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Rochman: The Gene Machine

“Is genetic knowledge empowering or fear-inducing, or both? Will it heighten the anxieties of already hyper-anxious helicopter moms and dads, always waiting for the genetic shoe to drop? … Will it stress parents out or make them savvier?” — Bonnie Rochman poses these questions in The Gene Machine, as she explores not only present and potential advantages of genetic screening of fetuses and children, but also its drawbacks.

New committee seeks volunteers

NASW's newly formed Governance Committee is looking for volunteers. The committee will work to ensure that the organization is effective, efficient, and performs to standards of due diligence. It will review the constitution and bylaws on a regular basis and recommend best practices.

From ScienceWriters: Communicating science in the clickbait era

Scientists and professionals at research institutions eager to inform the public about their work need to go where the readers or, increasingly, the viewers are. Instead of driving traffic to their websites, a panel of public information officers, editors, and journalists recommend creating science content specifically for use on Snapchat, Facebook Live, Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media outlets.

Announcing the NASW Diversity Fellowship

Making ends meet on an intern’s salary can be hard. Stipends, even the more generous ones being offered, don’t always cover the full costs of temporarily relocating. The National Association of Science Writers is pleased to introduce a fellowship for talented students and early-career science writers undertaking summer science-journalism internships. Fellowship winners will come from diverse backgrounds and receive $5000 to supplement any stipends they receive from their summer employer.

WCSJ2017 organizers announce program themes, fellowships, speakers

NASW and other organizers of the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ2017) unveiled details of the upcoming event at an information session held today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Announcements included program themes, new plenary speakers, an initiative to serve attendees from Latin America and the Caribbean, pre- and post-conference activities, an update on conference fundraising, and travel fellowships. Read the release here.

NASW Travel Fellows to AAAS

Congratulations to this year's NASW Travel Fellows. These 10 undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds and educational institutions were selected by the NASW Education Committee to attend this year's AAAS annual meeting Feb. 16-20, in Boston. Each fellow will receive up to $1,000 to assist with travel. Fellows will each write a story for publication on the NASW website, and participate in the NASW mentoring program and NASW internship fair.

Lemonick: The Perpetual Now

This book tells the story of Lonni Sue Johnson, an accomplished artist, musician, pilot and organic dairy farmer who came down with viral encephalitis in her late 50’s and became what neuroscientists call “densely amnesic.” Like the celebrated H.M., she can no longer remember more than a fraction of her past, and can’t form new memories to carry into the future.

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