Since it is of ethical importance for us scientists to be educating the general public about what we do, I figure I'd share some of the latest news on that front:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Tightened+muzzle+scientists+Orwellian/3515345/story.html
Quoting the article: "There is no question that there is an orchestrated campaign at the federal level to make sure that their scientists can't communicate to the public about what they do," says Weaver, adding that the crackdown is seriously undermining morale in federal labs. "Science is about generating new knowledge and communicating it to others."
(This being far from the most recent government meddling in science, if anybody recalls the Statistics Canada debacle this summer.)
It's weird that the scientists mentioned in this article are getting upset about being muzzled by the governments, but most academics are perfectly happy to publish their findings in journals that keep their research behind pay walls, making it almost impossible for the general public to access the information. I think having access to the original papers is more important than having access to a diluted/misinterpreted/sensationalized journalist report.
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