Scientific Knowledge

Scientists are increasingly expected to step out of their ivory towers and engage with policy makers and diverse public audiences. These demands come from not only those who fund and support research, but also from public interest groups and society at large. Some scientists respond enthusiastically to such opportunities. These ‘communicating scientists’ typically have a flair for public

Preserving the umbilical cord blood (UCB) of a newborn child in a private biobank for possible future family uses is criticized by bioethical and biomedical literature as challenging the moral economy of donating cord blood to public banks for being used in transplantations. Donation to public banks is described as embedded in the social relations of reciprocity, solidarity, and obligation to

As an historian interested in the public understanding of medicine and health in modern Italy, it was impossible for me to not write about food and its political, social and cultural importance. Italian food is famous all around the world. Almost everyone knows about pasta, pizza and the immense economic and cultural significance of Italian food. However, not many know that Italy’s distinct

“Sharing Science” is a “pop-up podcast” about science communication, science education, and the relationship between them, featuring short interviews with twelve leading researchers. Our podcast disseminates academic scholarship in these areas and is intended for researchers, practitioners, and anyone interested in these areas. A few months after its release, we would like to share some of

Brian Trench delivered a guest lecture entitled "Images in the social conversation of science on occasion of the official inauguration of the Master in Communication of Science, in Trento on October 2nd, 2019. In his talk, Trench addressed the issue of how images related to science are created by lay people, and how they are externalized and shared in society. The way science is represented

Science shapes our world, but scientific understanding may often seem out of reach to those without a scientific background. We now know that people are more likely to engage with science when they share a cultural background with the messenger - the scientist - yet 81% of Americans cannot name a living scientist, let alone identify a scientist that looks like them. In 2018, the National

Science is under attack in some quarters. Vaccine and climate change skeptics, for example, argue that scientists misrepresent the threat posed by particular technologies. Others question whether science does more harm than good, altogether. One of the most common beliefs about anti-science attitudes is that they reflect ignorance or inexperience with science. The assumption is that increasing