Students must write scientific news using all the journalistic genres: report, interview, chronicle, bibliographic summary, news, etc. There will also be comparative analysis of the science sections of different newspapers. Each month there will be an exam on scientific current events.
An attempt will be made to visit an inportant Spanish scientific centre.
SEMINAR:
The students must take a seminar on scientific topics which tend to be newsworthy and which generally correspond to the book Science through Journalism, mentioned in the bibliography.
Topic 1. - Space and the Solar System. Concepts. The International Space Station and the missions to Mars.
Topic 2. - The Earth: its formation and the tectonic plates. Volcanism and earthquakes
Topic 3. - Life: concepts on the appearance of life on Earth, embryonic stem cells. Cloning.
Topic 4. - Ecology and environment. The greenhouse effect, disappearance of the ozone layer and climate change.
Topic 5.- Diet: Food crises. "Mad Cow" Disease, information about rapeseed oil, etc.
Topic 6. - Matter and energy: Nuclear fusion and fission. The ITER project. Oil: information about oil spills.
Topic 7.- Scientific policy. National R+D plans, Spanish research in the CSIC and universities. Brief introduction to the history of Spanish science.