One solution would be to get more scientists into teaching. Instead, research is seen as the crown jewel of science. Sometimes it seems like only those who are desperate for jobs become teachers. The dividends are enormous. About 91 percent of the scientists in the Bayer study said their high school teachers played important roles in fostering their interest in science.
Education is only part of the cure.
The media must share the burden. Editors often find science stories intimidating and refuse to devote adequate resources to tackle complex topics and make them readable. During its last bout with downsizing, one of the largest newspapers in the country dropped the ax on the only reporter who covered science. That newspaper, the Arizona Republic, based in a rapidly growing center for science and technology, still pays little attention to science. I remember asking Nobel laureate Leon Lederman why he had become a physicist.