Statement on Behalf of Science Regarding Spain's Prince of Asturias Foundation Award

24 October 2007

The father of neuroscience, Nobel Prize winner Santiago Ramón y Cajal of Spain, once said that "the brain is a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents and great stretches of unknown territory." Cajal revealed a previously unknown world of communication processes inside the human body, shedding new light on the connection between thoughts and feelings.

The communication of science to the broader society is an equally complex and important process with the potential to bring into view entirely new landscapes of knowledge.

His Royal Highness Don Felipe Borbón, the Prince of Asturias, said in 2005 that "our world has become ever more complex and diverse, to such an extent that it is sometimes incomprehensible." He went on to say that we need the help of people who can "guide us through the myriad doubts and grey areas towards understanding."

Editors and reporters at the journal Science, founded in 1880 by Thomas A. Edison, are delighted and deeply honored to receive one of the world's most prestigious awards from Spain's Prince of Asturias Foundation, recognizing excellence in science communications. Science Editor-in-Chief Donald Kennedy has said that "authoritative, objective scientific communications across borders is essential as science and technology are becoming increasingly integral to global prosperity, yet also increasingly politicized in certain regions of the world."

This month, the scientific community has been remembering the 50^th anniversary of Sputnik—the Earth-orbiting Soviet satellite that triggered a global scramble to achieve new, life-changing discoveries and to train the next-generation of innovators. So, it's only appropriate that we also should reflect upon efforts to communicate science to the public. The late Stephen Jay Gould, one of the world's most extraordinary science communicators, once said: "Part of the art of any kind of total scholarship is to say it well."

Dr. Gould was a past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the non-profit organization, founded in 1848, that now publishes the journal Science. His words still instruct our efforts at Science and AAAS: We agree that any story of science left untold is like the sound of a single hand clapping—an event with too little impact in the broader world.

We are living in an extraordinary age as scientists are pursuing unsolved mysteries that are fundamental to our existence. For example, when the journal Science celebrated its 125^th anniversary in 2005, we identified 125 "big questions" that scientists are still trying to answer:

What is the universe made of? What is the biological basis of consciousness? Can the world continue to sustain a growing population and growing consumption? Questions like these show us how far science has come in explaining the natural world, and they also fuel discoveries of the future.

As the search for new knowledge continues, Science News Editor Colin Norman has noted that "the worlds of research and policy have become thoroughly intertwined." In many regions, the collision of science with political and religious values is causing conflicts that can hinder efforts to improve human welfare. Navigating those conflicts through public discourse and effective communication will become increasingly important as we confront the most urgent problems of our age—from global climate change, to poverty, hunger, and disease.

The journal Science, the world's largest general scientific journal with offices in the United States and the United Kingdom, and news reporters worldwide, is grateful and humbled to be recognized for excellence in science communications, along with the journal Nature.

The famous prediction of the late astronomer Carl Sagan was that "somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." At the journal Science, we look forward to the communication challenges and new discoveries now on the horizon. We pledge to continue, as His Royal Highness Don Felipe Borbón has proposed, to continue pursuing Ariadne's mythological thread and quest for new knowledge.

24 October 2007