Science writing news

There’s still a gender gap in the sciences, with far fewer women than men in research jobs, and those women earning substantially less, but it doesn’t help when journalists treat every female scientist they profile as an archetype of perseverance. Such was the consensus that emerged from a discussion prompted by a March 5 post at Double X Science. From the Summer 2013 ScienceWriters.

Suppose wrinkles in space-time could open gateways to other universes. That’s fantasy, but fun to contemplate, says Dennis Meredith, who explores this premise in his latest novel, Wormholes. Meredith self-published the book in both adult and young adult versions, hoping to tap both markets.

The winners of the 2013 Science in Society Journalism Awards, sponsored by the National Association of Science Writers, are: In the Book category, David Quammen; in the Science Reporting category, Douglas Fox; in the Longform category, Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe and Michael Hawthorne; in the Science Reporting for a Local or Regional Audience category, Hillary Rosner; and in the Commentary or Opinion category, Christie Aschwanden.

When the Wisconsin legislative joint finance committee inserted a motion into the proposed state budget that would have banned the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism from maintaining its offices on campus — and would forbid any university employee from working with the center — the university and journalists pushed back, and won. Deborah Blum tells the story in the Summer 2013 ScienceWriters.

Health journalists John Fauber, a medical investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Joanne Silberner, a freelance multimedia journalist and former National Public Radio correspondent, are the recipients of the 2013 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting.

In Astronomy 101, Carolyn Collins Petersen brings the seemingly out-of-reach down to earth, providing basic facts and a contemporary perspective on discoveries about dark matter, the big bang, extraterrestrial life, and more.

“I didn't find the idea for my book. It fell into my life like a ton of bricks,” Katy Butler relates. In Knocking on Heaven's Door, Butler describes her parents’ experiences with disability and terminal illness, and explores high-tech and other treatment at the end of life.

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