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.
New data from a major European trial tracking more than 160,000 men for over two decades has found that men who … read more
Jamaica has suffered major impact from Hurricane Melissa, which has now made landfall in Cuba. The All Ireland Science Media … read more
Different antidepressants vary widely in their physical side effects, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet. … read more
An issue related to Amazon’s web service platform has knocked out Snapchat, Duolingo, and a number of other websites, apps … read more
An international report finds that global food systems contribute to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, while almost half the world’s … read more
US President Donald Trump claimed that pregnant women’s use of paracetamol is linked to a risk of babies developing autism. … read more
Irish scientists comment on an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia and tsunami warnings issues across the Pacific. Dr. Martin … read more
A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health looks at an ‘inflammatory’ diet during pregnancy and type 1 … read more
Irish scientists comment on a conference abstract presented at the annual conference of the American Society for Nutrition which looks … read more
Irish scientists comment on power outages across the Iberian Peninsula. Dr Paul Cuffe, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical and … read more
Scientists comment on the Irish Academy of Engineering Report. Dr Barry Hayes, Associate Professor in Electrical Power Systems, University College Cork … read more
Irish scientists comment on potential US tariffs on pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland. Prof John McHale, Established Professor and … read more
Irish scientists comment on a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has hit central Myanmar. Prof Chris Bean, Senior Professor and … read more
Irish scientists comment on the upcoming solar eclipse in the UK and Ireland. Dr Ryan Milligan, Astrophysics Research Centre, … read more
Irish scientists comment on a power outage caused by an electrical substation fire that has caused Heathrow airport to close. … read more
This study looked at available data taken from countries across the world to see how rates of incidence in breast … read more
Irish scientists comment on a suspected case of Avian flu detected in Northern Ireland. Professor Ian Brown, Group Leader … read more
Irish and UK based scientists comment on the first case of Clade 1 Mpox detected in Ireland. Prof Eoin … read more
This study looked for microplastics and nanoplastics (millionths and billionths of a metre in size) in the brain and liver, … read more
Irish scientists comment on the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Environmental Indicators Ireland report for 2024. Dr Salem Gharbia, Head … read more
