Molecular biology and design research: a new paradigm and transdisciplinary approach to communicating science
Research projects are built on diligent planning: defining clear aims, formulating hypotheses, designing key experiments and controls, and ensuring rigorous validation. Equally important, though sometimes less appreciated, are transversal components that ensure research extends its impact beyond the...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/444336 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/444336 https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44319-025-00434-4 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Design Communication in science Research Disseny Comunicació científica Investigació Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::So, imatge i multimèdia::Arts gràfiques |
| Sumario: | Research projects are built on diligent planning: defining clear aims, formulating hypotheses, designing key experiments and controls, and ensuring rigorous validation. Equally important, though sometimes less appreciated, are transversal components that ensure research extends its impact beyond the lab, such as open-science practices, ethics, dissemination, communication, outreach or data management. These do not only ensure scientific integrity and research quality but also make findings more accessible for diverse audiences from fellow scientists to policymakers and the public. Here, we propose adding another transversal component: Design. When incorporated from the beginning of a project, Design serves not just as an esthetic element but as a research discipline, practice and a structured set of methods. It helps researchers to overcome major communication barriers—both in engaging with society and in fostering collaboration between disciplines that might otherwise remain isolated. This additional “ingredient” in collaborative research is especially critical when addressing complex scientific topics. Design-driven approaches to outreach and communication can help to create innovative ways to distill these complexities into intuitive visualizations, interactive models, and narrative frameworks that make science accessible without oversimplifying. This enhances interdisciplinary collaboration and opens avenues for exploring new research directions or refining existing methodologies. Design, in this context, is more than just a “service”. It is a structured, iterative methodology that enables researchers to visualize the invisible, clarify the abstract and communicate the complex. For scientists, it provides tools to present findings in ways that resonate with peers and stakeholders. For the public, it turns advanced molecular mechanisms into engaging stories, fostering their understanding and appreciation for the impact of scientific research. In this way, Design becomes a vital catalyst, amplifying the reach and resonance of science. |
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