Student acknowledged for his essay on the problems of puberty

Colin Barras comes 2nd in the Daily Telegraph’s Young Science Writers competition - News

By Colin Smith
30 August 2007

When an unlisted call came through to Colin Barras he had to make a quick decision. “I was trying to cook my tea and was in two minds whether to answer the phone call from a private number; I’m always a bit suspicious of those. Good job I did though,” he said.

The call was from the Daily Telegraph’s science editor, Dr Roger Highfield, who announced to Colin that he had come second in this year’s prestigious Young Science Writers’ competition and was to receive £500 and a 12 month subscription to New Scientist and Nature.

Colin, who has only 3 weeks left until he completes an MSc in Science Communications at Imperial’s Department of Humanities, said he was pleased with second place.

“I am very happy, of course, although I only came second. But writing is such a subjective exercise. I think anyone who makes it to the final shortlist can be proud.”

Colin’s article was on the biological basis for peer pressure. He came across research by Professor Laurence Steinberg at Temple University, Philadelphia, which suggested that teenagers are “powerless” to avoid the influence of peer pressure.

Talking about the research and his article he said, “Teenagers are far more likely to take risks in a computer driving simulation if their peers are in the room. It's because of an interplay between two networks in the brain. One of the networks is called the cognitive control network. That part of the brain is responsible for sensible, grown up behaviour. It's the network that encourages adults to pay their taxes, that sort of thing. The other network, called the socioemotional network, is activated in social situations, in a peer group, and it helps exaggerate the appeal of a reward.”

In adolescents the 'sensible' network is underdeveloped but the 'rash' network is fully developed, he said. “So teenagers are more likely to act on impulse than adults because of their biology. In peer groups the socio-emotional network is especially active, and so teenagers are actually powerless to avoid the influence of peer pressure. It turns out it's not their fault at all, it's just down to biology and neuroscience.”

He stumbled over the research whilst trawling through sciencedaily.com, a site he thoroughly recommends to any budding writer looking for good topics.

The competition was judged by a panel including awarding winning author Fay Weldon; Sir David Attenborough, author, BBC presenter and Fellow of the Royal Society; Dr Philip Campbell, editor in chief, Nature magazine; and Professor Richard Fortey, President of the Geological Society.

Colin’s science writing has been further developed by summer work placements which are part of his degree. He worked for 6 weeks with the news team at New Scientist and is currently half way through a 3 week placement on the technology desk at BBC online.

“Both placements can be very hard work. You learn quickly to write stories in a couple of hours and you spend a lot of time waiting for various parts of the world to wake up and arrive at work so you can talk to them. But it is amazing fun. I’ve learnt about all sorts of science in the last few weeks and almost every scientist you talk to is happy to chat about their work.”

Colin says doing an MSc in Science Communication played a big role in opening his eyes to the great work coming out of the scientific community. He feels his recent acknowledgement could help to give him the exposure needed to get his name known in the world of science journalism.

And what does the future hold?

“I think science reporting will make for an exciting career and I hope I can find a job in the field. Coming second in this competition should help, but with a lot of professions it is all about getting lucky breaks.”

Colin’s first lucky break—his acclaimed article—will be published in the Daily Telegraph later this summer.

Now in its 20th year, The Daily Telegraph Science Writer Competition is held annually to inspire budding young writers to convey important scientific ideas to the nation through informative and exciting writing.