The Lindau Meeting 2010 is a gathering of scientists from all kinds of backgrounds. While we eat our lunches or wait for the next set of talks to start, physicists are talking to biologists, chemists are conversing with physiologists, medics are talking to materials scientists, all conveying the passions they have for their subject.  But explaining the background, the problems, and the consequences of your work to new audiences can often be difficult.  Trying to get non-scientists to engage with your work can be an even bigger challenge.

There has been lots of talk about science communication here at the Lindau Meeting 2010, and I reckon it's one of the biggest problems facing modern science.  So last month I co-ordinated a public engagement project in Glasgow, where I'm a PhD student.  My dream was to release a devastating parasite into the city on the day of a huge festival parade.  In this case, the parasite would be 500,000 times normal size: an 8 metre long Chinese Dragon-like African trypanosome.  And it would be accompanied by a short comic, written with my old friend Edward Ross, which we would hand out to confused onlookers.  After many late night Skype conversations and evenings wrestling with my flatmate's sewing machine, a giant trypanosome was swaying through the streets of Glasgow, and 1200 copies of our comic were in the hands of Glaswegians.  I'm really pleased with how the comic came out, and I hope we've produced is educational without being condescending, accurate without being pedantic, and above all an enjoyable little independent comic.

On Tuesday I was delighted to give a copy to Laureate Martin Chalfie who was awarded the Prize for his part in developing green fluorescent protein, a technology featured in the comic.

We've written posts describing the project on the Wellcome Trust blog: Parade  (written by myself) and Parasitology and Comics (written by Edward).  The comic can also be downloaded there.

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James Hall, young researcher working on Molecular Functions in Disease at University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

(1) Copyright: Wellcome Trust Centre For Molecular Parasitology, Glasgow