The Awesome Power of Citizen Science

TL;DR

You don't need a college degree or a job in academia to contribute to scientific research. Citizen science allows anyone to help experts with research projects, from collecting and analyzing data to publishing papers.

Transcript

Let’s say you love science. Not a huge stretch, hopefully? You are watching SciShow, after all. Now that we live in the Age of the Internet, you can look up anything that your science-loving heart desires -- from how the genomes of bacteria can be used to design experiments, to how planets might move in a hypothetical galaxy. But what makes someone... Read More

Key Insights

• 👻 Citizen science allows non-professionals to contribute to research projects by collecting and analyzing data.
• 🪘 The concept of citizen science has a long history and has become more prominent in recent decades.
• 🌱 Ecology projects benefit greatly from citizen science, as amateurs help collect massive datasets required for understanding plant and animal populations.
• 👾 Distributed computing projects leverage the idle processing power of volunteers' computers, aiding in tasks like analyzing radio signals from space.
• 📽️ Humans' visual and cognitive abilities make them valuable contributors to projects like identifying and classifying galaxies.
• 👻 Gamified projects turn complex scientific problems into fun games, allowing volunteers to solve puzzles related to protein folding and RNA structure design.
• 👨‍🔬 Citizen scientists have the potential to co-author published research and contribute valuable insights, helping to democratize scientific knowledge.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is citizen science?

Citizen science is a way for non-professional scientists to contribute to research projects by collecting data, analyzing it, and sometimes collaborating on publications.

Q: How did the concept of citizen science originate?

Citizen science has existed for centuries, with wealthy hobbyists forming communities to discuss their scientific observations. The term "citizen scientists" was first used in the mid-1990s to describe non-professionals who volunteer their time for research.

Q: What are some examples of citizen science projects in ecology?

The North American Breeding Bird Survey relies on volunteer birdwatchers to collect data on bird species along survey routes. This data helps researchers understand population trends and the effects of factors like chemical contaminants on bird populations.

Q: How do distributed computing projects like SETI@home work?

Volunteers allow their computers to analyze data from the Arecibo radio telescope when not in use. This creates a virtual supercomputer, enabling faster data analysis and increasing the chances of detecting signals from extraterrestrial intelligence.

Q: What is the purpose of projects like Galaxy Zoo?

Galaxy Zoo enlists volunteers to classify galaxies based on their appearance in images from telescopes. This helps astronomers understand how galaxies form and evolve, and the collective efforts of volunteers greatly accelerate data analysis.

Q: How do gamified projects like FoldIt and EteRNA contribute to scientific research?

FoldIt allows volunteers to predict protein folding, aiding in the design of modified proteins for scientific use. EteRNA focuses on designing RNA structures to understand how RNA interacts with cells. Volunteer observations from EteRNA have been published in scientific journals, saving time and resources in RNA structure design.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Citizen science allows average individuals to actively participate in scientific research by collecting data, analyzing it, and sometimes even collaborating to publish papers.

• In the past, science was mostly done by wealthy hobbyists, but in the 19th century, it became a full-time career. Amateur scientists lost respect and the ability to conduct research and publish work.

• Citizen science projects, such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey, rely on volunteer birdwatchers to collect data and study population trends of birds.

• Distributed computing projects, like SETI@home, utilize the processing power of volunteers' computers to analyze data from the Arecibo radio telescope in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

• Humans excel at tasks like classifying galaxies, which is why volunteers are enlisted in projects like Galaxy Zoo to analyze images of the night sky.

• Gamified projects, like FoldIt and EteRNA, allow volunteers to help solve biological problems, such as protein folding and designing RNA structures.