So if scientists publish their findings in scientific peer reviewed journals and those journals, along with most scientific research projects, are not written in a way the average person can easily understand, how do we learn about new discoveries? Where do we get our science?

Well that depends on what you read, watch and listen to.

Many types of popular media include science related information, but we must be able to spot bias. Does the publication have a specific point of view they are trying to support? Are they trying to sell something using “science” to increase sales? Do they have staff that are qualified to write about science? What is the reputation of the publication or media? Can the claim be supported through other information sources? Be careful of anything that claims secret knowledge — real science is open to the public.

By Carl Zimmer The New York Times

Scientists can’t say what they’ll be discovering 10 years from now. But they do pay careful attention to the direction in which their fields are moving, and they have some strong hunches about where they are headed in the year ahead.

Here are prognostications for science in 2011 from 10 leading figures in 10 widely scattered disciplines, from genomics to mathematics to earth science. Regardless of whether they prove true next year, they offer a glimpse into the kinds of possibilities that get scientists excited….. read more