Science writing news

Rectangular photo of Rebecca Boyle’s office bookshelves showing works on the moon, the Solar System, tides, cosmology, and astronomy. Photo credit: Rebecca Boyle.

Rebecca Boyle—Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Moon dust smells like wet ashes and sticks to everything, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin found on their 1969 moon landing. They slept with helmets on to avoid breathing it in. In Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are, Rebecca Boyle covers moon science from the moon’s formation up to recent attempts to monetize it as a graveyard.

Rectangular photo of Elizabeth Nesbitt’s desk showing scientific papers on fossils. Her research comes from primary sources, such as Geobios, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Current Biology, and Papers in Paleontology. Photo credit: Elizabeth Nesbitt

Elizabeth A. Nesbitt and David B. Williams—Spirit Whales & Sloth Tales: Fossils of Washington State

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Mammoths twice the size of today’s biggest elephants, an Ice Age ground sloth 9 ft tall, and voracious moon snails come to life in Spirit Whales & Sloth Tales: Fossils of Washington State. Paleontologist Elizabeth Nesbitt and NASW member David Williams discuss 24 fossils dating from 12,000 years to 520 million years ago including Washington’s most unusual fossil, a 16 million-year-old rhinoceros.

Rectangular photo of Erica Gies’ office bookshelf showing works on water and water-related topics including ecology, environmental legislation, rain, marshes, and rivers. Photo credit: Erica Gies.

Erica Gies—Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

As climate change ramps up, so do flooding and droughts. Humans have altered 75% of the world’s land area, exacerbating these problems. In Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge, Erica Gies tracks global efforts that use satellite data, systems thinking, and other tactics to absorb floods, save and recapture water, stanch plant and animal loss, and help restore our environment.

Rectangular photo of Gabi Serrato Marks’ office bookshelf showing works on disability history and visibility, as well as science writing and science communication. Photo credit: Gabi Serrato Marks.

Skylar Bayer and Gabi Serrato Marks—Uncharted: How Scientists Navigate Their Own Health, Research, and Experiences of Bias

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Disabled researchers remain highly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, Skylar Bayer and Gabi Serrato Marks note. Despite ADA requirements, many schools and worksites offer few accommodations. In Uncharted: How Scientists Navigate Their Own Health, Research, and Experiences of Bias, Bayer, Marks and 30 other scientists recount struggles, setbacks, and successes.

George Musser—Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation: Why Physicists are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

“We can’t understand the measurable, material universe beyond our minds without first understanding our minds,” George Musser asserts. He describes physicists’ efforts to achieve that goal by building and testing concrete models that illuminate the mind in Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation: Why Physicists are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe.

Rectangular photo of Christopher Reddy’s office bookshelf showing books on leadership and leaders, including U.S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Dwight Eisenhower, and Steve Jobs. Photo credit: Christopher Reddy

Christopher Reddy—Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider’s Guide

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Science is like a jigsaw puzzle, environmental chemist Christopher Reddy asserts. In talking with the media and public in times of crisis, scientists may focus on small pieces while audiences seek a big picture, often while events still are evolving. In Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider’s Guide, Reddy offers lessons derived from how he and other scientists conveyed info on eco-crises.

Rectangular photo of Ann Parson’s office book shelf showing works on explorers’ travels, natural history, and the development of technologies. Photo credit: Ann Parson.

Ann B. Parson—The Birds of Dog: An Historical Novel Based on Mostly True Events

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Ann Parson drew on news reports and other records to illuminate the awakening of the sciences in this country in the 1800s. In The Birds of Dog: An Historical Novel Based on Mostly True Events, she highlights growing efforts to protect birds and other wildlife from hunters’ “kill-and-collect” methods, explorers’ travels, and the repercussions of inventions such as photography and the telegraph.

Maggie Jackson—Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Every writer facing a blank screen struggles with uncertainty. Embrace it, Maggie Jackson suggests in Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure. Our uncertainty, she maintains, “equips us to envision the unimaginable, adjust to the unexpected, and value a question as deeply as an answer.” Jackson explores uncertainty in diverse realms: basic science, medicine, politics, space, AI, & more.

Rectangular photo of Stacey Colino’s office bookshelf with titles on dogs, happiness, and well-being. Photo credit Stacey Colino.

Jen Golbeck and Stacey Colino (NASW Member)—The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human-Canine Connection

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Dog adoptions have doubled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Dogs are comfort animals for all of us,” Jen Golbeck & NASW member Stacey Colino say in The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human-Canine Connection. They tell how dogs help us connect with our families and communities, encourage us to go outside, help children learn and grow, and stabilize our lives. Recipe for pupcakes included!