Keeping you abreast of developments

• 'Boobs for Science' blog - known in Italy as Tette per la Scienza - claims 'where reason fails, boobs have a chance'
• Blog asks women to expose their breasts or cleavage alongside a comment about important scientific developments
• Creator Lara Tait, 30, says blog - now featuring men - allows women to put their body 'to the service of science'
• Messages include myth-busting facts about gluten free food, autism, biodiversity, illiteracy and polar auroras

By Steph Cockroft for MailOnline

Published: 07:47 EST, 29 November 2014 | Updated: 08:16 EST, 29 November 2014

A group of half-naked Italian women are pioneering a new selfie craze by taking photos of their breasts in a bid to make science more interesting.

Dozens of scantily-clad women in various states of undress have started posing suggestively in their suspenders and lingerie for 'Boobs for Science', a bizarre website which appears to be taking the Italian blogosphere by storm.

Lara Tait, 30, claims she set up the page - known by its Italian name 'Tette per la Scienza' - as a way of informing the world about developments in science.

A group of half-naked Italian women are pioneering a new selfie craze by taking photos of their breasts - while holding up a message about science - in a bid to make science more interesting. Pictured: A woman declares her support for Rosetta, the European Space Agency's (ESA) recent mission (left) while another sign says that Nobel laureates and many other scientists have linked the use of LSD to their findings (right)

Dozens of scantily-clad women in various states of undress have started posing suggestively in their suspenders and lingerie for 'Boobs for Science', a bizarre website which appears to be taking the Italian blogosphere by storm. Pictured: Two women hold a sign saying 'We are with Rosetta'

One of the messages, held up by a woman wearing suspenders, reads: 'Vegetable protein doesn't have the same biological value as animal protein'

The blog - which features the catchphrase: 'Where reason fails, boobs have a chance' - allows women to give their bodies 'to the service of science', the creator claims. Pictured: A sign reads 'Correlation does not imply causation' (left) while another sign declares that hydrogen peroxide does not cure cancer (right)

The blog - which features the catchphrase: 'Where reason fails, boobs have a chance' - allows women to give their bodies 'to the service of science', she claims.

Ms Tait told The Local: 'I think that in Italy more should be done to bring science and its results to the people. So I just had the idea to do something original in this sphere.'

The blog, which has clocked up nearly 19,000 likes on Facebook, asks women to take a selfie of their breasts and pose alongside a sign which promotes a scientific message.

So far, the messages have included myth-busting facts on gluten free food, to the impact of vaccines on autism. There are also comments on biodiversity, illiteracy and the age of the universe.

Lara Tait, 30, claims she set up the page - known by its Italian name 'Tette per la Scienza' - as a way of informing the world about developments in science. Several have used the hashtag #IOSTOCONROSETTA

The messages feature nuggets of information about everything from vegetarianism and the age of the world, to micro-organisms (left) and autism. Pictured right: More women support the 'Rosetta' campaign

A woman holds up a sign urging people to vaccinate themselves and their child as a 'social duty' (left) while another woman holds a sign saying there are 'more molecules of water in a cup of tea than stars in the universe' (right)

The blog, which has clocked up nearly 19,000 likes on Facebook, asks women to take a selfie of their breasts and pose alongside a sign which promotes a scientific message

Meanwhile, the women who feature in the images range from those willing to bear their breasts in their entirety, to the slightly more discreet, who have opted to cover up in classy black lingerie and provocative corsets.

Ms Tait, a paleoanthropologist, said there was 'absolutely' no risk the 'Boobs for Science' blog would reinforce sexism in Italy.

She said: 'A woman is free to do what she wants with her own body, also put it to the service of science if she wants.'

The tone was set by the first image, which featured a woman's cleavage and a sign saying: '25 percent of Italians deny the theory of evolution. In the US, it's 60 percent'.

Ms Tait, a paleoanthropologist, said there was 'absolutely' no risk the 'Boobs for Science' blog would reinforce sexism in Italy

Men have also started sending in photos of themselves in various states of undress. Pictured: A man holds up a Henry David Thoreau quote reading: 'It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear' (left), while a woman holds a sign saying: 'GMOs promote diversity' (right)

The science fans have also posed with signs bearing the hashtag #iostoconrosetta - meaning 'I am with Rosetta' - to support the European Space Agency's (ESA) recent mission

Ms Tait told The Local : 'I think that in Italy more should be done to bring science and its results to the people. So I just had the idea to do something original in this sphere'

Since then, numerous women have since contributed their own photographs to the Tumblr blog. Now, some men have even started sending in photos of themselves in various states of undress.

One of the messages, held up by a woman wearing suspenders, reads: 'Vegetable protein doesn't have the same biological value as animal protein'.

In a particularly racy photo, another woman sits naked which a fluffy tail attached to her, her modesty only covered with a sign that says: 'Vivesection has been illegal in Italy since 1992.'

Ms Tait said: 'A woman is free to do what she wants with her own body, also put it to the service of science if she wants'

As well as the Tumblr blog, there is also a Facebook page and Twitter feed which encourages women to submit their photos

The various stages of undress range from complete topless women, to the more discreet ladies who have covered up with stylish lingerie

Another woman, who leaves little to the imagination as she poses standing up in just a pair of stringy red briefs, presents a piece of card saying: 'It is not true that we only use 10% of our brain.'

Another contributor, who is baring her naked bottom, holds a sign saying: 'Cuts to research are cuts to your future, [the future of] your children and your country.'

While another topless woman exclaims : 'Polar auroras are formed by the collision of charged particles with the Earth's ionosphere.'

The science fans have also posed with signs bearing the hashtag #iostoconrosetta - meaning 'I am with Rosetta' - to support the European Space Agency's (ESA) recent mission.