Nobel Laureate Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan stressed the importance of sound scientific communication in the current climate of information overload via artificial intelligence and social media.
In a world where most people rely on social networking sites like Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook, it is easy for misinformation to masquerade as credible scientific evidence and for those who have stakes in a particular project to present a biased perspective.
It is important for the public to know what is and isn’t the truth. Scientific information must always be verified by authoritative sources before being disseminated, he added.
He was speaking at an interactive session at the Jai Hind College, Mumbai organised by the National Centre for Science Communicators (NCSC) on Saturday. Dr ‘Venki’ Ramakrishnan is a renowned structural biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2009) along with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath for their research on the structure and function of ribosomes.
‘Strong Foundation in Basic Sciences Essential for Research’
He emphasised the need for a thorough base in the basic sciences before moving to the field of applied sciences for a strong, well-rounded scientific foundation when moving on to research.
“It is important to have a good scientific base; that is in physics, chemistry, math and biology. As well as a good base in English. Not just because you want to talk fancy, but because you’d need it to communicate,” he said. At the same time, he pointed out the importance of education in the vernacular medium.
“Sometimes students from say China, Japan and Germany learn science not in English, but in their vernacular. Similarly in India, when I was studying, there must have been only around five percent (of students receiving their education) in the English medium.”
‘Make Science Engaging to Attract Bright Young Minds’
On the topic of India’s place in the global scientific ecosystem, he said “Parents in India will not encourage their children to pursue careers in the arts like music, or even basic sciences. They want their children to become engineers. There are certainly bright children here.”
He noted that it is important to make the subject engaging to ensure the interest of the young people when it comes to pursuing careers in science.
‘Funding Should Reflect Scientific Value, Not Bureaucratic Decisions’
Discussing funding issues in the scientific sector he said that it is not up to those who know what the value of their work is, but entirely up to those who control the budget. Those authorities might not understand the importance of the particular study that is necessary for scientific progress and it is difficult to make them understand the same.
‘Bridge the Gap Between Researchers and Science Communicators’
Dr Ramakrishnan also went on to talk about the differences in scientific temperament among the those in the community. Some scientists are better suited in the laboratories while others are better at showcasing their work to the outside world. “We need to bridge that gap,” he said.
Dr Venki Ramakrishnan is the former President of the Royal Society of London. Currently he’s a group leader at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) at Cambridge.
He’s also the author of two acclaimed books, Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome (2018) and more recently Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and The Quest for Immortality (2024).
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