"More pipettes and fewer tablets are needed in classrooms to foster knowledge and scientific vocations"

"Have you noticed that everything around you is science: the cell phone you have in your purse, the fiber of the clothes you wear, the car that brought you to work, the beer you are going to drink this afternoon or the last vaccine you had". This is how Enrique Cobos, professor at the University of Navarra and science journalist, puts it in his latest book, La ciencia es noticia (Science is news).

However, despite the fact that science is a protagonist in our daily lives, "we have left it in a delicate position," according to the author. "We only remember it when we want to know how to act in the face of a chemical leak, a food contamination or when we suffer from a disease. The pandemic is a clear example of this," he says. "Scientists have been working for many years (and are) underfunded and, on the other hand, we have allowed the flight of talent to other countries. It should not come a critical episode to bet on scientific investment or to simply believe that science is important for progress and welfare."

The book La ciencia es noticia includes 10 interviews with scientists on topics such as Nutrition, Mathematics, Nursing, Biology, Nanomedicine, Environment, Biomedicine, Chemistry and Big Data, among others. It also presents, through news, where the research of some of our young people is going, and finally, it includes informative opinion articles that shed light on current scientific issues.

Scientific knowledge as a basis for better decisions

"The lack of scientific knowledge is one of the problems of our society, which extends from education to political decision-making," says the journalist. And in his opinion, if society is not informed it runs the risk of being manipulated. "If we have scientific information at our fingertips and a willingness to learn we will understand better why it is important to recycle, not to waste water or not to throw chewing gum or cigarette butts on the ground." The overabundance of information and the lack of dissemination are some of the causes, in his opinion, of this lack of knowledge.

To gradually create a scientifically literate society, the author describes four forces(schools, scientific institutions, experts and the media). Regarding the first, he calls for educational models that place students at the forefront of problem solving. "We need to teach them in the laboratory or in the field, and provide them with the techniques to come up with solutions. We have gone crazy bringing new technologies into the classroom and the leap is necessary, but I am convinced that scientific vocations come more from pipettes than from tablets," he stresses.

Regarding the role of the public authorities, he stresses that the first thing is to recognize that countries are making progress thanks to science. Secondly, that there should be coherence in decisions and that more and more scientists should participate in them. He is also committed to investing in science and doing so in three directions: "To ensure stability in the professional careers of our scientists and that they develop relevant research projects; to establish educational models that allow the creation of a scientific culture and new vocations; and to invest in informing society about scientific advances in an informative way".

Enrique Cobos is a science journalist and works in communication at the Faculty of Science, Science Museum and Institute of Biodiversity and Environment of the University of Navarra, where he also teaches Environmental Communication. He has a degree in Audiovisual Communication, a master's degree in Radio, a master's degree in Communication Management, a PhD in Communication and an MBA. He has worked in various media, has writtenbooks and scientific articles on strategic communication, and has edited science popularization books.