Articles

On science blogs: After the Boston bombs

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.

On science blogs: Explosions

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?

From ScienceWriters: Scholarly pursuits

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.

On science blogs: Clarity?

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.

Social media best practices for writers

In this excerpt from the upcoming Science Writers' Handbook, Emily Gertz advises journalists how to use social media in their work without hitting any career-damaging tripwires. Also, Sarah Webb reflects on how blogging became a central part of her writing business. The Science Writers' Handbook was funded by an NASW Idea Grant and this excerpt is viewable by NASW members only. You can pre-order the NASW-funded Handbook from the NASW Bookstore.

SciLance: Science writing handbook; Pendergrast: A Coca-Cola history

In The Science Writers’ Handbook, 35 writers, most NASW members, and most freelancers by choice, tell how to hone writing skills, find new markets, and mind your own business. They include advice on managing family and home, while meeting deadlines.

In the 3rd edition of For God, Country and Coca-Cola, Mark Pendergrast explores controversies Coca-Cola has encountered in the past decade, including its alleged role in fostering obesity, and tells how the company reacted and retooled.

From ScienceWriters: Conferring amidst the conifers

If you attend the 8th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ2013), in Helsinki in June, be prepared, even if not to hug some trees, at least to go into the woods for some scientific — and social — interactions with your lumber-loving hosts. Indeed, a sure conference highlight will be “science at midnight,” a seminar on the development of innovative and renewable wood-based materials for the future, held in the heart of a coniferous boreal forest.

Journal resources for NASW members

Getting full text of academic journals can be difficult unless you work for a major university or a large corporation that has an account. The National Association of Science Writers has made arrangements for its members with several outlets, including Elsevier and Annual Reviews. This page has a summary of those and other journal resources, and how to apply for access to them. Thanks to the publishers and to NASW member David Levine for the compilation.

On science blogs: Deadly virus and long-dead animals

The new coronavirus has now killed 9 out of 15 victims. It has moved into the UK, and person-to-person transmission seems likely. Will this be a new pandemic? Is the world prepared for it? More on de-extinction: is bringing back the dead a dumb idea or really, really cool? And can the associated reproductive technologies make a lot of money?

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