Two dozen print and electronic journalists from across the Southeast got a glimpse of what’s coming next in the climate story during Measure Globally, Respond Locally, a mini-conference held August 15 and 16 in Asheville, N.C.
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In this second, updated edition of Human Genetics: The Basics Ricki Lewis provides a concise overview of what genes are and how they function. Consideration of genes has made the practice of medicine both more precise and more personal, she says, describing benefits of genetic research to the understanding and treatment of both rare and common disorders that include cystic fibrosis, cancer, and cardiovascular and infectious disease. Genetic testing teamed with information science, she notes, now makes it possible to diagnose some inherited diseases in minutes. In wrapping up each chapter, Lewis presents dilemmas that may arise from genetic research, information, applications, and technologies.
If confusion is the first step to knowledge, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) users must be geniuses. Fee categories. Pre-determination agency actions. Multitrack processing. Administrative appeals. Glomar responses. In some ways, the FOIA is as impenetrable as it is helpful, but a new resource wants to change all that: FOIA Wiki, which launched in beta Oct. 3.
Smallpox lesions have been found on mummies. Skeletons thousands of years old show bone deformities that may have come from syphilis. In Outbreak!: 50 Tales of Epidemics that Terrorized the World, Beth Skwarecki chronicles the devastation caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions, dietary insufficiencies, and other scourges, from those known in ancient times, including malaria and plague, to more recent outbreaks, such as those of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Ebola. Skwarecki provides 3-5 page summaries for each epidemic, telling what happened and including the current threat level, treatment, and research findings.
Seattle-based science writers and playwrights collaborated to produce theatrical works in a week. “Theatre is where we come together as a society to do our collective thinking,” said David Mills, artistic director of Infinity Box. “Theatrical stories help us think ahead about the human consequences of changes driven by science and technology.
The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW), in cooperation with NASW, this week launched a new fundraising campaign to provide travel fellowships for international science writers attending the 10th World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ2017) scheduled for October 26-30 in San Francisco.