For Scientific American's Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman.

You're listening to our weekly science news roundup.

But before we get into some of the science stories you might have missed last week, we've actually got a special little segment to share with you — so let's just dive right in.

The Scientific American multimedia team spent part of last week at the General Assembly of the United Nations, we were hanging out to hear updates on the U.N. 's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

I got to chat with the U.N. 's undersecretary-general for global communications Melissa Fleming, who shared her thoughts on how misinformation and distrust in science are impacting global well-being — plus, what we can do about it.

Here's our conversation:

Melissa, thanks so much for taking the time to chat.

It's great to be with you.

What's your sense of how public trust of science has changed in recent years?

Well, I think with the rise of social media and the potential for anyone to claim to know science or to communicate science, it's really in trouble because science can be uncomfortable, especially when it relates to a global pandemic and you're having to give guidelines to people who don't want to receive it or around climate, for example, and actions that people are afraid to take.