science journalism

Blind Peers: A Path To Equality In Scientific Peer Review?

Posted 30 May 2013 by Jalees Rehman

There is a fundamental asymmetry that exists in contemporary peer review of scientific papers. Most scientific journals do not hide the identity of the authors of a submitted manuscript. The scientific reviewers, on the other hand, remain anonymous. Their identities are only known to the editors, who use the assessments of these scientific reviewers to help decide whether or not to accept a scientific manuscript. Even though the comments of the reviewers are usually passed along to the authors of... Read more

Posted in academia, bias, Ethics, open access, peer review, professionalism, science communication, science journalism |

1 Comments | Permalink

Critical Science Writing: A Checklist for the Life Sciences

Posted 21 May 2013 by Jalees Rehman

One major obstacle in the "infotainment versus critical science writing" debate is that there is no universal definition of what constitutes "critical analysis" in science writing. How can we decide whether or not critical science writing is adequately represented in contemporary science writing or science journalism, if we do not have a standardized method of assessing it? For this purpose, I would like to propose the following checklist of points that can be addressed in news articles or blog-posts which... Read more

Posted in Ethics, fraud, science communication, science funding, science journalism, science writing |

1 Comments | Permalink

‘Infotainment’ and Critical Science Journalism

Posted 19 May 2013 by Jalees Rehman

I recently wrote an op-ed piece for the Guardian in which I suggested that there is too much of an emphasis on ‘infotainment’ in contemporary science journalism and there is too little critical science journalism. The response to the article was unexpectedly strong, provoking some hostile comments on Twitter, and some of the most angry comments seem to indicate a misunderstanding of the core message. One of the themes that emerged in response to the article was the Us-vs.-Them perception... Read more

Posted in science communication, science journalism, science writing, Stem Cells |

5 Comments | Permalink

Transparency Is Not A One-Way Mirror

Posted 24 April 2013 by Jalees Rehman

An editorial in the journal Nature published on April 24, 2013 announces an important new step in the scientific peer review process for manuscripts that are being submitted to Nature and other Nature research journals. Authors of scientific manuscripts will now be required to fill out a checklist before they can submit their work to the journal. The title of the editorial, "Announcement: Reducing our irreproducibility", reveals the goal of this new step - addressing the problem of irreproducibility that... Read more

Posted in peer review, research, science communication, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Are Scientists Divided Over Divining Rods?

Posted 25 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

When I read a statement which starts with "Scientists are divided over......", I expect to learn about a scientific controversy involving scientists who offer distinct interpretations or analyses of published scientific data. This is not uncommon in stem cell biology. For example, scientists disagree about the differentiation capacity of adult bone marrow stem cells. Some scientists are convinced that these adult stem cells have a broad differentiation capacity and that a significant proportion can turn into heart cells or brain... Read more

Posted in adult stem cells, science communication, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, Stem Cells |

8 Comments | Permalink

The ENCODE Controversy And Professionalism In Science

Posted 24 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

The ENCODE (Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements) project received quite a bit of attention when its results were publicized last year. This project involved a very large consortium of scientists with the goal to identify all the functional elements in the human genome. In September 2012, 30 papers were published in a coordinated release and their extraordinary claim was that roughly 80% of the human genome was "functional". This was in direct contrast to the prevailing view among molecular biologists that the... Read more

Posted in molecular biology, professionalism, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

4 Comments | Permalink

Some Highlights of the Live Chat: “Are We Doing Science the Right Way?”

Posted 8 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

On February 7, 2013, ScienceNOW organized a Live Chat with the microbiologists Ferric Fang and Arturo Casadevall that was moderated by the Science staff writer Jennifer Couzin-Frankel and discussed a very broad range of topics related to how we currently conduct science. For those who could not participate in the Live Chat, I will summarize some key comments made by Fang and Casadevall, Couzin-Frankel or other commenters. I have grouped the comments into key themes and also added some... Read more

Posted in chat, fraud, research, science communication, science funding, science journalism, science writing, scientific method |

0 Comments | Permalink

Is Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for Children?

Posted 28 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

The study "Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-Being" published by Layous and colleagues in the journal PLOS One on December 26, 2012 was cited by multiple websites as proof of how important it is to teach children to be kind. NPR commented on the study in the blog post "Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular", and the study was also discussed in ScienceDaily in "Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for... Read more

Posted in education, journalism, peer review, professionalism, psychology, research, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Armchair Psychiatry and Violence

Posted 26 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

Following tragic mass shootings such as the one that unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut, it is natural to try to “make sense” of the events. The process of “making sense” and understanding the underlying causes is part of the healing process. It also gives hope to society that if we were able to address the causes of the tragedy, we could prevent future tragedies. It is not unexpected that mental illness is often invoked as a possible reason for mass shootings.... Read more

Posted in journalism, medicine, mental health, mental illness, patients, professionalism, psychiatry, psychology, science journalism, science writing, violence |

3 Comments | Permalink

The PhD Route To Becoming a Science Writer

Posted 29 November 2012 by Jalees Rehman

If you know that you want to become a science writer, should you even bother with obtaining a PhD in science? There is no easy answer to this question. Any answer is bound to reflect the personal biases and experiences of the person answering the question. The science writer Akshat Rathi recently made a good case for why an aspiring science writer should not pursue a PhD. I would like to offer a different perspective, which is primarily based on... Read more

Posted in academia, career, education, phd, research, science journalism, science writing |

3 Comments | Permalink