Tell the Story of Science

By Carol Schadelbauer, February 17, 2014

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So often what is missing from stories about new scientific findings is the scientist’s story. The best science writers will say we should put science in context in order for it to make sense to the public. And, equally important, we need to humanize science by including the back story to keep the reader curious about the next line in the story. What happened in the laboratory that made the researcher’s heart beat faster? Why did the scientist go into this field, and why is he or she so passionate about it? These are questions we ask in order to get a much more interesting story when new research is released. As science writer Michelle Nijhuis says in a New York Times op-ed, “The most memorable science writing also puts humans back in the equation, introducing the reader to both the people behind the science and the people affected by it…”