Everyday immunology: Disseminating the science produced at the university for the society

• Grant number: 24/00493-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Applied Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Niels Olsen Saraiva Câmara
• Grantee: Caio Vinicius da Silva Cavalcanti
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/05264-7 - Cell metabolism, microbiota and immune system: new paradigms in renal diseases physiopathology, AP.TEM

Abstract

It is known that science communication in Brazil faces several challenges, as scientific literacy is a basic problem in the country. The most significant scientific dissemination began in the 19th century and since then, knowledge has been restricted to a portion of the population and the science disseminated does not always match the science produced by research institutions. In this sense, there is an understanding that it is necessary to bring the scientific community and society closer together, given that science carried out within the walls of the Academy impacts people's lives, whether in the human, exact or biological sciences.In a society increasingly trapped in "doomscrolling", the name given to the practice of compulsively consuming bad news, it is not strange that social media users have the desire to stay informed by incessantly searching for new facts and curiosities and, over time, , this action of continuing to scroll the device screen becomes increasingly involuntary and, then, the individual ends up jumping from one bad news to another in an uninterrupted manner. The consequence of this appears as a wave of nervousness and worry, in which the individual is always looking for answers. Therefore, there is a need for information vehicles to reinvent themselves and adapt to the new virtual forms of an extremely digitalized society, without losing the quality of authentic and grounded reporting. This aspect fits precisely the objective of the so-called "Communicate Science" which brings together large media outlets, such as Canal Futura, and research support centers (FAPESP and Fundação Roberto Marinho) with the aim of promoting the development and creation of media content. to be consumed by the digital society, youth and users of social networks, but bringing relevant subjects that are not aimed at fanfare, "likes" and views, but rather an environment of scientific evidence, veracity and dissemination of information that, ultimately, reduces the distance between the lay community and the Academy. In this scenario, observing the latest historical events in which the reliability of biological sciences - with a focus on the area of Immunology - has become the target of defamation, develop informative material on chronic kidney diseases (CKD) and their relationship with new areas of research such as the microbiota and the immune system, which are being updated daily with new discoveries that reshape pathophysiological paradigms, it is crucial so that, based on society's contact with this topic on social networks, science can be seen as producing knowledge reliable. Regarding the relevance of CKD in the social context, this disease is interpreted as a global health problem, when taken into account the fact that in the United States, where epidemiological studies are frequently renewed, it is estimated that almost 1 adult in every 7 is affected by CKD and, recent data indicate that mortality resulting from CKD has doubled in the last twenty years, therefore, new hypotheses appear as a way of trying to explain and understand what may be behind these pathologies and how to expand this knowledge to the society.