“Unless they help fairies to sing and dance, my wife will demand mozzie genocide”.
Yes, this quote comes from a conversation about science.
It came about when insect specialist Dr Cameron Webb tweeted from the @realscientists account, describing his work tracking mosquitoes in wetlands around Canberra.
RealScientists offers science-qualified professionals the chance to describe their daily work in the public sphere that is Twitter.
So what?…you might think. How interesting could it be?
Well, in the hands of a good communicator it can be absolutely fascinating. See for yourself – here are some samples of conversations in which Cameron participated, including the bit about dancing fairies:
For the full record of tweets to and from Cameron, see here (compiled by yours truly on behalf of the RealScientists instigators).
Do these conversations seem out of reach to you? Actually, they’re not. Anyone can send questions to the @realsscientists account. And all sorts of questions are welcome. Tweeting right now is Dr Paul Willis, ex-ABC Catalyst presenter, fossil-lover and Director at the Royal Institute of Australia. Tell him I sent you.
[image at top shows one of Cameron’s mozzie traps: dry-ice in “billy can” with battery operated fan sucking mozzies into bucket below]
Science for Life. 365 