Mosaic celebrates first anniversary

Since its launch in March 2014, Mosaic's original articles have been read by almost 10 million people across the world, with stories republished by other websites, newspapers and magazines, and translated into several different languages. Mosaic has commissioned in-depth writing and films on a range of topics from the fields of science, health and research, from several high profile journalists. Writers to date have included Carl Zimmer, Linda Geddes, Virginia Hughes and Patrick Strudwick, who recently won an award from the Medical Journalists' Association for his Mosaic feature 'One virus, four lives: the reality of being HIV positive'.

Mosaic's Creative Commons (CC-BY) licence allows its content to be reproduced anywhere, enabling these features and the issues they engage with to reach as broad an audience as possible, running alongside the Trust's commitment to open access. So far, articles have been republished as widely as the USA, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal and Australia, as well as throughout Europe and the UK, in outlets including: CNN, BBC, Gizmodo, Jezebel, New Statesman, The Hindu, The Observer, The Guardian and The Independent. Republished Mosaic content has been read at least 8 million times*, adding to 1.5 million views on the Mosaic website.

Mark Henderson, Editorial Director of Mosaic and Head of Communications at the Wellcome Trust, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the success of Mosaic's first year. Mosaic's innovative publishing model means that people from as far afield as India, Australia, Brazil and beyond, whether they have specialist scientific expertise or not, have been able to read about the most complex and compelling issues in health and biomedical research today, and all for free. We hope to continue to bring fascinating stories about science to new audiences around the world for many years to come."

The Wellcome Trust has long been committed to science writing and journalism as a key way for people who are curious about science to engage with debate around new research and discoveries. In 2011 the Trust set up the Science Writing Prize in partnership with The Guardian and The Observer to create an opportunity for upcoming science writers to have their work published in a national newspaper. The Science Writing Prize has now been running for four years and has seen both professional scientists and non-professionals with an interest in science writing about topics as diverse as facial recognition, the importance of estimates and the origins of syphilis. With the success of Mosaic showcasing how the Trust's interest in science journalism has evolved, the Trust has taken the decision to discontinue the Science Writing Prize, and to reinvest the resources into Mosaic.

Mosaic will be celebrating its anniversary by launching a series of podcasts from the past year's articles, beginning with three of the most popular stories so far: 'The man with the golden blood', on rare blood types; 'In other words', about interpreters who translate accurately in real time, written and read by BBC radio's Geoff Watts; and 'Voices in the dark', Mosaic’s first ever audio feature, on hearing voices. Further podcasts will then be released weekly, and can be accessed via iTunes and RSS feeds.

* Based on data provided by outlets who have republished Mosaic articles. Because many outlets have not made this data available, the true figure will be higher.