Tomorrow I’ll be hosting a post-mortem of the press and public information office interactions around the big story from Science last week about arsenic-based life.
It’s a fascinating case study with lots of teachable moments about what can go wrong, what can go right, and how a lot of people need to catch up with how the world actually works and not just try to live in the world they think ought to exist.
I’m by no means an expert in the science but the conversation won’t be relitigating the science (which is still going on in some circles), but looking at the issues for information flow.
If you are interested in the timeline of events, you should check out this wonderful post by Ed Yong.
The event will be held in the AGU press room in San Francisco. Press registration at the conference is required to get in.
Reporting on Cutting-Edge Science: The Intriguing Case of ‘Arsenic and Odd Life’
Thursday, 16 December
1100h
Earlier this month researchers published in SCIENCE the discovery of microbes that use arsenic in the absence of phosphorus, an element thought to be essential to life. Possibly one of the biggest biology stories of the year, the news has sparked an intense debate on media hype, suitable venues for scientific dialogue, and what constitutes scientific authority. This panel discussion will look at the challenges in reporting on controversial research in the era of instant news and the ramifications of conducting follow-up scientific debate in the blogosphere.
Participants
- Ron Oremland
Senior Research Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA; co-author of Science paper - Robert Irion
Director, Science Communication Program, University of California at Santa Cruz; former contributing correspondent, Science - Charles Petit
Lead Writer, Knight Science Journalism Tracker, Berkeley, California, USA. - Andrew Steele
Senior Staff Scientist, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, D.C., USA (via telephone)
Moderator
- David Harris
Freelance science communicator, Blogger at www.theenlightenedpio.com