Science writing news

On science blogs this week: Negative

The mouse retrovirus XMRV does not cause chronic fatigue syndrome, but there's more, much more. XMRV doesn't cause prostate cancer either. But, you heard it here first, maybe some other infection does? Should PLoS have retracted the prostate cancer paper without consulting the authors? Plus, savor the big book of best science blogging.

Tips for finding a journalism mentor

The days when a beginning journalist was surrounded by a newsroom full of experienced colleagues may be gone now, Jillian Keenan writes on the Poynter site: "I fell in love with the freedom and flexibility of independent journalism, but there was one problem: without long-term editors to supervise my work, it seemed like I’d never find those inspiring mentors I had imagined." Keenan offers five tips for freelancers who want to fill the gap by finding their own mentors.

On science blogs this week: Junk too

New York City's Health Department is requiring parental consent for a specific form of Jewish ritual circumcision amid claims that it interferes with religious freedom. The pediatricians' official claim that circumcision is good for you and prevents disease appears to be preaching to the converted. How are bloggers at Discover paid? An encore for the ENCORE dispute. What does it mean to say 80% of the human genome is functional?

From ScienceWriters: An international science communication conference

With 670 participants and more than 450 speakers, panelists, and various performers using different presentation formats, the International Conference of Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) took place in Florence, Italy, in April, and was hailed as a success. The 12th of a series, this year’s conference was dedicated to “quality, honesty, and beauty in science and technology communication.” From the Summer 2012 ScienceWriters.

Jon Cohen awarded Victor Cohn prize

Jon Cohen, a contributing correspondent for Science magazine, has been named winner of the 2012 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting. The award is made in recognition of his exemplary coverage of a broad range of biomedical topics, but most notably his distinguished and persistent chronicling of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.

On science blogs this week: Junk

ENCODE says 80% of our noncoding DNA is doing something, but the real story, brought to us by bloggers, is the scientific dispute over whether that figure is a fantasy. Total change is coming to Discover magazine. Officially there will be no changes with star bloggers like Carl Zimmer, Ed Yong, Phil Plait, and Sean Carroll, Hah. Finally, the end of Jonah Lehrer.

From ScienceWriters: Congress again lowers self-employment taxes

Tax legislation enacted last February again reduces Social Security taxes for employees and self-employment taxes for writers, artists, photographers, and other freelancers. What’s the savings this year for NASW members? ScienceWriters contributor Julian Block says the amount will vary, depending on how much they receive from salaries or from freelancing. Their savings can be as much as $2,202. From the Summer 2012 ScienceWriters.

From ScienceWriters: The science of science communication

The National Academy of Sciences held a colloquium in May, “The Science of Science Communication,” at which dozens of science communication researchers discussed how lay audiences perceive science information. The major goal of this meeting was “to improve the understanding, relations between scientific community and the public,” said NAS President Ralph J. Cicerone. From the Summer 2012 ScienceWriters.

2012 Science in Society Journalism Award winners

From autism to animal migration, pollution to animal testing, winners of this year's Science in Society Journalism Awards tackled sensitive and controversial topics with reporting and storytelling skill. Read on to learn more about the winning entries.

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