wish I had started my blog during my studies at university so I could have written and posted photos of my progress in the lab during my project. I love reading and seeing other scientists "lab diaries".

There are loads of tips on how to go about science blogging all over the internet. A simple Google search will lead you to so many different pages. After reading hundreds of pages about science writing & blogging (before I even started writing Crystals & Catalysts)  I have come up with a list that covers the top tips of science blogging: Number One: Don't Start  a blog until you have aimed and completed writing over 10 posts, and making sure that this is not just a phase and you will be able to keep on writing on your blog. Number Two: Read, Read and read again. Go through scientific journals, other science blogs and read as much as you can. The more you read the more you learn. Number Three: Choose your blog name carefully as it will become like your "brand name". You could choose to write under your name publicly or under a pseudonym.  Number Four: Pick a blog host for the blog you want to start ... Such as Wordpress / Blogger ...

A book I will start reading soon is:  That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles:  Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life By Dr Joe Schwarcz  Dr Schwarcz, through his book, gives 62 commentaries of chemistry of everyday life.  The book has recieved many 5-star and mixed reviews, which is interesting. Most of the reviews portray that this book communicates chemistry in a light, and engaging manner to the reader, making it seem like a relaxing read, probably lighter than Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre (also an awesome book).  When I complete this book I will be writing a review for it in the near future.  One 5-star review on Goodreads states: After reading That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 all-new commentaries on the fascinating chemistry of everyday life by Dr. Joe Schwarcz, I have found chemistry to be a more appealing subject to study. Schwarcz expertly incorporates humor, relevant anecdotes and fun facts in his essays to explain the chemistry be...

A book I have read and has become of my favourite science books is Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre. It is a nonfiction book which has been translated into 25 languages. Although this is not a book to necessarily enjoy, it's to be read and receive the message that Goldacre intends to pass onto the reader. The book has a solemn tone but Goldacre is also able to maintain a good, conversational tone and keep the reader interested and intrigued to read more. Goldacre also gives all references to everything he states in Bad Pharma so the  reader knows where each piece of information he quotes came from.  Therefore the book and all it contains comes across as very reliable.  Bad Pharma is extremely detailed and gives a fascinating insight into the pharmaceutical industry. It's simple and easy to read, especially if you are interested in the pharmaceutical industry, and does not require any previous study of science or medicine in general. Goldacre does not make the book fe...

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." - Marie Curie  I personally love this quote because it encourages everyone to learn. Just because you've stopped studying doesn't mean you should stop learning. You can learn new things in different ways, and the more you learn the more you understand the world around you.  I see science communication as a means of getting people who may not know a lot about science to understand it more.  Science communication is a great way to communicate science with everyone with the latest advances of science and also a way of diminishing any myths or misunderstandings people may have about science and health.  << Click here to find out more about Marie Curie >>

When it comes to science bloggers, not all science bloggers are the same. Every science blogger tries to find their own, unique way to cover science and what they want to say.  This list covers 5 types of science bloggers that you may come across over the internet. Take a look... 1- The One that blogs about pure Chemistry/Physics/Biology This blogger is dedicated to their subject. Their blog revolves around the latest news in their specific subject, fun posts and maybe some lab photo posts (some may also fit into the PhD category #3) Example: Chemistry blog 2- The One that blogs infographics This blogger provides their audience with a supporting infographic to their post. Just recently, colourful and informative infographics have become famous and are a way to engage readers with scientific content.  Example: Compound Interest 3- The One that blogs their PhD experience This type of blogger types up their entire PhD experience (depending on wh...

This weeks science news: Your viral infection history from a drop of blood, how to stay looking young forever & the effects of alcohol and cannabis and more... Share this Image On Your Site Please include attribution to http://crystalsandcatalysts.blogspot.co.uk/ with this graphic.

Crystals and Catalysts was launched in August 2014 which makes it almost 1 years old!  I think everyone who starts a blog thinks that they'll be lucky if they even get 10 readers in a day. And that's what I thought when I first started writing and creating this blog.  My future goals for my blog: I hope to make more infographics for my posts    Find a more effective blog theme which is  more user friendly Complete the 30 day challenge   without missing a day Aim to reach 1 million page views by the end of this year Aim to post more in a week

When someone asks me where do you see yourself in 10 years, I have to take a minute to actually think about the future.  I prefer to focus on the present and planning the present and leaving the future to fall into place. However with that being said, I aspire to pursue a career in science writing.    Science writing is away of communicating science in ways to everyone no matter what their educational background is. Even though I love lab research and conducting my own research project , I love science communication & journalism even more and I hope that one day I'll be writing for a large and respectable science magazine such as Chemistry World / Nature / New Scientist.  What are your plans for the future? Comment below...