How credible do teenagers think the news in their digital news feeds is? And where do they get their news from? Around 6,000 pupils have been helping researchers to investigate these questions in a citizen science project involving schools across the whole of Sweden.
Fake news is a topic that is currently generating much debate. But what kind of news is streaming through young people’s digital news feeds? And how trustworthy do young people think this news is? For the first time, researchers and pupils from across Sweden will together be investigating these questions in a mass experiment being run as part of the 2017 Researchers’ Night in Sweden.
ORION is a new collaborative European project to explore ways in which research and funding organisations in life sciences and biomedicine can open up the way they fund, organise and do research. VA (Public & Science) is one of the nine partners in the project. ORION kicks off in Barcelona this week.
The scandal surrounding the surgeon Paolo Macchiarini has led to a fall in confidence in medical research among one third of the Swedish public, who are familiar with the incidents. However, public confidence in researchers in Sweden in general has increased, although it has also weakened. These are the results of the annual VA Barometer conducted by the Swedish non-profit organisation VA (Public & Science).
Anita Pettersson, whose job at the University of Borås involves researching how phosphorus can be recycled, has won the 2016 Swedish Researcher’s Grand Prix and the title of Sweden’s best science communicator. Anita’s presentation captivated both the audience and the expert jury at the final in Stockholm.
In the last two weeks of September, more than 3,000 Swedish pupils will be out on the hunt, with their mobile phones at the ready. Pokémon? No, notice boards! In the Notice Board mass experiment, researchers and pupils will be undertaking pioneering research together.
Despite the Swedish public being aware of the extensive media coverage about the researcher Paolo Macchiarini, trust in researchers remains high, according to a new survey conducted by the Swedish non-profit association Vetenskap & Allmänhet, VA (Public & Science).
The Swedish public’s trust in researchers at universities is rising. 84 percent say that they have fairly or very high trust, compared with 74 percent in the previous year. Nine out of ten Swedes believe it is important for the public to be involved in research and more than half would like personally to get involved, particularly in health research. These are some of the findings from the annual VA Barometer conducted by Swedish non-profit organisation VA (Public & Science).
Sunil Kumar Ramamoorthy, a researcher in renewable plastics at the University of Borås, has won the Swedish 2015 Researchers’ Grand Prix and the title of Sweden’s best science communicator. Sunil’s presentation about plastics manufactured from corn, soybeans and flaxseed captivated both the audience and the jury at the final in Stockholm.
On 25 September it’s time for the European science festival Researchers’ Night that is taking place in 300 cities throughout Europe. In Sweden 27 towns are inviting schoolchildren and the general public to meet scientists in a range of activities, including workshops, science shows, science cafés and behind-the-scenes tours of research labs. The aim of Researchers’ Night is to show that scientists are ordinary people with extraordinary jobs.
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