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Adam Ruben's tongue-in-cheek column about the common difficulties and frustrations of reading a scientific paper broadly resonated among Science Careers readers. Many of you have come to us asking for more (and more serious) advice on how to make sense of the scientific literature, so we've asked a dozen scientists at different career stages and in a broad range of fields to tell us how they do it. Although it is clear that reading scientific papers becomes easier with experience, the stumbling blocks are real, and it is up to each scientist to identify and apply the techniques that work best for them. The responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

This interrupted case study introduces the topic of bacterial sporulation and cannibalism in Bacillus subtilis. The storyline follows Susan and her lab mates who are presenting research at a lab meeting when Susan falls asleep and dreams they are stranded on a deserted island. She makes connections between their fight for survival in the dream and the survival mechanisms of the bacteria they study in the lab. The benefits of sporulation under conditions of sustained stress are fairly obvious, but Susan's dream is used to examine the idea that sporulation may not always be beneficial and that bacteria would not want to commit to entering such a state in response to temporary stresses. Through the analysis of actual data from the scientific literature, students uncover a mechanism by which B. subtilis delays its commitment to sporulation by killing members of its own species to release nutrients (i.e., cannibalism). Originally developed for a general undergraduate microbiology course when discussing the structure and growth of prokaryotic cells, the case could also be used in an introductory biology course that emphasizes bacteria and data literacy.

Life sciences focus on all things living, exploring the patterns, processes and relationships of organisms. The goal of life sciences is to demonstrate how unifying principles can help us to make sense of the natural world and solve problems in the world we live in. High school life sciences extend student knowledge of topics such as organisms, ecosystems, heredity and evolution, integrating a long history of scientific research from multiple fields. In high school, students will build on their conceptual understanding of life sciences by investigating and witnessing the relationships among structure and function, matter and energy, ecosystems and natural selection. Students should be able to effectively communicate facts and findings, as supported in the science literacy skills covered in the Common Core State Standards.

Evolution is essential to our curriculum and to scientific literacy. To understand the big picture of biology, students need to understand life in terms of both its history and its future - the changing life forms and ecosystems that have arisen and changed over billions of years, as well as the mechanisms that brought about those changes and are shaping the future of life on Earth.

FREE online interactive lessons based around unanswered questions in Earth and Space Science to help students craft cogent scientific arguments based on the evidence.

FREE online interactive lessons based around unanswered questions in Earth and Space Science to help students craft cogent scientific arguments based on the evidence.

Data Nuggets are free classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers, designed to bring contemporary research and authentic data into the classroom. Data Nuggets include a connection to the scientist behind the data and the true story of their research. Each activity gives students practice working with 'messy data' and interpreting quantitative information. Students are guided through the entire process of science, including identifying hypotheses and predictions, visualizing and interpreting data, making evidence based claims, and asking their own questions for future research. Because of their simplicity and flexibility, Data Nuggets can be used throughout the school year and across grades K-16, as students grow in their quantitative abilities and gain confidence." Sounds like real science to me!

Science denial has real, societal consequences. Denial of the link between HIV and AIDS led to more than 330,000 premature deaths in South Africa. Denial of the link between smoking and cancer has caused millions of premature deaths. Thanks to vaccination denial, preventable diseases are making a comeback.

14:40 min video nature of science, claims and evidence