Curing misconceptions: where do genomics myths come from?
Front Line Genomics,
Genomics has, perhaps more than any other field, been plagued by misconceptions. From oversimplified explanations in high…
Genomics has, perhaps more than any other field, been plagued by misconceptions. From oversimplified explanations in high…
[This is a transcript of the video embedded below. Some of the explanations may not make sense without the animations in the…
If you're a scientist reading this, you may well think, as I used to, that running a Science Media Centre (SMC) would be a…
Sobre el estudio de los mensajes de salud exagerados y sus posibles tratamientos
I’ve written in the past about the tendency of some researchers to compensate for weak study design or small sample size by over…
Dr. Novella discusses reasons why science reporting so often gives the wrong impression about various scientific studies. The…
On most days, scientific discoveries are not cover stories or even top headlines. That hasn’t been the case since COVID-19 hit…
One of the biggest unsolved mysteries of nature is the mystery of matter/antimatter asymmetry. Scientists believe that when two…
The PR team at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) hit a home run this week. They were playing in the ongoing…
In a study of the dietary advice given by newspapers in the United Kingdom, “no credible scientific basis” was found for most…
It’s all so simple. We can fight obesity with a single cup of coffee! It’s a “fat-burning, obesity-fighting beverage.” So say…
In 2014 a study was published that challenged an oft-cited criticism that journalists are to blame for hyped-up health stories.
Scientists, research institutions and science writers all have roles to play -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
One of the big problems in the culture of modern science is that web sites very often give us hype-filled stories that do not…
Just in time for Valentine's Day, floats in a raft of misleading headlines:Scientists have found the cure for a broken heart…
From Chris Chambers on Twitter (of Cardiff Univ.) come some very important points about press coverage of scientific results. I…
Last week I was quoted in a Fox News article with the headline of “‘Arbitrary’ adjustments exaggerate sea level rise, study…
By Alex…
Apportioning the blame for misinformation about health and science in the…
Remember all those autism stories over the last few weeks? You don’t? There’s a reason for that. The first story you did not…
Remember all those autism stories over the last few weeks? You don’t? There’s a reason for that. The first story you did not…
I’m currently doing an annual review of environmental impacts on whales and dolphins for the International Whaling Commission…
Science communicators are no strangers to spin in the reporting of scientific studies, especially in Press Releases. This is a…
Are scientists using language aimed at convincing editors and reviewers to publish their work? Joeri Tijdink, Christiaan…
by Mo…
Despite the MMR vaccine controversy resulting from a series of now discredited studies linking the vaccine with autism…
Kevin Mitchell is an Associate Professor in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin. His research is aimed…
Recent hype surrounding neuroenhancing drugs should set alarm bells ringing for scientists A great deal of excitement has been…
Recent hype surrounding neuroenhancing drugs should set alarm bells ringing for scientists A great deal of excitement has been…
By Jessica Martin, PhD The Conversation is a publication touting articles that have “academic rigor” and “journalistic flair.…
Dr. Suzi Gage is a post-doctoral research associate working as part of the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University…
This blog is part of a series of blogs linked with BMJ Clinical Evidence, a database of systematic overviews of the best…
Emily Porter shares the top five lessons she learned from a media training workshop with the BBSRC. Contributor Emily…
Today we talk with someone who writes the headlines. Mo Costandi is a freelance science writer with a background in neuroscience.
Another day, another ridiculous headline about the apparently disastrous consequences of playing video games on the brainHere…
Another day, another ridiculous headline about the apparently disastrous consequences of playing video games on the brain…
Sumner P, Vivian-Griffiths S, Boivin J, Williams A, Venetis CA, Davies A, Ogden J, Whelan L, Hughes B, Dalton B, Boy F…
Last week brought lots of headlines about a new study claiming moderate drinking doesn't really provide health benefits.I'd…
The Daily Mail today declared that "Drinking is only good for you if you are a woman over 65", while the Times trumpeted that "Al…
The Daily Mail today declared that "Drinking is only good for you if you are a woman over 65", while the Times trumpeted that "Al…
The Daily Mail today declared that "Drinking is only good for you if you are a woman over 65", while the Times trumpeted that "Al…
Some news outlets are claiming that scientists have discovered that touchscreen devices are bad for child development. What…
Some news outlets are claiming that scientists have discovered that touchscreen devices are bad for child development. What…
Welcome to a new series of posts, Talking Headlines, where we interview world-leading researchers and journalists about their…
Paul Duprex joins the TWiV team to discuss the current moratorium on viral research to alter transmission, range and resistance…
On episode #321 of the science show This Week in Virology, Paul Duprex joins the TWiV team to discuss the current moratorium on…
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Kathy…
Does having to cope with their mother’s depression REALLY inflict irreversible damage on daughters’ psychobiology and shorten…
Are two-thirds of cancer due to bad luck as many recent headlines have stated? Well, we don’t really know. The paper that…
What causes cancer? It’s a simple question to ask, and – in so many ways – one of the hardest to answer. And last week, as 2015…
Proof that you really shouldn’t believe everything you read. The BMJ just published a study that finds that hype in…
I’m not a big fan of end-of-the-year lists, such as the “top-10-scientific-achievements of the year” and the “top-10-genetics-sto…
Coming from someone who has written it before. Maybe you have seen stories like this floating around…
Source: Alyssa L. Miller, Flickr.For nearly 9 years, this blog has been harping on the blight of overblown press releases, with…
Geoff Pullum, always forthright, looks at some typical journalistic anthropomorphisms about animal communication and calls them …
Some posts and articles worth…
LC Biomarker BingoOK ... before I begin on this, let me say this has languished in the draft hopper probably past it's usable…
Scientists tend to think that the media coverage of science is terrible, and they blame it on the journalists. They routinely…
According to the famous saying, there are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. Earlier this month, we had…
Pictured: Test subjects probably not worth a press release. A recent study addresses the problem of sensationalism in the…
Newsflash — Press releases about medical studies may contain hype. That was the conclusion of a report published last week in…
NEJM 11 December 2014 Vol…
A recent study finds that academic press offices exaggerate claims in their press releases about published research. Worse, the…
Gazety codzienne, z ich niemałą dozą naukowych nieścisłości pojawiających się w tekstach o nauce, czy też z naukową komponentą…
Gazety codzienne, z ich niemałą dozą naukowych nieścisłości pojawiających się w tekstach o nauce, czy też z naukową komponentą…
I'm not normally minded to post on a Sunday (day of rest and all that) but I did want to bring your attention to the results…
There’s a big breast cancer conference happening in the US – the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium – and several stories this…
Wednesday December 10. 8.30am: I’m on the bus into work and checking Twitter when I see an exchange between @garyschwitzer and …
According to a new paper in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), exaggerated claims in health-related news stories — including…
Mark…
A newly-released study suggests university press releases are a key source of hyperbole seen in science stories in media…
Our research shows that most exaggeration in health-related science news is already present in the press releases issued by…
Photo credit: Ministry of Information Photo Division, via Wikimedia Commons. Click for more information.A new study from the…