Crastina is a platform for the exchange of experience, knowledge and inspiration regarding both scientific peer-to-peer communication and science dissemination

What? An international network of (mostly young) people who love to communicate science & tech.
Why? We think science needs to be communicated with more passion and professionalism.
Where? On our website with interviews & resources + on social media + on Skype and IRL.
Who? A content group (the Crew), a think tank (the Academy), + lots of friends & contacts.
When? Right now – as a matter of fact, we’ve just geared up.

Using poetic verse for scientific abstracts – a study by Sam Illingworth

Can the accessibility of a scientific article be improved if the original abstract is interpreted in poetic verse? Sam Illingworth – SciComm teacher at Manchester University and science poet – recently decided to explore this. The…

Opinion & Reflection

Masters of illustration 1: Haeckel and “The Arts Forms of Nature”

Visual arts and science may have very little in common, but when the two connect, a new form of both may be created. One of the most stunning examples of this are the illustrations of Ernst Haeckel, German naturalist. This is the first in…

Interviews

Talking science from the top of a soap box

How do you transform public spaces into an arena for public learning and scientific debate? Invite top female scientists to talk to people while standing on a soap box in the street! Soapbox Science is a public outreach platform, which also…

Our current theme: “SciComm in Africa”

Pearl Osirike: “The beginning of a new era: science communication in Africa”

A Crastina Column by Pearl Osirike, Ph.D. student at West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana.

Read the Crastina Column

This time, we will learn more about SciComm activities emerging from a geographical area which is often overlooked in the general discussion about science and its communication: Africa.

On the one hand, it is true that African academia has to cope with persistent challenges like poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, staff shortages and recruitment problems. The everyday struggle of experimental scientists is hard to imagine for those who work in labs in Europe and North America. For example, the difficulty of transporting tissue samples and biomolecules sometimes add weeks and months to projects – parcels are lost, frozen samples become thawed and are ruined on the way, et cetera.

On the other hand, anyone who studies the websites of African universities and research institutes will be met by an impressing vitality and optimism. Innumerous projects are ongoing across this vast continent, and many of them include SciComm activities which all provide a lesson for anyone ready to read, ask and reflect.

We have rarely felt such anticipation when initiating a theme here at Crastina; we are confident that we all – authors and readers have much – to learn.

For The Crastina Crew

Olle Bergman, Project Leader