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EFSJ - European Federation for Science Journalismnews@efsj.eu
2025-12-30

A new guide aimed at helping aspiring science journalists in Turkey to cover scientific topics has been published.

Download the Turkish Science Journalism guide

‘Science Journalism in Turkey and Communicating Science to the Public’ (Türkiye’de Bilim Gazeteciliği ve Halka Doğru Bilim İletişimi) is the first Turkish science journalism guidebook for science journalists.

It was written by the science journalist and academic Dr. Gülsen Saray, and reviewed by editors and academics Prof. Dr. Akif Özer and Prof. Dr. Sefa Yüce.

The author, Saray, said: “This guide is a comprehensive resource for those navigating the dynamic profession of science journalism, and it highlights the importance and growth of science journalism in Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries. It will help ensure journalists produce higher-quality, more effective and impactful reporting which is a growing need driven by societal needs and technological developments.”

“The scope, context, and purpose of this guide are to offer practical advice to science journalists working in the field, drawing on the expertise and insights of contemporary and internationally successful science journalists and renowned science journalism institutions …  I hope it will be an interesting and useful handbook to valued media members, students who choose the field of science journalism, people working in government or corporate public relations departments, and academics.”

The guide was published by the Balkan Network of Science Journalists and the European Federation for Science Journalism and is available on the BNSJ and EFSJ websites.

The initiative has previously brought science journalism guides to life in CroatianSlovenianHungarianRomanianAlbanian, and Bulgarian.

“This is another in a series of expert guides written by local authors in local languages to make them accessible and relevant to local audiences – journalists wishing to report about science,” said Mićo Tatalović, a board member of the Balkan Network of Science Journalists, who has been coordinating the project. “It is an ambitious, book-length guide that should be a useful reference for both practitioners and those interested in the theory and practice of science journalism.”

Publication of the guide was made possible through the support of EurekAlert!, a science news release platform operated by the non-profit American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

“EurekAlert! is humbled by the opportunity to help support journalists in the Balkans through this locally accessible project,” said Brian Lin, director of editorial content strategy at EurekAlert!. “Our thanks to everyone involved in producing this guide.”

Author bio:

Dr. Gülsen Saray is a science journalist and columnist. She holds a PhD in science journalism, MA in political science and public administration, and BSc in civil engineering. She speaks Turkish, English, and German at an academic level, and has also learned French and Ottoman Turkish. She is also a qualified scientist who has gained experience based on experiments in the construction materials laboratory.

https://efsj.eu/2025/12/30/new-science-reporting-guide-published-for-journalists-in-turkey/ #AAAS #Balkans #BNSJ #books #EastEurope #education #EurekAlert #guide #MiddleEast #practicalGuide #skills #Turkey

UNC-Chapel Hill study shows AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections – EurekAlert!

News Release 5-Dec-2025

Image: UNC research team check a plant specimen at the UNC Herbarium. view more  Credit: Shanna Oberreiter

UNC-Chapel Hill study shows AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

A new study from UNC-Chapel Hill researchers shows that advanced artificial intelligence tools, specifically large language models (LLMs), can accurately determine the locations where plant specimens were originally collected, a process known as georeferencing. This task has traditionally been slow, expensive and dependent on significant manual effort. The team found that LLMs can complete this work with near-human accuracy while being significantly faster and more cost-effective. 

“Our study explores how large language models can take on one of the biggest bottlenecks in digitizing plant collections,” said Yuyang Xie, first author and postdoctoral researcher in the department of biology at UNC. “We are pioneering the use of these tools for georeferencing, a breakthrough that will accelerate the digitization of plant specimens and unlock new possibilities for ecological research.” 

The research set out to answer a central question: Can AI automate one of the most time-consuming steps in digitizing natural history collections? The Carolina team found out that yes, it can. LLMs not only performed georeferencing with an error margin of less than 10 kilometers, outperforming traditional methods, but also completed the task at a fraction of the time and cost. 

“Recent advances in LLMs can potentially transform the georeferencing process, making it faster and more accurate,” said Xiao Feng, corresponding author and assistant professor in the department of biology at UNC. “This gives researchers unprecedented opportunities to advance our understanding of global biodiversity distributions.” 

The implications are significant. An estimated 2–3 billion herbarium specimens exist worldwide, but only a small fraction have been digitized. Without digital records and spatial data, researchers face major limitations in tracking biodiversity loss, understanding species movement under climate change and analyzing ecosystem shifts. By deploying AI-powered georeferencing, scientists may soon be able to rapidly digitize vast natural history collections that have remained largely inaccessible. 

“This technology allows us to unlock millions of records that are currently sitting in cabinets,” said Xie. “With the power of LLMs, we can rapidly digitize plant specimen data that will be critical for addressing global environmental challenges.” 

Traditional approaches to georeferencing rely on manual interpretation, specialized software, or multiple rounds of expert review. The UNC study is among the first to apply LLMs to this task and to show they can outperform existing methods in accuracy, efficiency, and scalability. This new approach opens the door to digitizing natural history collections at a speed never before possible. 

The research paper is available online in Nature Plants at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02162-y  

Continue/Read Original Article Here: UNC-Chapel Hill study shows AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections | EurekAlert!

#AI #artificialIntelligence #BiologyDepartment #CarolinaTeam #Collections #DigitizeContent #EurekAlert #Georeferencing #LargeLanguageModelsLLM #LLMs #NaturalHistory #Nature #UNCChapelHill #XiaoFeng #YuyangXie

Low-Res_Yuyang Xie - PR Photo
2025-11-18

get.mypost.to/9vcQaJ
Vaccination rates are falling in many communities due to widespread mis...
#socialmedia #healthprevention #universityofwaterloo #eurekalert

MyPost.tomypost2
2025-11-18

get.mypost.to/9vcQaJ
Vaccination rates are falling in many communities due to widespread mis...

MultiX-6G ProjectMultiX6GProject
2025-05-13

📢 We're live on !

is now featured on this leading global science news service, reaching audiences in:
🇪🇸 Spanish 🇬🇧 English 🇫🇷 French 🇨🇳 Chinese 🇵🇹 Portuguese

📰 Read more: eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

(javierarmentia se ha mudado)javierarmentia
2025-05-08

@DGaladi me pasó lo mismo, David. Ya sabes que en cuanto alguien dice "cuántico" en un contexto así hay mucha posibilidad de charlatanería. Pero que lo digan en una nota de es rarísimo.

:mastodon: Mike Amundsenmamund
2024-11-25

How stress is fundamentally changing our memories

eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

"Endocannabinoid receptors function like a velvet rope at an exclusive club. When stress induces the release of too many endocannabinoids, the velvet rope falls, causing more generalized aversive fearful memories to form..." --

2024-10-25

there seems to be a problem at - am getting lots of Will have to pause the science feeding a bit and see if it improves when the Americas wake up.

2024-06-20

getting Bad Gateway page for all the PRs just now - will try again later.

Jens Notroffjens2go
2023-11-25

Analysis of 5,000-y/o skeletal remains from a single in northern suggests even earlier period of larger scale in Europe than previously expected in the region:

eurekalert.org/news-releases/1 via

Michael E. Mann :verified:MichaelEMann@fediscience.org
2023-01-11

"Continued record-breaking ocean temperatures seen again in 2022" | Press release (via #Eurekalert) for our new article on ocean heat content: eurekalert.org/news-releases/9

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