In recent years, China has actively guided the development of the cultural industry through national policies and promoted the natural integration of science and technology with the cultural industry. Such a trend has not only inspired a large number of new forms of scientific and cultural products but also provided new grounds for science and technology museums and popular-science museums to develop content based on cultural heritage. Relying on the content and exhibit resources of the China Science and Technology Museum and taking the intangible cultural heritage project ‘Chinese shadow puppetry’ as a research case, this paper analyses the traditional cultural factors and scientific elements of the case, elaborates on the theoretical logic of integrating scientific and traditional cultures in science exhibitions, summarizes from a practical perspective the exhibition principles and exhibition and education models featuring the integration of scientific and traditional cultures, and explores viable paths for integrating traditional culture into science exhibitions.

There is a tension in science museums between the general and the specific. While the concepts that a museum explores may be considered universal and the technologies on display distributed internationally, the stories of individual artefacts are unavoidably singular. Whether or not their biographies are explicit in museum interpretation, they each have distinct meanings associated with the places they have passed through: the geographies of their biographies. In this paper, two pieces of unassuming apparatus—a personal dosimeter and its charging unit—are used to illustrate how even mundane objects can be afforded rich narratives linked to a particular place. The use-life of this safety equipment for detecting radiation, now held in National Museums Scotland, links the collection to the geographical specificity of the experimental development of nuclear power in Northern Britain. The afterlife of the dosimeter and charger on display in the museum's collection is a material element of the construction of nuclear cultural heritage. Previously displayed to illustrate general principles of radiation, in their more recent museum setting, these small risk-management tools manifest the hopes and fears of Cold War Scotland. They link the civilian and military development of nuclear technology in the context of a conflict between global superpowers to everyday life in a facility on the windswept coast of a small country.

With China's shift towards modifying its coal-based energy mix, developing nuclear power and constructing nuclear power plants have become central strategies. While nuclear energy offers economic and environmental benefits, the impact of nuclear science popularization on people's attitudes, especially those of students, towards nuclear power development remains a concern. This study examines university students’ needs and attitudes towards nuclear science popularization. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey ( n = 506) administered to university students studying in Guangdong Province. Regression analysis revealed that university students’ willingness to study nuclear science is related to their concerns about nuclear science, their need for nuclear knowledge and their support for nuclear energy. In addition, only 12% of students have learned nuclear knowledge in university classes, and 13% have acquired that knowledge outside of classes. Notably, 89% of students want to learn more about nuclear science in the future. These findings suggest that nuclear science popularization efforts should identify and address the factors influencing students’ willingness to learn so that effective measures can be implemented to improve nuclear science popularization.

This paper reviews the popular TV cartoon series Professor Balthazar , which was first produced in Yugoslavia in the 1960s–1970s and has recently been revived with the release of a new season and computer game. The paper argues that, despite its somewhat clichéd portrayal of a scientist, the series still manages to present a rather nuanced representation of the scientific process, including the scientific method and the importance of failure for innovation. This could partly stem from the Zagreb School of Animation's preoccupation with abstract critiques of issues such as modern technology, and from the humanist socialist political environment in which the series was first developed. This new analysis suggests that the cartoon series, which has been overlooked in science and technology studies, could be used more directly in science education, extending beyond its current use in the media culture curriculum in primary schools.

The World Federation of Science Journalists, established in 2002, marked a significant achievement by uniting global associations and organizing international conferences in science journalism. Its formation was preceded by decades of internationalization efforts from the late 1960s, involving precursor organizations such as the International Science Writers Association, the Ibero-American Association of Science Journalism and the European Union of Science Journalists’ Associations. This article explores the evolution of international science journalism associations, highlighting key figures, milestones and challenges while emphasizing the role of global associations in shaping the field.

Artificial intelligence (AI) presents transformative opportunities and complex ethical challenges. This paper adopts a socio-technical perspective, emphasizing that AI is not an isolated technology but rather deeply embedded in evolving societies. It critiques governance models, particularly rule-based approaches in the West, which, whilst addressing some risks, often stifle innovation and fail to engage diverse societal needs. This paper proposes an alternative framework integrating Western risk-management strategies with Chinese ethical principles rooted in Confucianism and Daoism. These principles emphasize dynamics, flexibility, relational stakeholder participation, and context-sensitive solutions to align AI with societal and environmental goals. The proposed model advocates for a co-learning approach to AI ethics, recognizing the dynamic interactions among developers, users, policymakers, and the public. By fostering participatory governance and adaptive ethical frameworks, it addresses both known and unknown risks while promoting equitable, sustainable development. It calls for cooperation to harness AI's transformative potential, ensuring it evolves in ways that benefit society and mitigate harm.

This article revisits the concept of epistemological rupture by questioning the stark division between scientific and non-scientific thought. Drawing on the theory of representation, it contends that both forms of knowledge are socially constructed, moulded by communication, norms and group dynamics. Rather than labelling non-scientific thought as flawed or regressive, the discussion shows how decontextualization and recontextualization processes apply equally to everyday ‘natural’ knowledge and formal science, exposing the social and historical contingencies shaping concepts. Consequently, rupture appears less a sudden break than a gradual threshold reached through dialectical transformations in cognition and society. Rather than conferring total superiority on science, ruptures highlight how certain discourses gain legitimacy while others become ‘non-knowledge’. The article concludes that science's dominance reflects broader power relationships and evolving modes of production and validation. By situating epistemological rupture within these processes, it illuminates how different knowledge forms coexist, evolve and sometimes conflict in stratified social fields—ultimately challenging a simplistic binary between scientific progress and supposedly primitive or natural thought. This viewpoint opens new possibilities for examining the shifting boundaries between rational explanations and the shared beliefs shaping collective reality and daily life.

Epistemic trust refers to the mental or intellectual bond between the Self and Others, which takes two forms. First, it concerns the participants’ mutual trust that they share a common ground for understanding, communication and interpretation of their social reality. Second, it arises from the explicit awareness that the participants differ with respect to their understanding of their common ground and are willing to learn from an epistemic authority. Authority is a voluntary symbolic relation between the Self and Others. It contrasts with power, which refers to a relation of coercion that enforces obedience. The growing democratization of institutions and liberalization, as well as growing distrust of professionals, scientists and politicians, together with the emphasis on the rights of individuals and minority groups, has led to a crisis of authority.