In some ways, writing a book (the Science Writers Handbook) with 30 other writers was easy compared to sole authorship. Each of us had only a chapter or two to write. But in other ways, it was incredibly difficult. How do you make so many individual voices cohesive, and how do you weed out the overlaps or resolve differences of opinion? It quickly became a balancing act of delegating work and decisions, coordinating many moving parts, and heavy doses of diplomacy.
Science writing news
How dangerous is the new bird flu virus H7N9? Who knows? Does WHO know? New cases of the SARS-like coronavirus too. But Saudi Arabia has been laggard with disclosures about the new coronavirus. It is being compared unfavorably to China, which seems to be open about H7N9. Meanwhile, how bad was the US winter flu season? Pretty bad. Moving on to Fun with DNA. It's sinister how often DNA isn't right. Plus how to make a DNA model out of licorice and jelly babies.
If you’ve ever fantasized about building a satellite in your basement and sending it into orbit, this is the book for you. Sandy Antunes spent two years building his Project Calliope satellite. In DIY Instruments for Amateur Space, the third of a planned four-book series, Antunes discusses what you can measure in orbit.
Congratulations to the recipients of this year's Laura Van Dam Travel Fellowships. Estrella Burgos, Dan Keller, Phil McKenna, and Eric Niiler will each receive $2,500 in travel support to attend the 8th World Conference of Science Journalists, June 24-28 in Helsinki, Finland.
Congratulations to NASW members David Bjerklie and Lisa Winter, recipients of the 2013 Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings' fellowships to attend the 63rd Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany.
The Brothers Tsarnaev: Can science explain why? ACES high? Traumatic brain injury? Immature youth? "Cowardly knock-off jihadis?" Docs speak out on the medical aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. MSM and social media were often wrong, wrong, wrong. What can be done about that? Churnalism, a new free tool for detecting plagiarism — and churnalism.
Bombs at the Boston marathon and explosions at a Texas fertilizer plant: compare and contrast. Terrorism vs. (probable) accident. Is Twitter getting better as a news tool? After the marathon blasts, the best of medicine leapt into action. Action at the Supreme Court on human gene patenting. The dismal (non)science: Is worldwide economic misery due to an Excel coding error?
As we submit this article, the election season has just wrapped up in the United States. During our observation of the various campaigns, we noticed a general lack of discussion about science in the political discourse. Some recently published research gives us some ideas about what level of engagement is appropriate in raising these issues and how that engagement sways public opinion.
President Obama unveils his proposed budget. For science and medicine, there's a bit of good news, but mostly not, in this hypothetical numbers game. Down with prostate cancer screening! Down with robotic surgery, too? Scientific jargon confuses scientists. Cloning is easy. A new imaging technique makes brains transparent.
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