kaijutegu: One annelid, three headlines. New Scientist- good headline, explains exactly what was fo
kaijutegu: One annelid, three headlines. New Scientist- good headline, explains exactly what was found, doesn’t sensationalizeCosmos- ok headline- “bizarre” kinda clickbaity, but hey, it IS bizarre- it’s got this really neat symbiotic sulfur-eating bacteria that lives in its gills and a tiny digestive system- and yes, it was found in the PhilippinesPopular Science: If you’re a science writer, then act like it. Calling a harmless shipworm a “horrifying nightmare monster” is irresponsible. It’s not a monster, it’s just a worm. And it’s not a new species, either. Linnaeus described the thing in 1735. It’s just that this was the first live specimen ever found. Science faces enough challenges in communication. One of the biggest problems is that scientific writing is often inaccessible and jargony to people who don’t know the specific lingo. Popular science writing online can help to change that, but not through clickbait and not through trying to gross people out. Don’t scare people away from embracing discovery for clicks on Facebook. Love this post so much. Science is awesome on it’s own. There is zero need to add click-bait sensationalism to it. STOP IT. -- source link
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