Place evidence at the centre
(November 5th 2007) When science meets media the outcome is generally uncertain. Press coverage of scientific issues ranges from serious reports, delving deep into details, to stories on absolute nonsense. When it comes to advertisements, however, misinformation and offensive, dodgy claims are on the agenda. Brynja Adam-Radmanic reports on how a group of scientists in Great Britain is making a stand.
The spectrum of pseudoscientific claims stretches into infinity. For example, a company promotes a mixture of three herbs, claiming that it eradicates over 100 types of parasite and recommending, "A complete cleansing be performed twice a year". A competitor praises "Aerobic oxygen" for killing all harmful microbes. Yet another company sells a product that removes "harmful toxins, including fatty acids, cholesterol, urea, sugars, caffeine" overnight. One day, some early career researchers must have become so annoyed by such companies brainwashing the public that they decided to start challenging these dodgy science claims. From food that doesn't contain chemicals to a spray that shields against EMF, young scientists have been contacting organisations to ask for more evidence to support such claims. Now, the "Voice of Young Science" has published a collection of their experiences "There Goes the Science Bit...".
"Voice of Young Science" belongs to 'Sense about Science', a UK charitable trust fighting misconceptions and crude interpretations of science in the public eye. This organisation was founded in 2001 by a group of UK scientists and politicians. In those days, UK newspaper fronts were (and still are) full of stories about mobile phones 'frying your brain', genetically modified 'Frankenstein foods', the 'dangerous' MMR vaccine, experiments using animals and the dangers of cloning. Since then, the members of "Sense about Science" have been trying to coerce the voice of science back to where it belongs, i.e. to the centre of debates. Who else, if not the researchers themselves, should stand up for science, setting the boundaries for pseudoscientific claims? When public discussions are dominated by mistrust and yellow press hysteria, scientists must demonstrate their presence by explaining the secured state of knowledge.
'Sense about Science' urges all scientists to become actively engaged, particularly when debates are controversial or difficult. Over 2,000 scientists and other specialists, ranging from Nobel Laureates to postdoctoral fellows, have signed up to their database, Evidence Base, supporting the organisation as contact persons for questions in their field of research.
Non-scientists following debates about science and medicine in the media often aren't aware about how science works and that scientific results are more than just another opinion. The internal quality standards of science seem so obvious to scientists themselves but they aren't so transparent for the general public. So 'Sense about Science' has published a guide to peer review, explaining to the layman how to ascertain if results have been peer reviewed and why these are considered to be trustworthier.
Another brochure, 'Standing up for Science' aims at helping scientists meet the challenge of going public. The guide is published in partnership with the 'Voice of Young Science' and presents practical tips on how to handle the press, especially for early career scientists confronted with the media for the first time. Experienced scientists and journalists give advice about what to say and what to avoid, when journalists call.
The 'Sense about Science' website is also a starting point for medicine and lifestyle topics in discussion. It delivers facts about bird flu and food additives, genetic engineering and stem cell research, magnetic resonance scans and MMR vaccines. It warns against homeopathic anti-malaria drugs, questions detox pills and other lifestyle drugs.
The shortest and best read, however, is 'Science for Celebrities'. Citing well-known stars like Madonna, Chris de Burgh and Jamie Oliver, the leaflet dives into some of the most famous misconceptions about, for instance, man-made chemicals being inherently dangerous or natural being better; vaccines overloading the immune system or healing by touch alone.
http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/
© for the above image:
Sense About Science
