Responding to Uncertainty - Nature 437 pp 1

Read an editorial article from Nature Magazine on the work of the Science Media Centre. Click here to download PDF.

Bob Ward (Senior Press and PR Manager, Royal Society) said:
"The SMC meets the needs of both the scientific community and the media."

Robin McKie (Science Editor, The Observer); after Alexander Litvinenko Polonium-210 poisoning story of November 2006:
"I thought the SMC played a blinder last Friday when the polonium story broke. You had every angle covered in a about an hour. Fantastic! Seriously, you have a great team."

David Shukman (BBC World Affairs Correspondent); after receiving an update of our future briefings:
"With the SMC around, we're never knowingly underbriefed..... seriously, these are all good topics and I'll try to be there."

Professor Sir Michael Marmot (Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL) said:
"Many thanks for organising the press briefing. I think we can certainly be pleased with the coverage so far. Your vigour and enthusiasm are infectious. It was fun working with you."

Roger Highfield (Science Editor, Daily Telegraph); after 'chemical toxins scare' story, November 2006:
"[Writing this article] would not have been possible without your excellent quotes! Thanks, and keep up the fine work."

Wayne Elliott (Head of Press, Met Office); after the Gulf Stream Briefing:
"We all thought it went very well indeed and was superbly interesting as well. I am very impressed by your professionalism and skills! Great to work with happy and un-flappable people as well."

Professor Christopher Shaw (Neurologist, Institute of Psychiatry) said:, said:
"I think the newspaper and radio coverage was almost universally positive and much of the success of the day was down to your excellent organisational skills."

Lawrence McGinty (Science Correspondent, ITN) said:
"The experts giving briefings are real experts and not self appointed. They have opinions but not axes to grind."

Lucy Brunt-Jenner (Senior Press Officer, DTI); after a press briefing with Sir David King (Chief Scientific Officer), said:
"It was a great turn out and I thought the whole event went really well. An excellent and professional service from the SMC team as usual. Sir David was very pleased with how it went and I thought the pieces in the Guardian, Independent and Times were all very good, as was Newsnight. I also saw it on Channel 4 at lunchtime and the Newsround piece looks good too."

Dr Anne McLaren FRS (Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge); after a press briefing on human-animal embryos:
"I thought that Press Briefing had gone well - but I was quite bowled over by radio, TV, newspapers, the following day! Then today, I got back to Cambridge and my emails, and appreciated the sheer volume of newsprint that that one Press Briefing had generated! You must be really proud of what you do - it's fantastic. Keep up the good work!"

Victoria Fletcher (Health Editor, Daily Express); after Alexander Litvinenko Polonium-210 poisoning:
"40 minutes from announcement to reaction in my inbox. Brilliant guys!"

Dr Geoff Jenkins (Senior climatologist, Met Office); after the Gulf Stream Briefing:
"Wasn't it all great fun! My wife rang me to say I was even on Newsround, which is a first - just the right level for me. You did a brilliant job at packing them in. I was impressed with the professional way you did things and the friendly atmosphere you have; it would be great to work with you all again soon."

Emma Ross (Journalist, Associated Press) said:
"The SMC is an amazing resource that gives me experts I can trust. All scientists speak authoritatively but it is really difficult to know which ones are good - and you give me experts I know are reliable."

Professor Roger Pedersen (stem-cell expert, University of Cambridge); after a press briefing, said:
"Many thanks again for hosting yesterday's press briefing. I thought the turnout was great, the questions of a high quality, and the whole atmostphere fantastic. I would add a fifth great asset to the list of 4 reasons to be doing stem cell research in the UK: the Science Media Centre!"

Carolan Davidge (Press and PR Director, Cancer Research UK) said:
"In a really short period of time, the Science Media Centre has made an enormous impact on science media relations in the UK."

Professor Robin Murray (Psychiatrist, Institute of Psychiatry) said:
"It was a pleasure to see how to run a press conference properly and it was great to see all the coverage. Thanks for all your expertise!"