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.
A study published in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe looks at food processing and the risk of type 2 diabetes. … read more
Scientists comment on Lord Darzi’s report on the NHS England. Professor Gillian Leng CBE, President of the Royal Society … read more
Scientists comment on annual statistics on animal research, published by the Home Office. Professor Clare Stanford (UCL), Chair of … read more
A study published in Nature Genetics looks at AstraZeneca’s AI tool that could predict up to 1000 diseases before diagnosis. Prof … read more
A study published in Heart looks at looks at the effects and cost effectiveness of statins in over-70s. Dr Gavin … read more
A conference abstract presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes looks at a study of a once-a-day … read more
A study published in the NEJM and being presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Obesity looks at … read more
A study published in PNAS looks at the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on the brain structure of adolescents. Dr Rebecca Sheriff, … read more
Scientists comment on a Phase 4 Report on the Health and Wellbeing of Serving and Ex-Serving UK Armed Forces Personnel. … read more
An unpublished conference abstract presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) looks … read more
An unpublished conference abstract presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting looks at the association … read more
An unpublished conference abstract presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress 2024 looks at the association between exercise performance and vaping/smoking. … read more
A study published in The BMJ looks at the links between air and noise pollution and infertility. Professor Jill … read more
Prof Nicholas Hopkinson, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, said: “Following the … read more
Prof Malcolm Bennett, Professor of Zoonotic and Emerging Disease, University of Nottingham, said: “It must be good news for everyone … read more
A study published in The BMJ looks at the association between certain diabetes drugs and lower risk of developing dementia. … read more
A study published in Nature Communications looks at the feasibility of underground CO2 storage. Prof Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Carbon Capture … read more
A report published by the British Medical Association offers recommendations for stronger vaping regulation. Prof Peter Hajek, Professor of … read more
Scientists comment on a Science analysis of 1500 climate policies. Dr Ajay Gambhir, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute … read more
Scientists comment on both MHRA and NICE news on lecanemab for Alzheimer’s disease. Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research … read more
