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.
There have been reports that the avian influenza outbreak in the UK has spilled over into mammals. Prof Mark … read more
A study published in JAMA Psychiatry looks at long-term exposure to multiple ambient air pollutants, and depression and anxiety. … read more
This Roundup accompanied an SMC Briefing, in which a panel of experts made the case for a higher level of … read more
A study published in The Lancet looks at cooling European cities through urban green infrastructure. Dr Radhika Khosla, Co-Director … read more
A study published in eClinicalMedicine looks at consumption of ultra-processed food, risk of cancer and cancer mortality. Prof Tom … read more
A study published PLOS Medicine suggests that Β-blocker use associated with lower rates of violence. The following comments were … read more
A study published in JAMA Network Open looks at children and young people in the US from 0 to 19 … read more
A study published in PLOS Medicine looks at trajectories of obesity prevalence in English primary school children and the UK … read more
A press release from NHS Blood and Transplant states that the number of children treated for Kawasaki disease has increased, … read more
A study published in Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry looks at sleep during adolescence and risk of multiple sclerosis. … read more
A study published in PNAS suggests that antidepressants can induce mutation and enhance persistence towards multiple antibiotics. The following … read more
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released their monthly mortality analysis for England and Wales in December 2022. Prof Sir … read more
A report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) investigates the unusual crustacean mortality in the … read more
A study published in Nature Medicine looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular disease prevention and management, … read more
A report on the State of Carbon Dioxide removal has been published by the Oxford Smith School. This Roundup accompanied … read more
A study published in Nature suggests that the recent temperatures in central–north Greenland are the warmest in the past millennium. … read more
A study published in PLOS Medicine looks at dietary exposure to nitrites and nitrates and type 2 diabetes risk. … read more
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have published a new draft quality standard on treatment of depression. … read more
A study published in General Psychiatry looks at alteration of faecal microbiota balance related to long-term deep meditation. Dr … read more
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have published draft guidance recommending that statins could be a choice … read more
