No, I’m not riffing on 10 squared, or even the the discovery that DNA sequences called genes are combined into packets called chromosomes (100 years ago). No, today marks this blog’s 100th post. I’ve offered my own version of how to become a science writer (in 10 not-so-easy guidelines) and the cultural divide between my…
As I promised, I’m posting a list of my fellow blogathoners, more than a hundred strong. I’m inspired to be in such a large group, but it’s also a little daunting. (Thanks again to Michelle Rafter, our fearless organizer). Here’s to day 4– More science tomorrow. Rebecca I. Allen – 356 No More, A journey from couch…
I’m back for the WordCount May Blogathon again this year. Daily blogging each day in May was both challenging and fun last year, and I’m hoping that I’m up to the challenge again this year. More details about my partners in posting soon. This time last year I wondered if I’d manage to post each…
I’m participating in Ada Lovelace Day, saluting women in technology and science. I thought about writing about a particular researcher, but I decided instead to single out the often anonymous heroines (and heroes) of science and technology, the teachers who inspire young minds to pursue science careers. Though their names aren’t remembered by Nobel or…
It depends on where you visit, but maybe a little of both. This NY Times article from last week tries to distill apart the complex reaction of visitors within the vessel of a science museum and sniff the ether of what’s to come. A science museum is a kind of experiment. It demands the most elaborate equipment: Imax…
Though my writing life ranges from writing health stories for teens to writing about research topics and careers issues for scientists, the sources that I speak with for the former type of article generally don’t overlap with those for the latter. Until now. Last spring, I was working on an article about the common cold,…
Last Friday afternoon, I spoke on a panel about media careers for the “What Can You Be With A Ph.D.?” Symposium held at NYU Langone Medical Center. I talked to several students and postdocs after the program and wanted to pull together a list of resources related to careers in science writing. It was a…
It’s an interesting week to talk about women in science. On Tuesday afternoon, I listened in on the end of a White House panel discussion about Title IX and its impact on women in both athletics and science and technology. Scientific American also reported on a new government study about the state of women in…
Scientists, writers and even science writers share a common plight: there’s always a subset of their work that lies fallow, tucked in a notebook, lingering on a hard drive. The question remains whether that work should remain on a dusty shelf, or whether it actually belongs among “the published.” When I was in graduate school,…
Almost 6 years ago, I attended a conference of scientists and communicators about issues of communicating global warming to the general public. At that point I was still wearing my graduate student hat and was still learning the ropes of science writing. The issues related to global warming and the public were different– this was…