It's been 5 months since I sat my last exam at university, and I can tell you, I miss my studies terribly. So now I've had a good long break, moved house, spent lots of quality time with my children, and applied for vast numbers of jobs, I think it's time to get back on the proverbial horse and do some writing!
In my opinion, the communication of science and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects is vastly important, for several reasons. We need to engage young minds, because they are the future of STEM subjects - the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. We need to show them how utterly cool our fields are. We need to inspire and delight. It is also vital that we engage the general public. This is important for several reasons, not least the promotion of rational thought and the suppression of misinformation and popular myths, but also to promote charities that fund vital research. And again, our fields are really cool, and I for one want to enthuse! Citizen science projects are hugely valuable in the promotion of science (and other fields), and the understanding of complex research. But it also takes good old fashioned word of mouth to spread the love for STEM subjects.
In that spirit, I write this blog. But why stop there? Following on from the success of social network pages that are intended to promote science (my particular STEM subject), many of which I follow, I have opened my own social network page! It occurred to me that there are few opportunities available to the lay person to ask scientists questions, so why not provide that opportunity myself? My page was started 6 months ago, and it is still small, with just 30 followers, but already I have had some great questions. There have been questions on a range of subjects, from the epigentics of mid line defects such as ankyloglossia (tongue tie) and the benefits of folate consumption, 'does water float?' (a favourite of mine!) and a complex quantum physics question about the change in quark flavour in collisions involving hydrogen atoms. Fortunately, I have recruited a physicist to answer such questions, because try as I might, I could not get to the bottom of the matter! I'll stick with medical and molecular biology I think.
So. If anyone who reads this blog would like to join me and my fellow science nerds in enthusing about science, or would like to ask questions, please come to Facebook and search for Ask a Scientist a Question, or use this link: https://www.facebook.com/AskAScientistAQuestion. We (or rather, mostly I) do our best to provide accurate information, and as much as possible, reliable academic references and/or further reading is included. Please feel free to contribute anything you find interesting, and make corrections where you see fit. Science is, after all, all about the quest for knowledge, and we find success in our failures. In science, it is good to be proved wrong!
Now, what do you have to look forward to here on Serious Mad Science? Well, news of interesting and inspiring science comes thick and fast, and there is a wealth of topics to cover. I'm going to start with a series of posts on stem cells. In discussing a module I undertook on this subject with friends, it became apparent that it is unclear to many lay people what exactly a stem cell is or how they work, the difference between the different types of stem cell, the concept of potency and how this applies to research, and the application of stem cell therapies in medicine, the reporting of which is often vague in the popular press. This was my inspiration for this series. So watch this space!
