The latest edition of this annual series, The Best American Science Writing 2012 offers a collection of the year’s most relevant and compelling science writing. This year’s guest editor is Michio Kaku, bestselling author of Physics of the Impossible, co-founder of string field theory, theoretical physicist, and popularize of science.

“The best science articles have a ‘takeaway factor,’” Kaku wrote in his introduction. “(They also) give us some deep insight into the human condition or our place in the universe.” With this in mind, Kaku selected articles that cover a spectrum of scientific inquiry—biochemistry, physics, and astronomy, to genetics, evolutionary theory, and cognition— from publications such as the New York Times, National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, the New Yorker, Science News, and many more.

NASW members are well represented in this volume. They include:

• Denise Grady writes about a new way to fight one of the body’s most dreaded diseases in “An Immune System Trained to Kill Cancer” (New York Times)
• David Dobbs explores the strange nature of the teenage brain in “Beautiful Brain” (National Geographic)
• Josh Fischman explores perhaps one of the most controversial areas of brain studies in “Criminal Minds” (Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Douglas Fox uses simple physics and neurology to determine how much brainpower can be squeezed into our skulls in “The Limits of Intelligence” (Scientific American)
• Linda Marsa raises a provocative question — Why the wacky weather? — in “Going to Extremes” (Discover)
• Charles Petit writes about one of the great revolutions in all of astronomy — the discovery of extra-solar planets — in “Stellar Oddballs” (Science News)

NOTE: Ecco/Harper seeks submissions for The Best American Science Writing 2013. Send work, published in 2012, electronically to series editor Jesse Cohen at jesse.cohen5@verizon.net. Include a brief cover letter. Deadline: Dec. 31, 2012.