Science writing news

Why do some people succeed in life, while others struggle or fail? In March 1946, scientists recorded the birth of nearly every British baby born in a single week, launching what has become the world’s longest running major study of human development. In The Life Project: The Extraordinary Story of Our Ordinary Lives, Helen Pearson reports findings from this and additional studies that have tracked the lives of five generations of children, over 70,000 people throughout the British Isles. The studies richly answer the scientists’ initial questions, and illuminate interventions that can boost every child’s odds of success.

NASW has joined 40 journalism and open government organizations in sending an open letter to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in response to his recent New York Times letter to the editor touting the Obama administration's transparency.

In 1965, the Mariner spacecraft made the first successful flyby of Mars, taking 22 photos of the planet’s surface. In 1976, NASA landed twin Viking probes on Mars. Since 1996, a series of Martian rovers have enabled charting of ancient rivers, lakes, ocean beds, and valleys — a landscape that once perhaps could have supported life. Preparations for a manned mission to Mars are underway today. In Mars: Making Contact, Rod Pyle draws on oral histories and interviews, and includes a library of photos to tell the saga of human exploration of the red planet.

A blue man shows up in a hospital emergency department, then a red woman, then a yellow one, and soon large numbers of people display a kaleidoscope of colors. A rogue biologist has exposed them surreptitiously to a genetically engineered virus that takes over the body’s melanocytes, producing the unnatural hues. Worse, the colors serve as a marker of the scientist’s intent to employ bioweapons to create worldwide mayhem. The FBI’s on the case, and so is the CDC. In his sci-fi novel, The Rainbow Virus, Dennis Meredith provides a behind-the-scenes look at forensic and epidemiological detective work.

“A box jellyfish is little more than goo, yet it can kill a man in less than five minutes. A spider or a scorpion can be unceremoniously crushed under our feet, yet some of their venoms can take us out just as easily,” Christie Wilcox reports in Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry. In this book, based on her PhD research, Wilcox introduces us to venom scientists around the world, telling what venoms do and how they work, and exploring their present and potential medical applications. She also includes stories of survivors of near-fatal venom exposure, individuals who — for highs or putative health benefits — self-inject venoms, and even venom-using murderers. And yes, Wilcox also recounts her own run-ins with venomous barbs and stingers.

Deep in the Heart of Texas, the Alamo City is home to many wonders, including the UNESCO World Heritage Missions and World Champion Spurs NBA team. San Antonio is also deep in the heart of discovery on everything from cancer, Pluto, Ebola, and robotics. San Antonio scientists are excited to welcome you and share their discoveries.

If you were hanging around the Twittersphere in February, you may have caught glimpse of the excitement generated by the return of the Knight Science Journalism Tracker: the MIT-based blog for evaluating and critiquing science journalism, which went on hiatus in 2014. The Tracker has a new home as a monthly column in a much broader, more ambitious digital publication that KSJ’s new director, Deb Blum, and editor Tom Zeller Jr., have given the evocative title Undark.

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A rectangle graphic with a yellow background. The text reads Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award, Honoring a midcareer journalist. Deadline April 30. CASW.org. There is an image of Sharon Begley.

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Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

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