How Scientists Communicate

"Let's start with a simple question: what do scientists actually do? In most cases, they do research, the goal of which is to learn more about the world in all its aspects, whether the topic is our own bodies, the smallest particles which make up matter, or the vastest reaches of the universe. Their research goal may be to fight disease, feed the world, create new technologies, understand our climate, or any of a million other objectives specific to different areas and disciplines. The point of all this research then is to add to our storehouse of human knowledge, whether with practical consequences in mind or sometimes for the goal of simply 'understanding more'. We see the outputs and benefits of this research all around us every day, in medicine, technology, food, communications and countless other facets of our science-filled lives, and can read about our state of knowledge in books, websites and articles. However, behind every achievement, benefit, fact, theory or argument, seldom seen or appreciated, there are the scientists whose work has given rise to it. Science is a fundamentally human endeavour, driven by the hard work, curiosity, commitment and ambition of researchers, and sometimes complicated by human factors like jealousy, competitiveness, insecurity and (rarely, we hope) dishonesty"--