Changing Paradigms in Science Communication in the Post COVID Era

250-257COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a sea of changes in our society and human civilisation. The respect and public acceptance for science gained more significance in the COVID-19 lockdown period. Science news has been placed on the front pages of all newspapers consistently for several months. The influence of the internet as a communication medium has gained more prominence and irrespective of age everyone used it to gain information about COVID-19. In science, new culture of collaboration and open access publications gained popularity. Similarly in science communication, conferences and seminars have been shifted to online mode and usage of VR and AR has been effectively incorporated. This review paper will discuss various new tools that have emerged for science communication during the COVID pandemic time

Citations to popular science magazines: a case of Science Reporter

Popular science magazines are not considered scholarly publications by the academic and scientific community. Publishing in popular science magazines is not considered for academic appraisals or career advancements. Because of this, many researchers who have a passion for creative writing shy away from publishing in science magazines. Even though there are studies that have used the ‘Cited Reference Search’ feature to rank non-indexed journals, no such studies were carried out to rank popular science magazines. In the present study, we analyzed the articles cited by various citation databases. The study found that a considerable number of articles published in Science Reporter, one of the oldest and most prominent English science magazines published in India, have found a place in various citation databases like JCR and Google Scholar. The results of the present study can be used to rank the quality of science magazines and popularize popular science writing among the scientific community

Creating Next Generation Interactive Science Magazines with QR code

170-177Science magazines play a major role in the popularization of science among the public and creating scientific temper in the society. They act as a bridge between the scientific community and the society. Even though there are more than 50 science magazines published across the globe, very few have maintained consistency in publishing. Scientific American (started in 1845), Popular Science (1872), MIT Technology Review (1899) and American Scientist (1913) are very few that have been consistently published and have crossed the century mark.   But these magazines are read mainly by the academic elite, and not by students or lay men. Publishing science magazines is not an attractive business as it is hard to find advertisements and subscriptions. This has affected many regional and national science magazines brought out by publishing houses and individuals. In the long run magazines have life only if they can maintain readership.   In this era of digitization, science magazines should be made interactive with QR codes (Quick Response Code). Readers can scan the QR code using their smart phones and instantly view the contents of the magazine in a more interactive manner as videos or podcasts using web 4.0 technologies, which can be shared through social media platforms

Creating Next Generation Interactive Science Magazines with QR code

Science magazines play a major role in the popularization of science among the public and creating scientific temper in the society. They act as a bridge between the scientific community and the society. Even though there are more than 50 science magazines published across the globe, very few have maintained consistency in publishing. Scientific American (started in 1845), Popular Science (1872), MIT Technology Review (1899) and American Scientist (1913) are very few that have been consistently published and have crossed the century mark. But these magazines are read mainly by the academic elite, and not by students or lay men. Publishing science magazines is not an attractive business as it is hard to find advertisements and subscriptions. This has affected many regional and national science magazines brought out by publishing houses and individuals. In the long run magazines have life only if they can maintain readership. In this era of digitization, science magazines should be made interactive with QR codes (Quick Response Code). Readers can scan the QR code using their smart phones and instantly view the contents of the magazine in a more interactive manner as videos or podcasts using web 4.0 technologies, which can be shared through social media platforms

Changing Paradigms in Science Communication in the Post COVID Era

COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a sea of changes in our society and human civilisation. The respect and public acceptance for science gained more significance in the COVID-19 lockdown period. Science news has been placed on the front pages of all newspapers consistently for several months. The influence of the internet as a communication medium has gained more prominence and irrespective of age everyone used it to gain information about COVID-19. In science, new culture of collaboration and open access publications gained popularity. Similarly in science communication, conferences and seminars have been shifted to online mode and usage of VR and AR has been effectively incorporated. This review paper will discuss various new tools that have emerged for science communication during the COVID pandemic time

Report – 107th Indian Science Congress : Science Communicators’ Meet

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Two Decades of Human Genome Project

28-31The Human Genome Project is a golden landmark in the history of science. Two decades ago nobody would have thought of sequencing and reading what is written in the own genome

Hortus Malabaricus Celebrating the Tricentennial of a Botanic Epic

26-28Hortus Malabaricus is a truly gargantuan effort at knowledge building about the Malabar region’s rich flora across various kinds of experts, countries and time. Complied by the Dutch Governor of Cochin in the 1600s, and translated into contemporary taxonomy by Prof. K.S. Manilal, the meticulous chronicle remains relevant even today

In Conversation – From Cockroach Milk to Bangalore Bio-Cluster

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Obaid Siddiqi: Man Who Changed the Outlook of Biological Sciences in India

19-23The man who worked on the functioning of the brain, ironically died of a brain injury recently. Prof. Obaid Siddiqui, the man who is regarded as the father of modern biology in India, will always be remembered for his stellar contributions