Articles

On science blogs UPDATED FOR #SCIO13: Hey, kids! Let's clone a Denisovan!

Hey, kids! Let's clone a Neanderthal! Why? Human genetic diversity! Alien communication! Effects of agriculture on human evolution! Because we can (maybe)! Or, none of the above. Get real, it's an absurd notion. Also, coming next week: ScienceOnline 2013! aka #scio13 UPDATED!

Mentor a student writer at AAAS Boston

The NASW Education Committee is again sponsoring its annual mentoring program at the AAAS meeting in Boston, February 14-18, and we need at least 30 volunteers to act as mentors. We match veteran writers with students in graduate science writing programs or undergrads who have displayed a serious interest in science journalism. We've had a lot of interest so far from students across the country!

Van Dam travel fellowship update

The National Association of Science Writers invites applications for the Laura Van Dam Travel Fellowships to this summer's meeting of the World Conference of Science Journalists in Helsinki, Finland, June 24-28, 2013. Update: We will be notifying applicants by March 12.

On science blogs: What's new about flu?

What's new with the flu? Well, it's an average flu season. Or maybe it's a bad flu season. We'll see. The flu therapy Tamiflu is lacking effectiveness data, and the current vaccines aren't great either. But there's hope for new vaccines effective against many flu viruses — and maybe other respiratory viruses. Not soon, though. Also: Ice recession research in Alaska. Why 'Net content goes viral. In memoriam Carl Woese, who deserved a Nobel but now won't get one.

On science blogs: Get the lead out

So it wasn't the end of the world after all. Up next: Comet ISON. We'll see. The many medical developments of 2012. Contraception and Obamacare. Cardiology news. Teleportation and quantum computing on the way. Right after Comet ISON. Lead, the criminal element. So get the lead out. Blogging advice for the new year. Do we need a new policy on blogging comments?

Seeking a mentor for AAAS meeting?

Are you a student looking for guidance on how to establish a career in science writing? Are you curious about how senior science writers do their jobs? Here's your chance to find out through the NASW Mentoring Program, which matches science writing students with established science journalists and public information officers for a day during the AAAS Annual Meeting. This year's meeting is February 14-18 in Boston.

From ScienceWriters: The PIO Forum

PIOs and their colleagues might have noticed a push NIH recently made to reinforce the requirement that grantee institutions provide acknowledgement of federal funding in press releases, stories, and other publicly facing items. Some of you may also have heard from NIH lately about including grant numbers in press releases and similar materials, too. Here’s what these projects are all about.

December 2012: Twentysomething/Henig & Henig

TWENTYSOMETHING: WHY DO YOUNG ADULTS SEEM STUCK?
Robin Marantz Henig (NASW member) and Samantha Henig
Hudson Street Press, November 2012, $25.95

A fiftysomething mother (Robin) and her twentysomething daughter (Samantha) explore challenges of early adulthood for the Baby Boomers’ and the Millennials, telling what has changed and what remains the same.

On science blogs: Lost in Space

Organic compounds on Mars! But Curiosity's carbon find might have come from Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, NASA announces another Mars rover for 2020. The National Academy of Sciences says NASA is lost in space and it's all Obama's fault. Meanwhile, in inner space, the backlash against brain porn goes mainstream.

From ScienceWriters: Scholarly pursuits

From time to time, all of us will find ourselves wondering whether all of the blood, sweat, and tears that we put into our work are making a difference. There are a lot of academics in the field who are very interested in these questions, and in this issue we feature three articles that we hope will expand your thinking about the ways in which science writers make a difference in their professional, local, and global communities.

Science writing news