Rapid Reactions: responding to breaking news. The demands of the 24-hour media machine mean that news journalists often don’t have the luxury of time to track down the best scientists when a science story lands on their desks, so availability can sometimes win out over expertise. This is where the Science Media Centre steps in. When a story breaks – whether it’s the latest flu epidemic, health scare or a potential nuclear crisis – the SMC persuades leading experts to drop everything and engage with the story, then contacts journalists at all the major news outlets to offer those experts for interviews or immediate comment.
Roundups: putting new research into context. One of the other ways the SMC ensures that the media have easy access to scientists and their views is by offering journalists a variety of comments from scientists reacting to the latest research. This service differs from our ‘Rapid Reactions’ as scientists have time to react before new research is announced, rather than in response to breaking news.
With access to embargoed journals before publication, we can pick stories of most interest to journalists, asking third party experts to provide comments and information to put research into context before it appears in the media. The SMC’s unique Roundups help busy journalists critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of new research, and highlight when studies are very preliminary or display a correlation that should not be read as causation. Equally, when leading scientists are excited about a significant study this can reassure journalists that the study should feature strongly in their coverage.
Scientists comment on wildfires in the Cairngorms region Dr Zakary Campbell-Lochrie, Lecturer in Fire Science, University of Edinburgh, said: … read more
Scientists comment on new JCVI recommendations for the MenB vaccine. Prof Hannah Christensen, Professor in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University … read more
Scientists comment on announcement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on protecting Dartmoor pony populations. … read more
A study presented at the International Congress on Obesity (ICO 2026) and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine estimates deaths … read more
Scientists comment on the wildfire situation in the UK. Dr Fatemeh Moheimani, Senior Lecturer in Cellular Genetics at Manchester … read more
Scientists comment on new Government policies announced that include social media curfews and turning off addictive features for 16 and … read more
A study published in European Heart Journal looks at microplastics and nanoplastics in the coronary circulation after a heart attack and air … read more
A report by BMG Researched and commissioned by DSIT (The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) looks at children’s circumvention … read more
Scientists comment on UK Research & Innovation’s 5-year strategy. Dr Stuart Wainwright, NRO Group Director, said: “We welcome UKRI’s … read more
Scientists comment on wildfires in the UK. Dr Joe McNorton, Fire Scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather … read more
A modelling study carried out by Grantham, the Met Office, and LSHTM looks at deaths during the heatwaves in May … read more
A study published in Cell Stem Cell looks at generating sperm cells from human and non human primate pluripotent stem cells. … read more
Scientists comment on Spanish wildfires. Dr Maria Barbosa, Wildfire scientist, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), said: “It … read more
Scientists comment on Home Office statistics on scientific procedures on animals. Chris Magee, Head of Policy and Media, Understanding Animal Research … read more
Scientists comment on UKRI announcing the outcome of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) budget. Paul Howarth, President … read more
A randomised controlled trial published in Lancet Infectious Diseases looks at the efficacy of several drug types (anti-histamines, anti-inflammatory, and blood thinners) … read more
An epidemiology study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases looks at the spread of sexually transmissible drug-resistant shigellosis. Dr Vincenzo Torraca, … read more
A review published in The BMJ looks at obesity drugs and quality of life and heart health. Dr Hamid Merchant, … read more
A randomised controlled trial published in NEJM looks at the meningococcal B vaccine for preventing gonorrhoea in men who have sex with … read more
An unpublished conference abstract presented at ESHRE looks at air pollution, spermatogenesis and DNA methylation. Prof Richard Lea, Professor … read more
