European Science Communication Institute

Your daily dose of knowledge

Global food prices surge as heat, drought and rain disrupt crops The study highlights how climate-driven food price spikes can aggravate public health risks and social unrest.

Extreme heat and drought across Europe and the world have caused food prices to rise sharply in recent years, a worrying trend for consumers.

www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...

#SciComm #ClimateChange

Your daily dose of knowledge

Back to uni, but this time as guest speakers!

Natalie and Larissa recently spoke at @marumunibremen.bsky.social and Uni Oldenburg about ESCI as a #SciComm company and alternative career paths for scientist.

Curious about sci-comm careers? Reach out!

#ESCIatWork  #CareersInScience

Deep-Sea Microbes Could Tackle Microplastics:
A new study suggests deep-sea microbes might hold the key to breaking down specific microplastic types.

Will I remember this? Individuals with high levels of compulsivity tend to forego using reminders to help them during memory tasks.

Do you use reminders — or trust your memory?

A new study finds that people with obsessive tendencies often avoid memory aids, even when they would help.

Overconfidence might be part of the problem.

@elife.bsky.social‬

Global warming is triggering earthquakes in the Alps Study provides first solid link between climate change and earthquake hazard

Climate change may be causing earthquakes.

Evidence from the Alps links glacier melt to rising seismic activity — with implications far beyond.

‪@sciencenews.bsky.social‬

🎨 Switching from research to science illustration isn’t a typical path. 

In this video, illustrator Natalie Höppner talks about what made this transition & the job in general challenging. And she shares 1 tip for anyone wanting to visualise their science.

▶️ Find out more
#ScienceIllustration

When Did Nature Burst Into Vivid Color? | Quanta Magazine Scientists reconstructed 500 million years of evolutionary history to reveal which came first: colorful signals or the color vision needed to see them.

Why is nature so colourful? 

Did animals evolve to see colour — or did colour evolve to be seen?

This article in @quantamagazine.bsky.social offers fascinating insights 👇

Love summer but hate winter? Here’s why your mood shifts so much with the seasons The key answer lies in our brain – and how our body is hardwired to respond to light and temperature changes.

Feeling off this summer?

Seasonal affective disorder can hit in summer too—not just winter.

This @uk.theconversation.com‬ article 👇 explores how the seasons affect our mood

Data The ReICO project provides internationally comparable indicators on R&I talent to support evidence-based policymaking and research

Which countries offer the best working conditions for a research career?

A new global database compares research systems across 53 countries—pay, mobility, job outcomes and more.

Explore the tool here 👇 

All jokes aside, reporting matters.

It keeps EU research transparent, on track, and accountable.

It shows what projects achieve and how vital science communication is. it makes results visible and impact clear.
And yes, snacks help too.

#EUReports #BehindTheScenes #ESCIatWork

It’s that time again… EU reports are due.
Which means:
📊 Progress
📁 Deliverables
💥 Acronym jungle
🧠 Mild existential crisis

Let’s be honest — it’s a journey. 👇

How Much Energy Does It Take To Think? | Quanta Magazine Studies of neural metabolism reveal our brain’s effort to keep us alive and the evolutionary constraints that sculpted our most complex organ.

How much energy does it take to think? 🧠

Surprisingly little. Your brain burns nearly the same amount of energy whether you are solving problems or zoning out.

Fascinating insights in @quantamagazine.bsky.social‬ 👇 

A guide to help CNRS scientists express themselves in public The CNRS has produced a guide to public speaking to help scientists who wish to do so.

Speaking publicly about your science can be difficult🫣

💙Good thing, then, that the French state research centre (CNRS) has a communication guide on public speaking for scientists.
👀Check out the toolbox! Take your public speaking skills to the next level! #ScienceCom

www.cnrs.fr/en/update/gu...

Research or #ScienceCommunication? 
You’re not alone with this question!

An internship can give insights & can help you decide. 🧭
Maybe you discover it is not the right fit. Maybe you find your calling, like our former intern Dalia Puig. 

💡Hear about her experience doing a SciComm internship

#SciComm

What's happening with mis and disinformation? May 30, 2025: A Guardian Investigation found that over half of the top 100 TikToks in the mental health space contain misinformation.

🤔 Is eating an orange in the shower really the key to reducing anxiety? Is ESCI secretly baking the world’s largest cake?

❗️Mis and disinformation is a growing issue in today's world.

Put your knowledge to the test: Do you know what's real?
swlondoner.shorthandstories.com/what-is-happ...

Ditching animation for everyday objects. 🧪 We built a mini studio & visualised some processes behind algae-to-fuel @safproject.bsky.social with oil bottles (no boring charts!) & biogas bubbles (shout out to Fabian's lung power!). Check out the Behind-the-scenes pics! #SciComm

Running a marathon pushes your brain to its limits. 🧠🏃

New research shows the brain may burn its own myelin—fatty insulation around nerves—for fuel during extreme endurance. The effect is temporary and reversible.

🔗 nationalgeographic.com/…/marathon-running-brain-myelin

What we eat doesn’t just fuel our bodies — it can shape how we feel. 🥦🧠

Discover how the gut and brain are connected, and how certain foods may help lift your mood and support mental well-being.

foodunfolded.com/article/good-mood-food-the-link-between-what-you-eat-and-how-you-feel

🎬 Making science understandable and engaging on video isn’t always easy.

What makes the job exciting and where do the challenges lie?

Hear it from our video producer @esci-corinna01.bsky.social . She has been turning complex topics into compelling videos since 17 years. 

#ScienceCommunication

A summer evening wouldn’t be the same without cicadas singing — and they’ve been at it for 47 million years. 🦗

Scientists have found the oldest known singing cicada fossil, and their chorus started long before humans.

sciencenews.org/article/cicada-concert-47-million-years-ago

Covering health misinformation: What journalists need to rethink Journalists and public health experts share strategies for building trust, using careful language and improving coverage of health misinformation during a workshop at the AHCJ annual conference.

"Explain how science works, not just what it says", is 1 of 12 tips for building trust in health reporting, shared by experts

The advice is generally useful for #ScienceJournalism
Read all 12 tips:

Have you seen our latest ESCI's insights on skills that career starters in #ScienceCommunication should have?

Check it out 👇

📚 What is your favourite popular scientific book?  
‘News from an Unknown Universe’ from Frank Schätzing. Learning about marine life while drifting with the ocean currents in a submarine just makes for a great read. Although some of the scientific facts are now outdated, it's still a timeless read.

🤿 What are your hobbies?
My hobbies are swimming, diving, brewing tea, reading and DIY projects. I enjoy being in the water. It’s active, calming and helps me recharge. Brewing tea and reading let me slow down and explore new ideas, while DIY projects are a fun way to be creative and get hands-on.

🫖 What is your favourite beverage while working? 
Tea, definitely. I’m obsessed with tea, especially green tea. There's just something special about taking a moment to prepare a nice cup of tea.

🚲 How do you commute to work?
I get to work by bike every day. I love the few minutes outdoors and the flexible it gives me.

✨ Why does working at ESCI excite you?
Working at ESCI excites me because it combines three things that I care deeply about: science, communication and collaboration. I love making complex topics more understandable and relevant, particularly when they relate to nature and the environment.