This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
G'morning! You've already met me, but I'd like to get to know you better and have this column to be a conversation between us. So, in the tradition of Ed Yong's Not Exactly Rocket Science: the Who Are You thread,
"1) Tell me about you. Who are you? Do you have a background in science? If so, what draws you here as opposed to meatier, more academic fare? And if not, what brought you here and why have you stayed? Let loose with those comments.
2) Tell someone else about this blog and in particular, try and choose someone who's not a scientist but who you think might be interested in the type of stuff found in this blog. Ever had family members or groups of friends who've been giving you strange, pitying looks when you try to wax scientific on them? Send 'em here and let's see what they say."
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
3) I'm interested in how you found me, or regularly follow me, through Twitter, Facebook and/or other beyond-RSS mechanisms that you may use to corral your information stream and I may be unfamiliar with. As DrugMonkey asked, "Who are you, what are you doing here, and why do you keep looking at me?"
I couldn't agree more strongly with Ed about this: "And one more really important thing: Every year at least one person says that they have no science background, and they feel intimidated by the folks on the thread who are researchers and professors and what not. Well, dear people, I want to remind you that I started writing because I wanted to be read by you. I still do. Come and have your say."
Please let me know what questions you have about drug development, clinical research, related medicine and ethics questions. I may not immediately know the answer, but I am happy to explore the issue and try to explain.
Let's sit down over coffee or chai and have a chat. I'll bring dessert.
p.s. Never fear--it’s very easy to register if you haven’t already done so–you don’t even have to use your real name. Just click on “register” under the “Post a Comment” section, and you’re good to go.
Credits:
Judy in India: Michael Stone
Coffee Time: Anton Novojilov on Flickr
House Blend Coffee: avlxyz on Flickr
Molecules to Medicine blog banner © Michele Banks