Articles

Jonathan Waldman: Rust

Before trying to repair his sailboat, Jonathan Waldman had given little thought to rust. He soon learned why the Pentagon calls rust “the pervasive menace.”

From ScienceWriters: Retraction Watch receives $400,000 grant

After more than four years, 2,000 posts, and incredible responses from the scientific community, Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky announce that their organization has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation to expand the work of Retraction Watch. The goal of the grant — $200,000 per year for two years — is to create a comprehensive and freely available database of retractions, something that doesn’t now exist.

Witze and Kanipe: Island on Fire

News from Iceland is both cool and hot, as Alexandra Witze discovered while exploring the history and impact of the eruption of the island’s Laki volcano more than 200 years ago.

From ScienceWriters: Understanding IRS filing extensions

Tuesday, April 15, is the deadline for filing Form 1040 for calendar year 2014. It can prove expensive to miss the deadline because the law authorizes the Internal Revenue Service to impose a substantial, nondeductible penalty. Generally, the penalty is five percent of the balance due (the amount that remains unpaid after subtractions for taxes previously paid through withholdings from wages and quarterly payments of estimated taxes). The IRS charges five percent for each month, or portion of a month, that a 1040 is late.

Dennis Meredith: The Cerulean’s Secret

As genomic science fiction becomes science fact, Dennis Meredith explores in fiction the ramifications of developing genetically engineered pets, including exotic crosses, like cogs, dats, and hamakeets, and an alluring iridescent blue cat.

Apply now for a Lindau travel fellowship

NASW members are invited to apply for travel grants to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting June 28-July 3 in Lindau, Germany. Apply by March 1, 2015, for the opportunity to connect with 60+ Nobel Laureates in physiology & medicine, physics, and chemistry and over 600 young researchers from 80 countries.

Mentoring at AAAS 2015 in San Jose

The NASW Education Committee is again sponsoring its annual mentoring program during the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Jose, Feb. 12-16. We will pair mentors with students in graduate science writing programs or with undergraduates who have demonstrated a serious interest in science journalism. Use the "read more" link to learn more and apply as either a mentor or a student.

From ScienceWriters: Pitching your book proposal to an agent

How do you find an agent? What material should you send? Those questions on NASW-Books generated this recent exchange and tips from NASW authors.

Deborah Halber: The Skeleton Crew

In the U.S. today, remains of some 40,000 individuals have yet to be identified. In The Skeleton Crew, Deborah Halber explores a subculture of amateur detectives, who strive to solve cold cases. Many do their legwork on the Internet. As one reviewer noted, it’s DIY CSI.

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