#17 Journalism from STS Science Communication Students 2022 | WeAreSTS

The assignments students do in STS modules today are nothing like what they used to be. These days, they build portfolios with all sorts of things: short writing, long writing, posters, blogs, in-class presentations. Add to these, projects like podcasts, film clips, campaign strategies, briefing papers, debates, and proposals. Research of different kinds. Creativity. And Challenge. We diversify our curriculum because we know the future for our students holds work as varied as we can imagine. Today’s episode offers a sampler of student-made podcasts. These were created by year 3 undergraduates in our science journalism module, run by Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon. The assignment is straightforward: create a three-minute news feature about a recent piece of research at UCL. The piece must be suitable for use on as a news segment for radio or podcast. Students start with a recent press release from the UCL Press Office, and they go from there. The piece must include a short interview segment with a researcher. They have a tight deadline, and they have to work pretty much with the tools they have through a laptop and phone. This is real world work as a freelance journalist. For today, I’ve brought together eight of the ones I like a lot. They’re varied, and they deliver the assignment is different ways. Think of it as a sampler. The whole syllabus for HPSC0107 Science Journalism: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/sites/sts/files/hpsc0107-science_journalism-syllabus_2022-23.pdf   Tracks   TRACK 1. New X-ray Tech Promises Better Diagnostics for Heart Disease, Gracie Enticknap This newscast introduces a new-to-research x-ray technology called HiP-CT which images organs at multiple scales with better clarity than previously achievable. I discuss HiP-CT with a researcher who is using it to study the evolution of congenital heart disease in blue baby syndrome and children with one heart ventricle. We discuss the aims of his research, and eventual clinical application and hospital usage of this technology, which could have revolutionary benefit to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases. Interviewee: Professor Andrew Cook, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Zayed Centre for Research Credits: Stock Media provided by baldwinphilly / Pond5   TRACK 2. Covid-19 Impact on Gut Microbiome, Marcus Chow It is well established that the digestive system, its microbiota, and the immune system are linked and influence each other. With COVID-19 coming to an endemic, much of the research interest now lies in how it can shape the microbiota and how the microbiota can influence the patients’ symptoms and long term effects. Wong et has investigated how COVID-19 interact with and in the gastrointestinal tract to better understand the implications of disease management, transmission, and infection control. In this article, we review the important gastrointestinal aspects of the disease. Interviewee: Sunny H Wong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Credits: None   TRACK 3. Marketing Infant Formula against Breast Feeding, Nadya Rauch Let’s take a critical look at infant formula marketing, which the WHO recently condemned for misleading parents and undermining breastfeeding. Breastmilk has key benefits for infants that can’t be replicated in formula milk, such as stems cells and antibodies that help protect infants from infection. We talk to infant formula expert Dr. Fewtrell from UCL’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health to debunk some myths on whether infant formula can improve cognitive outcomes for children. Interviewee: Dr. Mary Fewtrell, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child He