Science writing news

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.

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.

Every school day, students at Carlsbad High tune in their classroom televisions to a news show produced by its award-winning broadcast journalism program. But no one expected the kind of attention that has lately muzzled one of its most acclaimed works — a short documentary produced by an extracurricular offshoot of the program. The movie, “Invisible Threat,” bills itself as a report on “the science of disease and the risks facing a society that is under-vaccinated.”

Starting August 30, at the request of his British publisher, David Quammen pulled information on the Ebola virus from his 2012 book, SPILLOVER, edited and rearranged it, and added a new introduction and epilogue to address 2014 events. The result is a concise Ebola information resource for citizens, media professionals, and public officials. “I hadn’t imagined, months earlier,” Quammen writes, “that it was physically possible to shape, print, and publish a book so quickly.”

NASW members are reminded that the IRS takes a dim view of freelance writers and other self-employed individuals who miss deadlines for filing federal tax returns or the due dates for making estimated tax payments. Miss just one, says the IRS, and it might exact a sizable, nondeductible penalty, which is based on the agency’s current interest rate for back taxes.

ADVERTISEMENT
EurekAlert! monthly PIO webinar


ADVERTISEMENT
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.

ADVERTISEMENT
Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with NASW