Effective science communication should break down a complex topic and explain it clearly and concisely. The reader needs to be engaged – they should feel interested and inspired. Good science communication happens all the time – whenever a lecturer inspires a student, or a newspaper prints a story that captures readers’ imaginations. At Research Features, though, we believe that effective science communication is not just about helping readers understand; it’s about sharing that knowledge as widely as possible. That means we put a lot of effort into our social media channels and in distributing articles to as wide and large an audience as we can.