Science writing news

Good essays have much in common with good science, in that both start with a question, Michelle Nijhuis asserts in The Science Writers’ Essay Handbook. Narrated in a personal voice, essays involve one or more journeys, and are relevant to both writer and reader, she says, telling how to organize, write, and self-edit essays, and where to find outlets for publication or broadcast. Nijhuis was a co-author of The Science Writers’ Handbook, published in 2013. NASW Idea Grants helped support development of both books.

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What sense is most closely associated with emotions? How much skin does a person shed in one year? Why is it difficult to remember dreams? If you often seek health factoids for articles on medical topics, The Handy Anatomy Answer Book belongs on your bookshelf. NASW member Patricia Barnes-Svarney and her husband, Thomas Svarney — co-authors of several science “Answer Books” — provide hundreds of Qs & As covering all organ systems, as well as basics of physiology.

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In Jerry’s Vegan Women, a work of short fiction, Ben Shaberman traces the life trajectory of the title character who grows from a burger-loving sixth grader into an adult committed to animal welfare and a vegan lifestyle. In the classic tradition of the Odyssey, Jerry encounters women along the way — college classmates, animal rights activists, Humane Society volunteers, pet lovers, and others — who both inform and inspire him.

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In Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder, science journalist Claudia Kalb illuminates common psychiatric disorders by exploring their effects on the lives of well-known people, including Albert Einstein (autism), Charles Darwin (social anxiety), Fyodor Dostoevsky (compulsive gambling), and Marilyn Monroe (borderline personality disorder). She drew on many sources, including letters, journals, and published medical records, and she interviewed biographers, mental health specialists, and others. Her aim: to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness.

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In the Cancer Survival Guide, Charlotte Libov provides information on treatment and life after treatment for the thirteen most common cancers, including those of the lung, breast, prostate, and colon. She offers tips to help patients and families find clinical trials, cost-effective therapies, and free resources, and make sound decisions from the outset. She also includes information on prevention and early detection, including genetic tests that may enable family members to assess their risks.

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When a pickpocket grabbed his wallet in Barcelona, Douglas Fields fought back. He recovered his wallet, and was unharmed, but later marveled at his instantaneous, unthinking reaction. In his book, Why We Snap: Understanding the Rage Circuit in Your Brain, he explores the neurocircuitry driving such automatic responses. Some people put themselves in harm’s way to aid strangers, while others respond to minor traffic incidents with road rage and other violent behaviors. From a neuroscience perspective, he suggests, the same brain circuits drive these dissimilar acts.

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