Why Is Public Science Education Important?
We must consistently and clearly educate the public about what science is and is not, and how it benefits the citizenship. This responsibility is one that is spread among many industries and professions. For our future success as a nation, the media, professional scientists, industry, educators and many others must all become science communicators. The progression of basic to applied science to useful technologies, and, in medicine, from cellular to clinical research to useful disease treatments and preventions, depends on an informed public [6]. This is because ultimately it is the public that controls both the money and the policies that enable modern science and medicine to progress. That which a person does not understand, he tends to reject. We must engage the public in the challenges presented by science and medicine, to capture their imagination and hope, and to gain their essential support.
