We think Twitter threads are a great way for our scientists to communicate their research to a broad audience, offering concise and accessible information while fostering interactive discussions and collaborations.
Scroll down to see our scientists' Twitter threads on new research.
How to write a great Twitter thread:
- Start with a clear and attention-grabbing introductory tweet that briefly explains the significance and context of your research.
- Break down your main points into a series of concise and focused tweets, making each tweet self-contained and understandable on its own.
- Use a conversational tone and plain language to ensure accessibility for a broad audience.
- Incorporate visuals such as graphs, images, or diagrams to illustrate key findings and enhance engagement.
- Include links to relevant articles, papers, or additional resources for those interested in delving deeper into your research.
- Utilize hashtags specific to your research field to increase discoverability and reach a targeted audience.
- Encourage engagement by asking thought-provoking questions, inviting feedback, or prompting discussions related to your research.
- Respond promptly to comments, questions, and insights from your audience to foster a sense of interaction and community.
- Consider using numbered or bulleted tweets to maintain a logical flow and help readers navigate through the thread.
- End the thread with a concise summary tweet that highlights the main takeaways and implications of your research.
Remember to experiment and find a style that suits your research and resonates with your audience. Happy tweeting!
Why Twitter for science?
Twitter provides a platform with a vast user base, enabling researchers to reach a wide range of individuals, including fellow scientists, policymakers, journalists, farmers, and interested members of the public. The concise and accessible nature of Twitter threads allows scientists to convey key findings, insights, and implications of their research in a digestible format, making it easier for a diverse audience to engage with the information.
The interactive nature of Twitter encourages discussion, questions, and collaboration, fostering an exchange of ideas between scientists and the public.
See some examples of how our scientists use Twitter threads to disseminate new publications.
Our preprint is out👇 We report that Coccomyxa viridis is frequent in lichens as a low-abundance alga present in addition to the main photobiont. The high-quality genome of C. viridis that we produced shows some signatures of lichen lifestyle. But it all begun with an accident 🧵 https://t.co/Fym1WyP7iX pic.twitter.com/i8bOEn7HHu
— Gulnara Tagirdzhanova (@metalichen) September 14, 2023
Thrilled to share my second first-author paper from my PhD! We cracked how a nematode effector inhibits a helper NLR protein by preventing intramolecular rearrangements. This knowledge allowed us to design a strategy to resurrect disease resistance. https://t.co/xI2GsEs4jG
— Mauricio Contreras (@mpcontreras4) December 12, 2022
1/19 pic.twitter.com/NGBtRuct6g
Pathogens are notorious for producing diverse effector proteins that manipulate host cellular processes. But how is functional diversity generated in an effector repertoire? Thrilled to share our fascinating story. https://t.co/TeUj6gtA3H… #biorxiv_plants pic.twitter.com/cwTGvvVfHQ
— Hui Li (@Hui84282116) May 5, 2023