Combating the Rise of Anti-Science through Community Outreach

“How is your research useful?” I have been asked some variation of this question by family members, people from my hometown, even strangers making small talk at a wedding. To be fair, the benefits for humanity of studying the cellular biology of paper wasp ovaries are not obvious. Yet I enjoy answering this question, as I take this question as an opportunity to flesh out my elevator pitch. My method is to explain how many organisms pause their reproduction in response to stress, which can explain many examples of human sterility.I believe that reframing my pitch has been necessary to counteract the qualms of people who are hesitant about science, especially in the current climate. Browsing social media, it does not take long to find unqualified people using their platforms to spread misinformation and anti-science rhetoric to their large online audiences. The average person does not have the time to fact-check everything seen on TikTok or Instagram. But as Peter J. Hotez, the author of The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science—A Scientist’s Warning, stated in an interview, researchers need to actively combat disinformation and restore people’s trust in them by improving science communication beyond the academic/industrial bubble (Dunavan 2024).