Rapid Reactions: responding to breaking news. The demands of the 24-hour media machine mean that news journalists often don’t have the luxury of time to track down the best scientists when a science story lands on their desks, so availability can sometimes win out over expertise. This is where the Science Media Centre steps in. When a story breaks – whether it’s the latest flu epidemic, health scare or a potential nuclear crisis – the SMC persuades leading experts to drop everything and engage with the story, then contacts journalists at all the major news outlets to offer those experts for interviews or immediate comment.
Roundups: putting new research into context. One of the other ways the SMC ensures that the media have easy access to scientists and their views is by offering journalists a variety of comments from scientists reacting to the latest research. This service differs from our ‘Rapid Reactions’ as scientists have time to react before new research is announced, rather than in response to breaking news.
With access to embargoed journals before publication, we can pick stories of most interest to journalists, asking third party experts to provide comments and information to put research into context before it appears in the media. The SMC’s unique Roundups help busy journalists critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of new research, and highlight when studies are very preliminary or display a correlation that should not be read as causation. Equally, when leading scientists are excited about a significant study this can reassure journalists that the study should feature strongly in their coverage.
Irish scientists comment on potential US tariffs on pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland. Prof John McHale, Established Professor and … read more
Irish scientists comment on a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has hit central Myanmar. Prof Chris Bean, Senior Professor and … read more
Irish scientists comment on the upcoming solar eclipse in the UK and Ireland. Dr Ryan Milligan, Astrophysics Research Centre, … read more
Irish scientists comment on a power outage caused by an electrical substation fire that has caused Heathrow airport to close. … read more
This study looked at available data taken from countries across the world to see how rates of incidence in breast … read more
Irish scientists comment on a suspected case of Avian flu detected in Northern Ireland. Professor Ian Brown, Group Leader … read more
Irish and UK based scientists comment on the first case of Clade 1 Mpox detected in Ireland. Prof Eoin … read more
This study looked for microplastics and nanoplastics (millionths and billionths of a metre in size) in the brain and liver, … read more
Irish scientists comment on the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Environmental Indicators Ireland report for 2024. Dr Salem Gharbia, Head … read more
Irish scientists comment on DeepSeek, a new AI Chatbot. Dr Christopher Baker, Research Fellow, School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering … read more
Irish scientists comment on a human case of Avian flu detected in the UK, as announced by UKHSA. Dr … read more
Irish scientists comment on Storm Eowyn. Dr Barry Hayes, Associate Professor in Electrical Power Systems, University College Cork, said: … read more
This global commission report aims to redefine how obesity is diagnosed. The report suggests that looking solely at Body Mass Index … read more
Scientists comment on Ireland’s cold weather. Dr Jennifer Keenahan, Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, said: … read more
Irish scientists comment on flu case numbers. Dr Connor Bamford, Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, said: … read more
Irish scientists comment on food safety at Christmas. Prof Colin Hill, APC Microbiome Ireland and School of Microbiology, University … read more
This study looked at a range of countries and territories to compare how rates of colorectal cancer have changed in … read more
H5N1 is a strain of flu that originally was found in birds, but can infect livestock, and humans. This study … read more
Scientists comment on Storm Bert. Dr Jennifer Keenahan, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, said: “Storm Bert … read more
This editorial from academics in Australia and Sweden looked at the opposition from countries as part of the World Trade … read more
