Moral Molecules and Love Drugs: Objectivity, Understanding, and Backtracking
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The Science Communication Project @ISU was founded in 2010 with the goal of enhancing collaborative research on, education for, and the practice of public science communication, broadly conceived. Our biennial symposia- which include public presentations of multidisciplinary research and interactive workshops- bring together a network of scholars who share interests in public engagement of science, environmental communication, natural resource management, and agriscience. Conference proceedings showcase research, evaluations, and critiques of science communication-related practices and phenomena.
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A case study of the ways that research on genetic and neurochemical changes that affect the social and sexual behavior of voles gets framed in the media illustrates the tensions science communicators often face between the dual goals of promoting public understanding while maintaining their objectivity. As a response to this ethical challenge, we argue that communicators could improve existing practices by striving to enable “backtracking.”