SMC Spain amplifies the voices of experts on current topics that provoke controversy.
The sources that collaborate with SMC Spain will multiply their national and international media impact. Register your office to become part of a directory on this website that journalists can consult. Our guides on communication and science can help you in your daily work.
We will rely on you when we contact sources from your organization or when we organize briefing sessions with them. We will provide you with support resources to facilitate your work. You can learn more about our method here.
Having a PhD is not synonymous with omniscience or infallibility. The fields of science are very small and scientists do not know everything, even about their general area. This guide aims to help identify reliable sources away from the noisiest social media profiles.
Thousands of scientists around the world have spent decades studying the Earth's climate and how its evolution is affecting life on the planet, including human life. Their work is channelled through the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose regular reports are an unprecedented effort to reach consensus on what has been learned and communicate it in a way that is useful for decision-making. We offer a quick update on the climate crisis.
"At present, it is not possible to know exactly when and how a volcano may erupt," explains the National Geological Institute (IGN). In other words: it pays to be prepared. Even if you are a journalist. These resources make it easier.
Volcanic monitoring in the Canary Islands must be constant. Not only because the archipelago is "one of the most interesting active volcanic regions on the planet", according to the IGN, but above all because "volcanism in the Canary Islands poses a potential risk to some two million people" who live on the islands or visit them as tourists.
The monographs of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) cause controversy in the public debate when they analyze topics such as meat and cell phone radiation. Interpreting their work rigorously is not easy: in this guide we try to help contextualize their studies.
Reporting on vaccines is not easy, but in recent years many journalists have had to navigate studies and reports full of new terminology and concepts. In this guide, we attempt to clarify some of the most important points for accurate reporting on these medicines.
E-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are alternatives to traditional tobacco that have grown in popularity in recent years. Proponents claim that they serve to "reduce harm" and help quit smoking, while opponents claim that there is no evidence of benefit and that they can introduce young people, non-smokers and ex-smokers to tobacco.
Journalists are not the only generators of information content, but they certainly are the ones who are trained to select, channel, and amplify truthful information and combat misinformation. In crisis situations, where scientific evidence guides decision-making, science communication to society takes on an almost strategic role. Here are some key points for scientists talking to journalists at such times.
The European spacecraft that was to investigate whether Mars harboured life in the past will no longer fly. The satellite that was to study dark energy in the universe is delayed and a robotic telescope at the Teide Observatory stops working. Europe used to spend tens of millions of euros on scientific collaboration with Russia. But no more.
Today the International Space Station (ISS) is completely dependent on Russia to keep it in orbit. Space X spacecraft, which NASA contracts, carry astronauts but cannot propel the ISS to maintain its altitude. A new American spacecraft, Cygnus, which has already conducted a successful propulsion test, is expected to be able to do so.