presentation for science

25 Useful Presentation Topics for Science

By: Author Shrot Katewa

We are mostly asked questions about Presentation Design. But, sometimes, we do have our patrons reaching out to us to seek help with the “content” that needs to be created even before we begin with the design of the presentation.

So, today we are sharing a few really easy-to-cover super useful presentation topics for Science. This is especially helpful for all those teachers and parents who are looking to increase the curiosity of aspiring students and children.

So, let’s dive right into it –

A Quick Note Before We Begin – if you want to make jaw-dropping presentations, I would recommend using one of these Presentation Designs . The best part is – it is only $16.5 a month, but you get to download and use as many presentation designs as you like! I personally use it from time-to-time, and it makes my task of making beautiful presentations really quick and easy!

1. Big Bang Theory – Origin of Our Universe

As a kid, I was always curious about how we came into existence! How the planet Earth was created? How did it all start? This is a great topic to really generate and at times, even quench the curiosity of your students or children. While it is a great topic for presentation in class, it is also an equally good topic for a dinner conversation with your kids.

2. DNA structure

Our DNA is the very core of our life. If the Big Bang Theory is how the universe came into being, DNA is where our personal journey begins. While the structure of DNA is quite fascinating, the impact it has on our lives and how it affects our characteristics is mind-boggling!

It is another great topic for a Science Presentation. Do keep in mind, use of visual aids will most likely improve comprehension and retention among your audience.

3. Gene Editing & Its Uses

In case you choose to go with the previous topic of DNA, Gene Editing serves as a perfect extension of that topic even though it can be a great topic in itself. Sharing insights on Gene Editing and how it works, can showcase the capacity of human endeavors and its resolve to make things better.

4. Important Discoveries of Science

Okay, so this can really be a fun topic. As a kid, it was always fascinating to know about some of the world’s greatest discoveries and inventions.

Be it Penicillium or the first flight by the Wright Brothers, such topics allow you to take your audience on a journey and relive the times in which these discoveries and inventions were made. The thing that I like the most about this topic is that it doesn’t have to be completed in one session.

In fact, this can be turned into a knowledge series of multiple sessions as the list of discoveries is endless.

5. Aerodynamics

Most kids and students are really fascinated with planes. But, only a few really understand the basic principles of how a plane works. Explaining Aerodynamics can be an interesting topic.

It also allows you to introduce props such as a plane and practical exercises such as creating your own plane and analyzing its aerodynamics. The introduction of visuals for such a topic can greatly enhance the learning experience.

So this is a topic that most of the kids and students would have at least heard of, most might know about it a little. But very few would really understand how gravity truly changed our concepts not just on Earth, but also beyond our Planet in our Solar System.

Gravity alone is responsible for the tectonic shift of mindset that the Earth was the center of our Solar System to the fact that the Sun is the center of our Solar System around which the rest of the planets revolve. That and much more!

Explaining the stories of Galileo who first challenged this assumption and how Newton turned everything we knew upside down (almost literally!)

7. Photosynthesis

Another interesting Science topic for a presentation.

How do non-moving organisms produce and consume food? How Photosynthesis is not just limited to trees but virtually drives all lifeforms on Earth through the transfer of energy.

Also, touching upon the fact how Photosynthesis has led to the revolutionary discovery of Solar cells and how it is potentially going to be powering our future.

8. Artificial Intelligence – Boon or Bane

When it comes to Artificial Intelligence, there is a lot that we can do to engage the curiosity of our kids and students. It is an evolving part of Science as we haven’t fully applied and utilized AI.

One of the reasons this can be a great topic is because it engages your students or kids to really think. You may consider forming 2 teams and allowing an open debate on how AI could be a boon or a bane – a great way to promote cross-learning.

9. Ocean – The Unknown World

Our Ocean is what sets our planet Earth apart from the other planets in our solar planet. It is not only one of the main factors contributing to life on earth, the Ocean holds a world of its own with hidden creatures which have only recently been explored.

There is a lot to cover when it comes to the Ocean. Don’t limit your imagination to just lifeforms as you can even talk about treasures troves contained in the ships that sank!

10. Astronomy

So I have a confession to make. Which is this – Astronomy astonished me as a kid, and it amazes me even now! There have been countless nights that I gazed at the stars in the sky in amazement trying to locate a planet, and falling stars and other man-made satellites in the sky.

This is not just an amazing topic for a presentation, but if you could get hold of a telescope for a practical session, it will make a night to remember for the kids and the students!

11. Light and its effects

This is another topic that can turn into a great practical session!

Presentations can be accompanied by a trip to the physics lab or even using equipment like a prism to take the session experience of your audience to a totally different level! Experiencing the various colors that form light is one thing, but understanding how it impacts almost every single thing in our day-to-day activities makes us admire it.

12. Atoms – Building Blocks of Matter

While there is a whole universe outside of our Planet, there is a completely different world that exists when we go granular inside any matter.

There are literally billions and billions of atoms inside just our human body. Each atom has its own world making it as diverse as you can imagine.

How these atoms interact with each other and what makes an atom can be a really engaging topic to bubble the curiosity of the students or your kids!

13. Sound & Waves

Another super interesting presentation topic for Science for kids and students is to understand how Sound works.

There are several things to cover as part of this ranging from simple waves to frequency and resonance experiments. Sound is not just a good topic for a presentation but also for experiments and physical demos.

14. Technology

Technology as a topic has a lot to cover. As we all know that technology touches each of our lives on a daily basis, students can find this topic relatable quite easily. The canvas for exploration and presentation is quite broad giving you a wide range of technology topics to present from.

15. Human Brain

Many believe that we only use 10% of the capacity of our human brain. We have to date only barely managed to understand how our brain works.

Even the parts that we have gathered an understanding about, we don’t quite fully understand. The human brain has remained a topic of astonishment for scientists for a long time. It is only logical to conclude that if presented effectively, this can be a good presentation topic on science.

16. Evolution

When Charles Darwin presented his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection in his book “The Origin of Species”, it took the world of science by storm.

How the species have evolved over a period of millions of years is quite interesting. There were quite a few interesting learnings that Darwin had and he shared that as a summary. This is something that has been also covered in the TV series Cosmos by Neil Degrasse Tyson.

I highly recommend giving this TV series a watch to get inspiration for some topics for presentation.

17. Magnetism

The majority of the kids have handled and spent hours in awe playing with a magnet. Many try to understand how a magnet really works! But, only a few are able to really understand the science behind it.

Magnetism can be a really fun topic to give a presentation on. Additionally, this topic also allows enough space to display, experiment, and have fun with real magnet and iron filings to showcase the effect of magnetism.

18. Electricity

Electricity is pretty much everywhere.

Today, if there is no electricity, the region is considered underdeveloped or backward. The discovery and the use of electricity is probably one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.

It has been single-handedly responsible for industrialization, powering growth, and the development of the human race.

19. Steam Engine

Steam Engine was the first step of the human race towards powered locomotives.

From the discovery of the steam engine to how it was responsible for creating a time standard and time zones along with the stories related to it, can all be very fascinating and take you back in time to relive history!

A perfect presentation topic for science students.

20. Science of Medicine

No list of presentation topics for Science would be complete without mentioning medicine and its benefits.

The discovery of medicines and drugs has been responsible for nearly doubling the average human age. The impact is far-reaching with several pros and cons that constitute an interesting topic for presentation.

21. Periodic Table

Students often find this topic very dull. However, if you can help them understand the beauty and significance of this periodic table, it can be an amazing topic.

To really understand how Mendeleev could predict the existence of various elements even before they were discovered, is mind-boggling!

The periodic table is such a perfect table that explains how the elements are arranged in a well-structured manner in nature. This topic can be turned into a very interesting topic but a bit of effort and some out-of-the-box thinking may be required.

22. Buoyancy

Okay, so we all may have heard the story of Archimedes in a bathtub and how he shouted “Eureka” when he managed to solve the problem that was tasked to him. He did this using the Buoyancy principle.

While this story is something we relate to buoyancy the most, there is a lot more than we can truly learn and apply using this principle. This can be a very helpful topic for a presentation as well as a practical science experiment.

23. Health & Nutrition

Health & Nutrition is a very important aspect of our life. Its importance is often not completely understood by kids and students alike. Presenting about Health & Nutrition can go a long way to benefit the students to maintain a very healthy life!

24. Our Solar System

Our Solar System is a topic that is mostly taught since you join the school.

However, while most of us know about our solar system, there are enough mysteries about it to capture and captivate the attention of your audience. Questions like – why is Pluto not a planet anymore?

Or other questions such as – are we alone in this universe or even topics around the Sun as a star or even the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter can all lead to great engaging presentations and discussions.

25. Stem Cell

Stem cell research has become cutting-edge medical research. Thus, it is often a hot topic for discussion but is often not completely understood.

This topic will also provide you an opportunity to engage your audience in a debate that could be centered around the ethics of stem cells and their application.

This is a perfect topic as this allows your students or kids to learn and share their opinion with others.

Science is a vast world. Even though there are several other topics that can be covered, we decided to list topics that are relatively common such that it widely applies to a large set of people. If you have shortlisted your presentation topic and are looking for help to create a visually appealing presentation that captures the attention of your audience, be sure to reach out to us!

Our goal on this blog is to create content that helps YOU create fantastic presentations; especially if you have never been a designer. We’ve started our blog with non-designers in mind, and we have got some amazing content on our site to help YOU design better.

If you have any topics in mind that you would want us to write about, be sure to drop us a comment below. In case you need us to work with you and improve the design of your presentation, write to us on [email protected] . Our team will be happy to help you with your requirements.

Lastly, your contribution can make this world a better place for presentations . All you have to do is simply share this blog in your network and help other fellow non-designers with their designs!

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How to make a scientific presentation

Scientific presentation outlines

Questions to ask yourself before you write your talk, 1. how much time do you have, 2. who will you speak to, 3. what do you want the audience to learn from your talk, step 1: outline your presentation, step 2: plan your presentation slides, step 3: make the presentation slides, slide design, text elements, animations and transitions, step 4: practice your presentation, final thoughts, frequently asked questions about preparing scientific presentations, related articles.

A good scientific presentation achieves three things: you communicate the science clearly, your research leaves a lasting impression on your audience, and you enhance your reputation as a scientist.

But, what is the best way to prepare for a scientific presentation? How do you start writing a talk? What details do you include, and what do you leave out?

It’s tempting to launch into making lots of slides. But, starting with the slides can mean you neglect the narrative of your presentation, resulting in an overly detailed, boring talk.

The key to making an engaging scientific presentation is to prepare the narrative of your talk before beginning to construct your presentation slides. Planning your talk will ensure that you tell a clear, compelling scientific story that will engage the audience.

In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know to make a good oral scientific presentation, including:

• The different types of oral scientific presentations and how they are delivered;
• How to outline a scientific presentation;
• How to make slides for a scientific presentation.

Our advice results from delving into the literature on writing scientific talks and from our own experiences as scientists in giving and listening to presentations. We provide tips and best practices for giving scientific talks in a separate post.

There are two main types of scientific talks:

• Your talk focuses on a single study . Typically, you tell the story of a single scientific paper. This format is common for short talks at contributed sessions in conferences.
• Your talk describes multiple studies. You tell the story of multiple scientific papers. It is crucial to have a theme that unites the studies, for example, an overarching question or problem statement, with each study representing specific but different variations of the same theme. Typically, PhD defenses, invited seminars, lectures, or talks for a prospective employer (i.e., “job talks”) fall into this category.

➡️ Learn how to prepare an excellent thesis defense

The length of time you are allotted for your talk will determine whether you will discuss a single study or multiple studies, and which details to include in your story.

The background and interests of your audience will determine the narrative direction of your talk, and what devices you will use to get their attention. Will you be speaking to people specializing in your field, or will the audience also contain people from disciplines other than your own? To reach non-specialists, you will need to discuss the broader implications of your study outside your field.

The needs of the audience will also determine what technical details you will include, and the language you will use. For example, an undergraduate audience will have different needs than an audience of seasoned academics. Students will require a more comprehensive overview of background information and explanations of jargon but will need less technical methodological details.

Your goal is to speak to the majority. But, make your talk accessible to the least knowledgeable person in the room.

This is called the thesis statement, or simply the “take-home message”. Having listened to your talk, what message do you want the audience to take away from your presentation? Describe the main idea in one or two sentences. You want this theme to be present throughout your presentation. Again, the thesis statement will depend on the audience and the type of talk you are giving.

Your thesis statement will drive the narrative for your talk. By deciding the take-home message you want to convince the audience of as a result of listening to your talk, you decide how the story of your talk will flow and how you will navigate its twists and turns. The thesis statement tells you the results you need to show, which subsequently tells you the methods or studies you need to describe, which decides the angle you take in your introduction.

➡️ Learn how to write a thesis statement

The goal of your talk is that the audience leaves afterward with a clear understanding of the key take-away message of your research. To achieve that goal, you need to tell a coherent, logical story that conveys your thesis statement throughout the presentation. You can tell your story through careful preparation of your talk.

Preparation of a scientific presentation involves three separate stages: outlining the scientific narrative, preparing slides, and practicing your delivery. Making the slides of your talk without first planning what you are going to say is inefficient.

Here, we provide a 4 step guide to writing your scientific presentation:

• Outline your presentation
• Plan your presentation slides
• Make the presentation slides
• Practice your presentation

Writing an outline helps you consider the key pieces of your talk and how they fit together from the beginning, preventing you from forgetting any important details. It also means you avoid changing the order of your slides multiple times, saving you time.

Plan your talk as discrete sections. In the table below, we describe the sections for a single study talk vs. a talk discussing multiple studies:

The following tips apply when writing the outline of a single study talk. You can easily adapt this framework if you are writing a talk discussing multiple studies.

Introduction: Writing the introduction can be the hardest part of writing a talk. And when giving it, it’s the point where you might be at your most nervous. But preparing a good, concise introduction will settle your nerves.

The introduction tells the audience the story of why you studied your topic. A good introduction succinctly achieves four things, in the following order.

• It gives a broad perspective on the problem or topic for people in the audience who may be outside your discipline (i.e., it explains the big-picture problem motivating your study).
• It describes why you did the study, and why the audience should care.
• It gives a brief indication of how your study addressed the problem and provides the necessary background information that the audience needs to understand your work.
• It indicates what the audience will learn from the talk, and prepares them for what will come next.

A good introduction not only gives the big picture and motivations behind your study but also concisely sets the stage for what the audience will learn from the talk (e.g., the questions your work answers, and/or the hypotheses that your work tests). The end of the introduction will lead to a natural transition to the methods.

Give a broad perspective on the problem. The easiest way to start with the big picture is to think of a hook for the first slide of your presentation. A hook is an opening that gets the audience’s attention and gets them interested in your story. In science, this might take the form of a why, or a how question, or it could be a statement about a major problem or open question in your field. Other examples of hooks include quotes, short anecdotes, or interesting statistics.

Why should the audience care? Next, decide on the angle you are going to take on your hook that links to the thesis of your talk. In other words, you need to set the context, i.e., explain why the audience should care. For example, you may introduce an observation from nature, a pattern in experimental data, or a theory that you want to test. The audience must understand your motivations for the study.

Supplementary details. Once you have established the hook and angle, you need to include supplementary details to support them. For example, you might state your hypothesis. Then go into previous work and the current state of knowledge. Include citations of these studies. If you need to introduce some technical methodological details, theory, or jargon, do it here.

Conclude your introduction. The motivation for the work and background information should set the stage for the conclusion of the introduction, where you describe the goals of your study, and any hypotheses or predictions. Let the audience know what they are going to learn.

Methods: The audience will use your description of the methods to assess the approach you took in your study and to decide whether your findings are credible. Tell the story of your methods in chronological order. Use visuals to describe your methods as much as possible. If you have equations, make sure to take the time to explain them. Decide what methods to include and how you will show them. You need enough detail so that your audience will understand what you did and therefore can evaluate your approach, but avoid including superfluous details that do not support your main idea. You want to avoid the common mistake of including too much data, as the audience can read the paper(s) later.

Results: This is the evidence you present for your thesis. The audience will use the results to evaluate the support for your main idea. Choose the most important and interesting results—those that support your thesis. You don’t need to present all the results from your study (indeed, you most likely won’t have time to present them all). Break down complex results into digestible pieces, e.g., comparisons over multiple slides (more tips in the next section).

Summary: Summarize your main findings. Displaying your main findings through visuals can be effective. Emphasize the new contributions to scientific knowledge that your work makes.

Conclusion: Complete the circle by relating your conclusions to the big picture topic in your introduction—and your hook, if possible. It’s important to describe any alternative explanations for your findings. You might also speculate on future directions arising from your research. The slides that comprise your conclusion do not need to state “conclusion”. Rather, the concluding slide title should be a declarative sentence linking back to the big picture problem and your main idea.

It’s important to end well by planning a strong closure to your talk, after which you will thank the audience. Your closing statement should relate to your thesis, perhaps by stating it differently or memorably. Avoid ending awkwardly by memorizing your closing sentence.

By now, you have an outline of the story of your talk, which you can use to plan your slides. Your slides should complement and enhance what you will say. Use the following steps to prepare your slides.

• Write the slide titles to match your talk outline. These should be clear and informative declarative sentences that succinctly give the main idea of the slide (e.g., don’t use “Methods” as a slide title). Have one major idea per slide. In a YouTube talk on designing effective slides , researcher Michael Alley shows examples of instructive slide titles.
• Decide how you will convey the main idea of the slide (e.g., what figures, photographs, equations, statistics, references, or other elements you will need). The body of the slide should support the slide’s main idea.
• Under each slide title, outline what you want to say, in bullet points.

In sum, for each slide, prepare a title that summarizes its major idea, a list of visual elements, and a summary of the points you will make. Ensure each slide connects to your thesis. If it doesn’t, then you don’t need the slide.

Slides for scientific presentations have three major components: text (including labels and legends), graphics, and equations. Here, we give tips on how to present each of these components.

• Have an informative title slide. Include the names of all coauthors and their affiliations. Include an attractive image relating to your study.
• Make the foreground content of your slides “pop” by using an appropriate background. Slides that have white backgrounds with black text work well for small rooms, whereas slides with black backgrounds and white text are suitable for large rooms.
• The layout of your slides should be simple. Pay attention to how and where you lay the visual and text elements on each slide. It’s tempting to cram information, but you need lots of empty space. Retain space at the sides and bottom of your slides.
• Use sans serif fonts with a font size of at least 20 for text, and up to 40 for slide titles. Citations can be in 14 font and should be included at the bottom of the slide.
• Use bold or italics to emphasize words, not underlines or caps. Keep these effects to a minimum.
• Use concise text . You don’t need full sentences. Convey the essence of your message in as few words as possible. Write down what you’d like to say, and then shorten it for the slide. Remove unnecessary filler words.
• Text blocks should be limited to two lines. This will prevent you from crowding too much information on the slide.
• Include names of technical terms in your talk slides, especially if they are not familiar to everyone in the audience.
• Proofread your slides. Typos and grammatical errors are distracting for your audience.
• Include citations for the hypotheses or observations of other scientists.
• Good figures and graphics are essential to sustain audience interest. Use graphics and photographs to show the experiment or study system in action and to explain abstract concepts.
• Don’t use figures straight from your paper as they may be too detailed for your talk, and details like axes may be too small. Make new versions if necessary. Make them large enough to be visible from the back of the room.
• Use graphs to show your results, not tables. Tables are difficult for your audience to digest! If you must present a table, keep it simple.
• Label the axes of graphs and indicate the units. Label important components of graphics and photographs and include captions. Include sources for graphics that are not your own.
• Explain all the elements of a graph. This includes the axes, what the colors and markers mean, and patterns in the data.
• Use colors in figures and text in a meaningful, not random, way. For example, contrasting colors can be effective for pointing out comparisons and/or differences. Don’t use neon colors or pastels.
• Use thick lines in figures, and use color to create contrasts in the figures you present. Don’t use red/green or red/blue combinations, as color-blind audience members can’t distinguish between them.
• Arrows or circles can be effective for drawing attention to key details in graphs and equations. Add some text annotations along with them.
• Write your summary and conclusion slides using graphics, rather than showing a slide with a list of bullet points. Showing some of your results again can be helpful to remind the audience of your message.
• If your talk has equations, take time to explain them. Include text boxes to explain variables and mathematical terms, and put them under each term in the equation.
• Combine equations with a graphic that shows the scientific principle, or include a diagram of the mathematical model.
• Use animations judiciously. They are helpful to reveal complex ideas gradually, for example, if you need to make a comparison or contrast or to build a complicated argument or figure. For lists, reveal one bullet point at a time. New ideas appearing sequentially will help your audience follow your logic.
• Slide transitions should be simple. Silly ones distract from your message.
• Decide how you will make the transition as you move from one section of your talk to the next. For example, if you spend time talking through details, provide a summary afterward, especially in a long talk. Another common tactic is to have a “home slide” that you return to multiple times during the talk that reinforces your main idea or message. In her YouTube talk on designing effective scientific presentations , Stanford biologist Susan McConnell suggests using the approach of home slides to build a cohesive narrative.

To deliver a polished presentation, it is essential to practice it. Here are some tips.

• For your first run-through, practice alone. Pay attention to your narrative. Does your story flow naturally? Do you know how you will start and end? Are there any awkward transitions? Do animations help you tell your story? Do your slides help to convey what you are saying or are they missing components?
• Next, practice in front of your advisor, and/or your peers (e.g., your lab group). Ask someone to time your talk. Take note of their feedback and the questions that they ask you (you might be asked similar questions during your real talk).
• Edit your talk, taking into account the feedback you’ve received. Eliminate superfluous slides that don’t contribute to your takeaway message.
• Practice as many times as needed to memorize the order of your slides and the key transition points of your talk. However, don’t try to learn your talk word for word. Instead, memorize opening and closing statements, and sentences at key junctures in the presentation. Your presentation should resemble a serious but spontaneous conversation with the audience.
• Practicing multiple times also helps you hone the delivery of your talk. While rehearsing, pay attention to your vocal intonations and speed. Make sure to take pauses while you speak, and make eye contact with your imaginary audience.
• Make sure your talk finishes within the allotted time, and remember to leave time for questions. Conferences are particularly strict on run time.
• Anticipate questions and challenges from the audience, and clarify ambiguities within your slides and/or speech in response.
• If you anticipate that you could be asked questions about details but you don’t have time to include them, or they detract from the main message of your talk, you can prepare slides that address these questions and place them after the final slide of your talk.

➡️ More tips for giving scientific presentations

An organized presentation with a clear narrative will help you communicate your ideas effectively, which is essential for engaging your audience and conveying the importance of your work. Taking time to plan and outline your scientific presentation before writing the slides will help you manage your nerves and feel more confident during the presentation, which will improve your overall performance.

A good scientific presentation has an engaging scientific narrative with a memorable take-home message. It has clear, informative slides that enhance what the speaker says. You need to practice your talk many times to ensure you deliver a polished presentation.

First, consider who will attend your presentation, and what you want the audience to learn about your research. Tailor your content to their level of knowledge and interests. Second, create an outline for your presentation, including the key points you want to make and the evidence you will use to support those points. Finally, practice your presentation several times to ensure that it flows smoothly and that you are comfortable with the material.

Prepare an opening that immediately gets the audience’s attention. A common device is a why or a how question, or a statement of a major open problem in your field, but you could also start with a quote, interesting statistic, or case study from your field.

Scientific presentations typically either focus on a single study (e.g., a 15-minute conference presentation) or tell the story of multiple studies (e.g., a PhD defense or 50-minute conference keynote talk). For a single study talk, the structure follows the scientific paper format: Introduction, Methods, Results, Summary, and Conclusion, whereas the format of a talk discussing multiple studies is more complex, but a theme unifies the studies.

Ensure you have one major idea per slide, and convey that idea clearly (through images, equations, statistics, citations, video, etc.). The slide should include a title that summarizes the major point of the slide, should not contain too much text or too many graphics, and color should be used meaningfully.

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Scientific Presentation Guide: How to Create an Engaging Research Talk

Creating an effective scientific presentation requires developing clear talking points and slide designs that highlight your most important research results..

Scientific presentations are detailed talks that showcase a research project or analysis results. This comprehensive guide reviews everything you need to know to give an engaging presentation for scientific conferences, lab meetings, and PhD thesis talks. From creating your presentation outline to designing effective slides, the tips in this article will give you the tools you need to impress your scientific peers and superiors.

Step 1. Create a Presentation Outline

The first step to giving a good scientific talk is to create a presentation outline that engages the audience at the start of the talk, highlights only 3-5 main points of your research, and then ends with a clear take-home message. Creating an outline ensures that the overall talk storyline is clear and will save you time when you start to design your slides.

Engage Your Audience

The first part of your presentation outline should contain slide ideas that will gain your audience's attention. Below are a few recommendations for slides that engage your audience at the start of the talk:

• Create a slide that makes connects your data or presentation information to a shared purpose, such as relevance to solving a medical problem or fundamental question in your field of research
• Create slides that ask and invite questions
• Use humor or entertainment

Identify Clear Main Points

After writing down your engagement ideas, the next step is to list the main points that will become the outline slide for your presentation. A great way to accomplish this is to set a timer for five minutes and write down all of the main points and results or your research that you want to discuss in the talk. When the time is up, review the points and select no more than three to five main points that create your talk outline. Limiting the amount of information you share goes a long way in maintaining audience engagement and understanding. 

Create a Take-Home Message

And finally, you should brainstorm a single take-home message that makes the most important main point stand out. This is the one idea that you want people to remember or to take action on after your talk. This can be your core research discovery or the next steps that will move the project forward.

Step 2. Choose a Professional Slide Theme

After you have a good presentation outline, the next step is to choose your slide colors and create a theme. Good slide themes use between two to four main colors that are accessible to people with color vision deficiencies. Read this article to learn more about choosing the best scientific color palettes .

You can also choose templates that already have an accessible color scheme. However, be aware that many PowerPoint templates that are available online are too cheesy for a scientific audience. Below options to download professional scientific slide templates that are designed specifically for academic conferences, research talks, and graduate thesis defenses.

Step 3. Design Your Slides

Designing good slides is essential to maintaining audience interest during your scientific talk. Follow these four best practices for designing your slides:

• Keep it simple: limit the amount of information you show on each slide
• Use images and illustrations that clearly show the main points with very little text. 
• Read this article to see research slide example designs for inspiration
• When you are using text, try to reduce the scientific jargon that is unnecessary. Text on research talk slides needs to be much more simple than the text used in scientific publications (see example below).
• Use appear/disappear animations to break up the details into smaller digestible bites
• Sign up for the free presentation design course to learn PowerPoint animation tricks

Scientific Presentation Design Summary

All of the examples and tips described in this article will help you create impressive scientific presentations. Below is the summary of how to give an engaging talk that will earn respect from your scientific community. 

Step 1. Draft Presentation Outline. Create a presentation outline that clearly highlights the main point of your research. Make sure to start your talk outline with ideas to engage your audience and end your talk with a clear take-home message.

Step 2. Choose Slide Theme. Use a slide template or theme that looks professional, best represents your data, and matches your audience's expectations. Do not use slides that are too plain or too cheesy.

Step 3. Design Engaging Slides. Effective presentation slide designs use clear data visualizations and limits the amount of information that is added to each slide. 

And a final tip is to practice your presentation so that you can refine your talking points. This way you will also know how long it will take you to cover the most essential information on your slides. Thank you for choosing Simplified Science Publishing as your science communication resource and good luck with your presentations!

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Free Science Templates for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Make your presentations and lessons stand out with these free templates for Science .  

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Unleash the wild fun in your classroom with this FREE PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme. Liven up your classroom with a touch of the jungle!  This free downloadable theme features adorable monkeys swinging through lush green backgrounds and bright banana trees.   It’s more than just cute though – this theme is […]

Cute Monkeys, mini theme and subtraction drag and drop activity.

Geometrical shapes and volume formulas free PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme Ready to dive into geometry and volume? This template is perfect for this type of Math. Paper like backgrounds, highlighters, pen, ruler and a compass are featured in this free theme, along with some geometric shapes and their […]

Geometrical Shapes and Volume, free school template.

Modern with neon accents Free PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme Jackson is a modern template with neon color accents and can be used for presentations abut technology – a new product launch, software development, or any other tech-related topic -, for a presentation about a new modern art exhibit, […]

Jackson Modern Neon free slideshow template.

World Oceans Day Free PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme Celebrate World Oceans Day with this free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme! This template features a beautiful blue color scheme and ocean-themed images, making it the perfect way to create presentations about the importance of our oceans. The template […]

World Oceans Day free PowerPoint template.

Free Earth Day animated template for Google Slides and PowerPoint. You can use this PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme to raise awareness of environmental issues. It features beautiful visuals and resources of planet Earth, which you can customize freely to make the presentation your own. Earth Day is an […]

Earth Day free ppt and Google Slides template.

Free interactive choice board and mini theme + morning meeting / daily agenda slide for Google Slides and PowerPoint. This free interactive choice board and mini theme with morning meeting / daily agenda slide is perfect for the little ones. Let’s learn about the importance of bees with this black […]

Bees are awesome. Interactive choice board and mini theme.

Free education templates for Google Slides and PowerPoint. 17 different layouts. Utilize them in PowerPoint or Google Slides. Or customize them, save them as JPEG and use them in Google Jamboard or Microsoft Whiteboard. – Or print them out! – This bundle includes: – Frayer model– Weekly planner– Station rotation– […]

School Bundle 06. Templates for education.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Microscope template with interactive slides. If you are teaching about cells, bacteria or anything microscopic, this template might work! I’ve included a couple of slides with activities for elementary students: drag the names of the parts of a flower or a plant to […]

Biology free presentation template.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Cardiovascular research and risk factors thesis presentation template. A free medical template to present about the circulatory system, medication treatments, coronary or cardiovascular diseases or to talk about the importance of donating blood. It’s also a great template for pharmaceutical presentations. DOWNLOAD POWERPOINT […]

Free medical slides theme.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Weather template with animated icons. Sometimes I receive some special requests that immediately light a sparkle in my head. This template was one of those! And it was really fun to make! If you are teaching about meteorology, well, this is perfect! Even […]

Animated weather forecast slides backgrounds.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Unbox your lesson with this template! It comes with an agenda slide. Are you ready to unbox your ideas? This template is perfect to get them out of your head and share them with your colleagues or classmates! And not only you can […]

Unbox your ideas presentation template.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Under the sea slides backgrounds. A while back someone asked me for an “under the sea” template, and little by little I’m trying to catch up. Stingrays, whales and fishes along with some algae and corals set the scene for this template. I […]

Sebastian, ocean slides theme.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Jungle theme for presentations. I received a lot of requests for a jungle theme, so here it’s Bravestone. It has lots of green, leaves, a swamp, monkeys, hippos, and snakes. Also, an old piece of paper (I stained a sheet of paper with […]

Bravestone, jungle backgrounds presentation template.

Free Fun Template for PowerPoint or Google Slides Presentations Koch Koch is a fun template to motivate, achieving goals, conquering worlds, setting records and going beyond. Also works for presentations or school lessons about space, planets, astronauts, NASA missions, a spaceship launch, Apollos’ missions or the moon landing. A free pptx […]

Koch Free Template for Google Slides or PowerPoint Presentations

Free Template for PowerPoint or Google Slides Presentations Carlina Carlina is specially made for presentations about clean energy, environmental stewardship, renewable energies, recycling, ecology, nature or sustainable economy. Go green with this free presentation template for Google Slides or PowerPoint. – Thank you Carlina for letting me name it after […]

Carlina Free Environmental Template for Google Slides or PowerPoint.

Uncover our collection of science templates for PowerPoint and Google Slides, designed to help you present complex scientific concepts and research findings with clarity and precision.

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Advancing your Scientific Presentations

For researchers in the natural sciences who want to improve the quality of their peer-to-peer scientific presentations with both virtual and face-to-face audiences

10 experts who excel at presenting their work, including renowned presentation designers, and trainers and experts in narrative tools

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About this course

'Advancing Your Scientific Presentations' teaches you how to create more memorable and engaging presentations to your scientific peers. In the course, you will discover how you can develop your research story - the foundation of your presentation - using narrative tools, how to build a slide deck that supports and enhances your presentation, and how to prepare to deliver your presentation on the day.

What you'll learn

• To identify techniques that can help to overcome the challenges that researchers commonly face when creating and delivering oral presentations
• To build compelling research stories to use as the foundation for your presentations
• To create professional slide decks that effectively communicate your research findings to your audience
• To apply strategies to help you deliver your presentation effectively on the day, in both virtual and face-to-face environments

Free Sample Overcoming your research presentation challenges

5 lessons 2h

Free Sample Developing the story behind your talk

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Michael Alley

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Shohini Ghose

Professor of Physics and Computer Science, Wilfrid Laurier University

Nolan Haims

Principal, Nolan Haims Creative

Magdalena Skipper

Editor in Chief,  Nature and Chief Editorial Advisor, Nature Portfolio

Michael White

Senior Editor,  Nature

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Beatrice Chiew

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Newcastle, Australia

Jean-luc Doumont

Founding Partner, Principiae

Michael Dahlstrom

LAS Dean's Professor and Director, Greenlee School of Journalism, Iowa State University

Richard Goring

Director, Bright Carbon

Samuel Ramsey

Entomologist, USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory

Feedback from course users

I was reluctant to see my research results as a "story" to be told to others. But now I understand it's what makes my results stick. Postdoctoral student, United States

I found it really helpful to have a clear process that I could apply to develop my talk, from the core message to the design details of the slides. Research scientist, India

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Creating a 10-15 Minute Scientific Presentation

In the course of your career as a scientist, you will be asked to give brief presentations -- to colleagues, lab groups, and in other venues. We have put together a series of short videos to help you organize and deliver a crisp 10-15 minute scientific presentation.

First is a two part set of videos that walks you through organizing a presentation.

Part 1 - Creating an Introduction for a 10-15 Minute Scientfic Presentation

Part 2 - Creating the Body of a 10-15 Minute Presentation: Design/Methods; Data Results, Conclusions

Two additional videos should prove useful:

Designing PowerPoint Slides for a Scientific Presentation walks you through the key principles in designing powerful, easy to read slides.

Delivering a Presentation provides tips and approaches to help you put your best foot forward when you stand up in front of a group.

Other resources include:

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How to Present a Science Project

Last Updated: August 17, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Meredith Juncker, PhD . Meredith Juncker is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Her studies are focused on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 53,790 times.

After creating a science project , you’ll likely have to present your work to your class or at a science fair. Try to give yourself a few weeks to plan and put together your presentation. Outline your main points, make note cards, and practice ahead of time. Make a clear, neat display board or PowerPoint presentation. When it comes time to present, relax, speak clearly and loudly, and avoid reading your presentation word for word.

Putting Together Your Presentation

• Finish up your experiment, research, and other aspects of your project.
• Get the materials you’ll need for your display board.
• Start to imagine how you’ll organize your information.

• An introduction to your topic or the problem you’ve addressed.
• How the problem impacts the real world (such as how a better understanding of the issue can impact humans).
• Your hypothesis, or what you expected to learn about through your experiment.
• The research you did to learn more about your topic.
• The Materials that you used in your project.
• Each step of your experiment’s procedure.
• The results of your experiment.
• Your conclusion, including what you learned and whether your data supports your hypothesis.

• When writing your speech, try to keep it simple, and avoid using phrases that are more complicated than necessary. Try to tailor the presentation to your audience: will you be presenting to your class, judges, a higher grade than yours, or to an honors class?
• Writing out your presentation can also help you manage your time. For example, if you’re supposed to talk for less than five minutes, shoot for less than two pages.

• For example, if you've made a volcano, make sure you know the exact mix of chemicals that will create the eruption.

Creating Your Display Board

• When you purchase your board, you should also acquire other materials, like a glue stick, construction paper, a pencil, markers, and a ruler.

• Consider using the top left corner for your topic introduction, the section under that for your hypothesis, and the bottom left section to discuss your research.
• Use the top right corner to outline your experiment’s procedure. List your results underneath, and finally, put the section with your conclusion under the results.

• Be sure to use a dark font color that’s easy to see from a distance.
• You can also write everything out by hand. Draft your lettering in pencil before using a pen or marker, and use a ruler to make sure everything is straight.

• Before gluing anything, make sure you plan out each section’s position and are sure everything will fit without looking cluttered. Use rulers to make sure everything is positioned evenly.

• Consider including 1 slide for each section, like 1 for the title of your project, 1 for your hypothesis, and 1 that outlines each main point of your research. If a slide becomes too dense, break it down by concept.
• Limit the text to 1 line and include a visual aid, like an image or a graph, that demonstrates the concept or explains the data. [6] X Research source

Giving a Great Presentation

• Take the time to iron your clothes and tuck your shirt in to avoid looking sloppy.

• It’s a good idea to use the restroom before you have to present your project.

• It can be really hard to resist, but try to avoid saying “um” or “uh” during your presentation.
• Speaking when you have a dry mouth can be difficult, so it’s a good idea to keep a water bottle handy.

• Remember it’s better to be honest if you don't know how to answer a question instead of making something up. Ask the person who asked the question to repeat or rephrase it, or say something like, "That's certainly an area I can explore in more detail in the future."

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/teacher-resources/science-fair-projects/#sciencefairpresentation
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KVTLT6QeTE
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHXidlH-dBw
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3hT6Ocf39w
• ↑ https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/judging-tips-to-prepare-science-fair

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Home PowerPoint Templates Science

Science PowerPoint Templates & Presentation Slides

Download science PowerPoint templates and slide designs that you can use in science projects and science presentations. Find creative slides & layouts for PowerPoint including science backgrounds or relevant icons & PowerPoint shapes to represent atoms, microscopes, solar power, etc.

Scientific Method Diagram PowerPoint Template

IMRaD PowerPoint Template

Science Fair PowerPoint Template

Dichotomous Keys Conclusion PowerPoint Diagram

DNA Repair Process PowerPoint Scene

Earth Diagram PowerPoint Template

Conference PowerPoint Template

Blood Types PowerPoint Template

Science Lab PowerPoint Template

One-pager Scientific Poster Template for PowerPoint

Immersive Technology PowerPoint Template

Science is a vast field of study that has been researched for centuries. Scientists are discovering new things and developing new technologies. A well-presented science PowerPoint must be able to cut across all branches of science. Using our science PowerPoint templates, create a visual slide for your project defense, proposals, or other purposes. It will make your defense easier because all you need to do is edit one of our fully customizable templates.

A scientist will usually present the results of laboratory experiments, which must accurately represent the scope of the field. To save time when creating your presentation, check our fully editable PowerPoint template for your presentations . These customizable science PowerPoint templates are simple to use in terms of download and editing. You can make your message more understandable by using simple science PowerPoint templates.

Creating a science PowerPoint presentation, on the other hand, has been somewhat difficult due to the inclusion of formulae and other important parameters. We’ve compiled a list of science presentation templates that are visually appealing to the audience and effectively convey information. PowerPoint slides and layouts with creative science backgrounds or relevant icons and PowerPoint shapes to represent atoms, microscopes, solar power, and so on are included.

What exactly is a PowerPoint presentation on science?

A science PowerPoint presentation is a visual representation and demonstration of facts using PowerPoint slides . Proper representation and demonstration are required when presenting your experimental results to your audience. At SlideModel.com, we have a large collection of 100% editable science PowerPoint templates and background designs.

What is the purpose of making a science PowerPoint presentation?

When presenting without proper documentation, a science PowerPoint presentation can help to avoid the lack of precision. We’ve worked on some science PowerPoint presentation templates because there are scientific figures, images, formulas, and so on that are better suited to each presentation.

Yes, we have a collection of visually appealing background templates like the Nervous System PowerPoint Template which you can download and customize.

How do you design a visually appealing science PowerPoint template?

Follow these guidelines when creating a scientific PowerPoint: make it one slide, one point; avoid bullet points and lengthy sentences; use phrases and words; and use simple graphs, images, and tables. The preceding procedure may have been stressful and time-consuming, but you can easily download and edit our science PowerPoint template and enjoy a standout presentation. Check the well-illustrated Conventional Diagram Powerpoint Template .

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Our annual unlimited plan let you download unlimited content from slidemodel. save hours of manual work and use awesome slide designs in your next presentation..

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Excellence in Science at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Highlighted with Presentation of Annual Science Awards

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe underscored the importance of science at the agency and called attention to some of its top practitioners when he announced the recipients of the 2015 Rachel Carson and Sam D. Hamilton Awards for scientific excellence. The awards, made at a reception during the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, honor Service employees and partners for their scientific contributions to improve the Service’s knowledge and management of fish and wildlife resources.

“Our nation’s fish and wildlife conservation system is founded upon the principle of sound science,” said Ashe. “This year’s award winners reflect the highest standard of scientific integrity and demonstrate exceptional leadership through their efforts to tackle two very complex conservation challenges.”

Gail Collins, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist at the Sheldon-Hart National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is the recipient of the Rachel Carson Award for Exemplary Scientific Accomplishment, which recognizes scientific excellence through the rigorous practice of science applied to a conservation problem to achieve conservation results for fish and wildlife.

At the Sheldon Refuge, Gail led multiple studies to document the ecological impacts to wildlife habitat from feral horses and burros. Her investigations provided strong scientific support to justify the controversial decision to remove the feral horse and burro population from Sheldon. The removal now complete, priority species such as pronghorn and greater sage-grouse are benefiting from improved habitat in the largest intact tracts of sagebrush sagebrush The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species. Learn more about sagebrush -dominated habitat in the West.

In 2015, the Service established the Sam D. Hamilton Award for Transformational Conservation Science in tribute to the fifteenth director of the Service. The award recognizes individuals and teams for the innovative application of science to large-scale conservation problems. By going beyond geographic and organizational boundaries, the partners of the Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment (GCVA) are deserving of this inaugural award.

Climate, sea level rise and urbanization are changing at extraordinary rates and are expected to have large effects on natural resources. The GCVA evaluated the potential impacts of these stressors on four Gulf Coast ecosystems and 11 associated species to assess their susceptibility to future change and aid in developing adaptation strategies.

The GCVA was initiated by the four Gulf coastal Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) – Gulf Coast Prairie, Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks, South Atlantic, and Peninsular Florida LCCs – in partnership with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance and more than 50 partners from federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. The GCVA will guide conservation and restoration efforts by helping conservation partners across the Gulf identify vulnerable areas to focus critical resources. 

The award recipients will receive $50,000 to be used at their field stations to support additional scientific work.

For more information about the Science Awards and the Service’s commitment to scientific excellence, visit: www.fws.gov/science/awards.html . 

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Ph.D. Proposal Presentation by Tao Jin

Computer Science Department

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Efficient Rank Elicitation from Pairwise Comparisons

  abstract : .

Rank aggregation is a widely applicable task in various domains, including voting, gaming, and recommendation systems. It involves combining pairwise or listwise comparisons to generate a unified ranking.

This topic has a long history and is still relevant today: it dates back to democratic voting systems in Ancient Greece; it was modeled on psychology experiments in the last century, and it is the cornerstone of reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) in large language model (LLM) finetuning to produce high quality output aligned with human values. In the era of big data, with an abundance of available data, there is a growing need for efficient and accurate analysis to uncover hidden knowledge.

In the context of the usage and acquisition of data from multiple sources with different levels of quality during rank aggregation, this proposal aims to address the challenges of efficiently and accurately dealing with heterogeneous data sources. Specifically, we focus on two interconnected topics: active ranking and bandit problems.

Active ranking techniques aim to minimize the number of samples needed to generate an aggregated ranking by strategically selecting data based on existing information and rankings. Previous studies have explored methods under different transitivity assumptions, such as Strong Stochastic Transitivity (SST) or Weak Stochastic Transitivity (WST). In this proposal, our main focus is on improving methods based on these two assumptions to incorporate source accuracy to increase data efficiency and estimation accuracy.

In addition, if the objective of the algorithm is both to rank items and to collect rewards, the problem can be formulated as a dueling bandit problem. Previous research has primarily focused on achieving optimal regret when rewards are based on linear functions. However, the behavioral model suggests that the reward function is non-linear, leading to generalized linear models. Unfortunately, existing methods for this class of problems only approximate the confidence interval using a pessimistic estimate that is derived when dealing with linear models. In this study, we specifically investigate a special case within generalized linear models and propose adjusting the size of the confidence interval based on available information. We focus on the logistic link function, which is a subset of the generalized linear model. For this specific model, we show a method that can improve the efficiency and accuracy of determining whether the result falls within the function.

Committee :  

• Cong Shen, Committee Chair  (ECE/SEAS/UVA)
• Farzad Farnoud, Advisor (ECE, CS/SEAS/UVA)
• Chenyu Wei (CS/SEAS/UVA)
• Shangtong Zhang (CS/SEAS/UVA)
• Yen-Ling Kuo (CS/SEAS/UVA)
• Quanquan Gu (CS/ENG/UCLA)

• iSchool Connect

Introductory course teaches information science concepts through game design

As part of Teaching Associate Professor Judith Pintar's Introduction to Information Sciences (IS 101) course, students are tasked with creating board games that teach various aspects of information science targeted to particular audiences. The students presented their creations on April 19 at the Game Studies and Design Spring 2024 Showcase. In addition to the game demonstrations, the event featured posters and presentations by students and faculty.

The IS 101 students' games covered a range of information science topics–from internet safety to misinformation. Team members Sam Kitzke, Christina Jordan, Brendan McCarthy, and Antonio Iglesias created "Information Domination," a chance-heavy, trivia-based game with a runtime of twenty minutes that highlights the digital divide. The purpose of this game is to teach players about the gap between those who have access to modern information and technology resources, such as smartphones and computers, and those who have limited to no access. 

According to Pintar, integrating game design into her curriculum is beneficial to elevating a student’s learning experience. "Games are cognitively engaging and board games are kinesthetically engaging as well," she said.

"It’s easy to access information and it’s easy to lose information, just like in real life," shared Kitzke. "One of the reasons why I took this course is because I wanted to learn more about how information travels and how to keep data secure."

In the course, students delve into the historical and contemporary context for understanding the role of information in society. Students learn to apply concepts and understand how skills are relevant to addressing significant information challenges of our day, including censorship, misinformation, algorithmic bias, ethical AI, and other important topics. 

"As students take on the responsibilities of the information professions, they need to understand the context within which information–at every point in the information life cycle–is understood, managed, and communicated," said Pintar. "They need to understand that their actions create, shape, and design information–there are responsibilities associated with that, and their designs are also iterative and can be improved. All of these things game design teaches."

Pintar serves as the director of the Game Studies and Design Program. Her research and teaching interests include narrative design, game studies, and gameful pedagogies which she pursues through the  Extended Literatures & Literacies Lab (EL3).

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Dispelling severe 'morning sickness' myths: It's not normal or harmless, but prevention and treatment might be on the way

Late last year, geneticist Marlena Fejzo and colleagues made the discovery that morning sickness's most serious presentation, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), is caused by the hormone GDF15, not human chorionic gonadotropin as previously thought. In a peer-reviewed opinion article publishing May 22 in the journal Trends in Molecular Medicine , Fejzo dispels common morning sickness myths and discusses potential treatments, including sensitizing people to GDF15 prior to pregnancy, similar to the way we treat allergies.

"HG can be life threatening and is associated with adverse outcomes that need to be taken seriously," says Fejzo of the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. "Now that we know that GDF15 is the most likely cause of HG, we are on the cusp of having treatments that target this hormonal pathway and end the suffering."

Myth 1: Severe morning sickness is harmless and normal

Pregnant people with HG are essentially starving, Fejzo says, and an increasing number of studies have demonstrated that this has serious short- and long-term clinical implications for both the parent and child. HG is a top predictor of postnatal depression, and 26% of pregnant people with HG report suicidal ideation while 18% meet the full criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.

For the child, HG is associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, and later in life, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, depression, social problems, in addition to an increased risk of childhood cancer and respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Still, pregnant people with the condition are often dismissed by their clinicians and families.

"It really is like a teratogen in pregnancy, a factor which interferes with normal fetal development, but it's still not taken seriously by a lot of medical professionals," Fejzo says. "A lot of people are brushed off and told, 'oh that's normal, it's okay, just don't take your pre-natal vitamins; you don't need them.'"

At its most extreme, individuals with HG can develop Wernicke encephalopathy, a life-threatening swelling of the brain due to thymine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Since individuals with HG can have trouble even swallowing vitamins, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists currently recommends that they replace broad spectrum prenatal vitamins with folic acid, but Fejzo warns that this is likely insufficient, and that thiamine supplementation is also warranted for individuals with HG.

"I believe all women who have hyperemesis should be given vitamin B1 to avoid this serious brain swelling that can lead to permanent brain damage and often leads to fetal death," Fejzo says.

Myth 2: Morning sickness is caused by human chorionic gonadotropic hormone (hCG) or is psychosomatic

Though it was long thought that morning sickness is caused by hCG, the recent breakthrough has shown that HG's main cause is actually the hormone GDF15, which is part of a normal stress response. Usually, GDF15 is expressed only in very small amounts, but during early pregnancy it spikes by a huge amount, then wanes, and finally rises again during the third trimester.

A recent Nature study co-authored by Fejzo showed that individuals who suffer from HG can have genetic variants that causes them to have lower levels of circulating GDF15 prior to pregnancy, which makes them extra sensitive when they become pregnant and are suddenly exposed to high levels. This finding has clinical implications for preventing and treating HG, since preliminary research suggests that it might be safe to manipulate GDF15 during or even prior to pregnancy.

"GDF15 may be safe to manipulate in pregnancy or even prior to pregnancy," says Fejzo. "If we can increase levels of GDF15 before someone becomes pregnant, that might desensitize them, similar to how we try to desensitize people to allergens who have severe allergies," says Fejzo. "And during pregnancy, we may be able to minimize or get rid of symptoms by blocking GDF15 or its receptors in the brain stem."

Myth 3: Only humans experience morning sickness

Nausea and appetite loss during gestation is not a uniquely human trait -- these symptoms have been observed throughout the animal kingdom, from monkeys, dogs, and cats, to chickens, vipers, and octopuses.

"I always think it's interesting that the recommendation for cats is that if they're unable to eat for a day, you should contact your veterinarian, but we don't have that recommendation out there for women with hyperemesis," says Fejzo. "If you call your doctor's office and say you haven't eaten for a day, they'll say, 'that's normal' and won't do anything. There's more proactive care for cats than humans."

In addition to preventing ingestion of harmful foods, Fejzo speculates that pregnancy-induced nausea likely evolved to prevent dangerous foraging trips.

"This condition likely evolved because it was probably beneficial to avoid going out searching for food during pregnancy," says Fejzo. "That may still be true for animals, but people don't need this anymore, so let's end the suffering once and for all if we can."

Now, Fejzo is working toward developing and testing the proposed GDF15-based treatments. She also plans to investigate other genes and variants of GDF15 that might contribute to HG.

• Pregnancy and Childbirth
• Birth Defects
• Mental Health Research
• Teen Health
• Diseases and Conditions
• Delayed sleep phase syndrome
• Stem cell treatments
• Breech birth
• Miscarriage
• Spanish flu
• Adult stem cell

Story Source:

Materials provided by Cell Press . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Marlena Schoenberg Fejzo. Hyperemesis gravidarum theories dispelled by recent research: a paradigm change for better care and outcomes . Trends in Molecular Medicine , 2024; DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2024.04.006

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Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for ‘Astronomical’ PFAS Lawsuits

At an industry presentation about dangerous “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation, audio from the event revealed.

By Hiroko Tabuchi

The defense lawyer minced no words as he addressed a room full of plastic-industry executives. Prepare for a wave of lawsuits​ with​ potentially “astronomical” costs​. Speaking at a conference earlier this year, the lawyer, Brian Gross, said the coming litigation could “dwarf anything related to asbestos,” one of the most sprawling corporate-liability battles in United States history.

Mr. Gross was referring to PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have emerged as one of the major pollution issues of our time. Used for decades in countless everyday objects — cosmetics, takeout containers, frying pans — PFAS have been linked to serious health risks including cancer. Last month the federal government said several types of PFAS must be removed from the drinking water of hundreds of millions of Americans .

“Do what you can, while you can, before you get sued,” Mr. Gross said at the February session, according to a recording of the event made by a participant and examined by The New York Times. “Review any marketing materials or other communications that you’ve had with your customers, with your suppliers, see whether there’s anything in those documents that’s problematic to your defense,” he said. “Weed out people and find the right witness to represent your company.”

A spokesman for Mr. Gross’s employer, MG+M The Law Firm, which defends companies in high-stakes litigation, didn’t respond to questions about Mr. Gross’s remarks and said he was unavailable to discuss them.

A wide swath of the chemicals, plastics and related industries are gearing up to fight a surge in litigation related to PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of nearly 15,000 versatile synthetic chemicals linked to serious health problems.

PFAS chemicals have been detected almost everywhere scientists have looked: in drinking water, in rain falling over the Great Lakes , even in Antarctic snow . They are thought to be present in the blood of nearly every American . Researchers have linked exposure to PFAS to testicular and kidney cancers, developmental delays in children, decreased fertility, liver damage and thyroid disease. The man-made chemicals are so long-lasting that scientists haven’t been able to reliably identify how long it might take for them to break down.

PFAS-related lawsuits have already targeted manufacturers in the United States, including DuPont, its spinoff Chemours, and 3M. Last year, 3M agreed to pay at least $10 billion to water utilities across the United States that had sought compensation for cleanup costs. Thirty state attorneys general have also sued PFAS manufacturers, accusing the manufacturers of widespread contamination.

But experts say the legal battle is just beginning. Under increasing scrutiny are a wider universe of companies that use PFAS in their products. This month, plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit against Bic, accusing the razor company for failing to disclose that some of its razors contained PFAS.

Bic said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation, and said it had a longstanding commitment to safety.

The Biden administration has moved to regulate the chemicals, for the first time requiring municipal water systems to remove six types of PFAS . Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency also designated two of those PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, shifting responsibility for their cleanup at contaminated sites from taxpayers to polluters.

Both rules are expected to prompt a new round of litigation from water utilities, local communities and others suing for cleanup costs.

“To say that the floodgates are opening is an understatement,” said Emily M. Lamond, an attorney who focuses on environmental litigation at the law firm Cole Schotz. “Take tobacco, asbestos, MTBE, combine them, and I think we’re still going to see more PFAS-related litigation,” she said, referring to methyl tert-butyl ether, a former harmful gasoline additive that contaminated drinking water. Together, the trio led to claims totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.

PFAS were an industrial marvel when chemists at Dupont in the 1940s synthesized the material, a remarkably durable compound resistant to water, stains, heat and grease. It quickly became a mainstay in DuPont’s Teflon nonstick pans and 3M’s Scotchgard fabric protector. A powerful fire suppressant, it helped firefighters battle flames. Today, they are used for everyday items as varied as microwave popcorn bags, shampoos, raincoats and firefighting foam.

But the very qualities that have made PFAS so valuable have also prevented them from breaking down naturally in the environment. As PFAS entered the environment from factories, products and landfills, the chemicals have started to accumulate in water, air and soil.

Industry documents released through litigation show that manufacturers found adverse health effects from PFAS exposure as early as 1961 . But it wasn’t until the early 2000s that questions increasingly emerged in public about their safety. In 2005, the E.P.A. fined DuPont $10 million , at that time the largest administrative fine ever levied by the agency, for failing to disclose PFAS’s adverse effects.​​

All that has set the stage for a potential legal storm. Unlike tobacco, used by only a subset of the public, “pretty much every one of us in the United States is walking around with PFAS in our bodies,” said Erik Olson, senior strategic director for environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “And we’re being exposed without our knowledge or consent, often by industries that knew how dangerous the chemicals were, and failed to disclose that,” he said. “That’s a formula for really significant liability.”

Sandy Wynn-Stelt of Belmont, Mich., brought one early case. A year after she lost her husband to liver cancer in 2016, she discovered that the Christmas tree farm in front of her home, which had seemed such an idyllic setting, had been a dumping ground for PFAS-laden tannery waste from Wolverine World Wide, the maker of Hush Puppies shoes.

Wolverine had been among the first to license 3M’s Scotchgard for its waterproof footwear. Mrs. Wynn-Stelt got her blood tested, and found PFAS levels hundreds of times the norm. In 2020, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

She sued Wolverine and 3M, and reached a settlement in 2021. Separately, nearly 2,000 local residents settled a class-action lawsuit against Wolverine. The region’s water source remains polluted with PFAS.

“Those lawyers are exactly right. This is going to be huge, now that people are starting to hold companies accountable,” Mrs. Wynn-Stelt said.

Wolverine declined to comment. 3M said it continued to “address PFAS litigation by defending itself in court or through negotiated resolutions.”

Much of the course of future litigation hinges on the evidence over PFAS’s health risks. There is broad scientific consensus that certain PFAS chemicals are harmful. “There’s a weight of evidence,” said Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and the former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “Multiple studies by different investigators, and in different populations.”

Max Swetman, another MG+M partner who presented with Mr. Gross at the February industry conference, addressed the research in his remarks to the group. “There’s a whole lot of new science being created,” he said. “It’s not the best for us.”

Still, some of the research could be vulnerable to criticism, he said. Getting the right experts to testify was crucial, he said. “Epidemiologists, if you get the right one, is always going to be your best expert in trial.”

Mr. Swetman was unavailable to comment on his remarks, according to his law firm.

One challenge facing medical research lies in the sheer number of different PFAS chemicals that have now entered the environment, each of which can have slightly different health effects, said Steph Tai, associate dean at the University of Wisconsin’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and an expert in the use of science in environmental protection and litigation.

“The other thing, too, is that it takes a long time for health effects to show up,” Dr. Tai said, so the only way that scientists have been able to assess those effects is through long-term studies. Researchers must essentially look for what is referred to as “natural experiments,” according to Dr. Tai, comparing people who are naturally less exposed to PFAS with those who are more exposed. That inevitably leads to some uncertainties.

The industry has scored some major victories. Last November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit tossed out a lawsuit that would have covered every Ohio citizen in a major case over exposure to PFAS, ruling that a firefighter who brought the lawsuit failed to prove that the PFAS found in his blood specifically came from the companies he sued.

3M phased out most uses of two of the most widely used PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, in the early 2000s, and DuPont in 2015 stopped using PFOA. 3M has said it will phase out the manufacturing of PFAS chemicals by the end of next year. The company will also work to discontinue their use in products, though that’s contingent on the company finding substitutes.

“As the science and technology of PFAS, societal and regulatory expectations, and our expectations of ourselves have evolved, so has how we manage PFAS,” 3M said.

DuPont referred inquiries to Chemours, the company that was spun off in 2015. Chemours declined to comment.

A long and difficult cleanup is beginning. President Biden’s 2021 infrastructure law provides $9 billion to help communities address PFAS contamination, and the E.P.A. has said $1 billion of that money would be set aside to help states with initial testing and treatment. Meantime, new kinds of PFAS are still being released into the environment. Scientists are working to learn more about them.

Hiroko Tabuchi covers the intersection of business and climate for The Times. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years in Tokyo and New York. More about Hiroko Tabuchi

The Fight Against Cancer

We asked experts what to know about melanoma symptoms, treatment and prevention. Here’s how to avoid one of the deadliest forms  of skin cancer.

Colorectal cancer  rates are rapidly rising among adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s , and the most common warning sign for the disease  is passing blood in the stool, according to a new scientific review.

Should alcoholic beverages have cancer warning labels? Ireland will require them starting in 2026, and there are nascent efforts elsewhere .

Risk calculators can offer a more personalized picture of an individual patient’s breast cancer risk. But experts warn that the results need to be interpreted with the help of a doctor .

The human papillomavirus vaccine provides powerful protection against the leading cause of cervical cancer and against a strong risk factor for anal cancer. Here’s what to know about the shot .

A recent study adds to growing evidence that exercise is an important part of preventing prostate cancer , the second most common and second most fatal cancer in the United States for men.

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