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 BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health looks at calorie labelling and takeaway food choices. Dr Adam Jacobs, … read more
Two papers published in the Lancet Psychiatry Physical Health Commission look at monitoring the physical health of people prescribed psychiatric … read more
An observational study published in the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology looks at endoscopist deskilling risk after exposure to AI in colonoscopy. … read more
A review study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine looks at the effect of weight loss before IVF on reproductive outcomes. … read more
Phase 1 study results published in Nature Medicine looks at a vaccine for patients with pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Dr Magnus … read more
Scientists comment on a wildfire on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Theodore Keeping, Research Associate in the Centre of Environmental … read more
Scientists comment on OpenAI’s announcement on the launch of ChatGPT-5. Dr Edoardo Ponti, Assistant Professor in Natural Language Processing, … read more
Scientists comment on oral GLP-1 (Orforglipron) and weight loss from a phase 3 clinical trial. Dr Simon Cork, Senior … read more
A study published in Lancet Psychiatry looks at talking therapies’ outcomes for young adults vs older adults. Prof Bernadka Dubicka, Professor … read more
A study published in the BMJ looks at chips, potatoes and whole grains and type 2 diabetes risk. Dr Ruth Boocock, … read more
Scientists comment on an unpublished preprint on the DecodeME genome-wide association study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Dr … read more
Scientists comment on cases of Chikungunya virus in China. Prof Roger Hewson, Virus Surveillance Lead, Genomic Surveillance Unit at the … read more
Scientists comment on Robert F. Kennedy Jr cancelling funding for mRNA vaccines. Prof Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics, University … read more
A study published in Cell Metabolism looks at the effects of semaglutide on skeletal muscle mass in mice. Prof Lora Heisler, … read more
A randomised crossover trial published in Nature Medicine looks at ultra- vs minimally-processed foods and weight loss. Dr Dimitrios Koutoukidis, … read more
Scientists comment on net zero implications of a proposed third runway at London Heathrow Airport. Dr Sebastian Eastham, Associate … read more
Scientists comment on latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that shows measles cases remain high. Dr … read more
Scientists comment on a UK air traffic control issue which led to flight delays and cancellations. Dr Guy Gratton, … read more
A study published in PLOS One estimates human exposure to microplastics in homes and cars. Prof Oliver Jones, Professor of Chemistry, … read more
A study published in Nature looks at respiratory viral infections and breast cancer metastasis to the lungs. The following statements by … read more
