What is science communication?

• Science communication covers many topics, but generally is the communication of science to the general public via different media.
• It can include news articles, magazines, public events and lectures, talks given in schools, museum exhibits... All of these different methods aim to enlighten the general public to what science is, new scientific discoveries and why science is important.
• I am interested in science communication because it gives scientists a chance to share what they know with non-scientists, inspire the next generation of scientists and make sure that any bad science is removed from the media, and does not influence the general public's view of research as a whole.

Bad Science Communication

• The MMR vaccine scare is a prime example of where the lack of communication between doctors and scientists and the general public has caused many unnecessary illnesses and deaths within the population.
• There was no evidence linking the MMR vaccine to autism, however, the media storm that arose from one doctor's report was enough that thousands of parents refused to get their child immunised, and as a result the infection rate of these diseases rose dramatically.
• This kind of mis-communication must be stopped to prevent such events happening again in the future.