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.
Earlier this week the government posted a policy paper on the community testing programme. Dr Alexander Edwards, Associate Professor … read more
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest data from their COVID-19 Infection Survey. Dr Simon Clarke, Associate Professor … read more
An explosion occurred yesterday at a waste water treatment works in Avonmouth, killing 4 people and injuring another. Mr … read more
The UK’s new emissions target has been announced, with an aim to get to net zero by 2050. Prof … read more
A population-based cohort study published in PLOS Medicine looks at risk of developing cardiovascular disease in patients receiving low doses … read more
The government have released the latest statistics from the COVID-19 Test and Trace system. Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor … read more
Dr Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, commented on the UK’s speed in … read more
The Lancet Countdown’s fifth annual report tracks 40+ indicators on links between health and climate change. Dr Philip Staddon, … read more
A study published in the BMJ looks at red meat intake and risk of coronary heart disease among US men. … read more
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has today released its provisional report on the State of the Global Climate 2020, stating … read more
It has been announced this morning that the UK government has accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare … read more
A study published in Reproductive epidemiology looks at sun exposure and risk of endometriosis. Dr Caroline Overton, a consultant … read more
Following the comments by Michael Gove this morning and health minister Nadhim Zahawi yesterday, here are some more general comments … read more
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, posted on medRxiv uses data from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app to … read more
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the … read more
The government have recently published their analysis of the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19 and the approach to … read more
The Health minister Nadhim Zahawi, who will oversee rollout of the Covid vaccine in England, has said that hospitality and … read more
A study published in Nature Aging looks at plasma biomarker combinations that may predict risk of cognitive decline and dementia … read more
A study published in Nature Neuroscience suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may enter the nervous system by crossing the nasal epithelium. … read more
Moderna have announced that they have concluded the primary efficacy analysis for the Phase 3 study of their COVID-19 vaccine … read more
