Desk Notes Newsletter, April 20, 2022
Inside the April 2022 edition: Save the date for an upcoming NASW workshop, get the scoop on contract law, and catch the latest #SciWriBooks video.
Featured news
Source Diversity Tracking: A workshop
As science writers, we’re often pressed for time. So we reach out to the sources who seem to be easiest to find. But when we exclude the voices of people who are underrepresented in science, we overlook important viewpoints that make our stories richer, more complex, and ultimately more accurate. In this two-part workshop, we’ll address why source diversity matters, what metrics to track, how to capture the data, who should capture the data, and how tracking can be used to improve our work.
How anthropologists are identifying the ‘difficult dead’
From the search for the ‘Original 18’ of the Tulsa Race Massacre to the identification of Ugandans killed during a protracted civil war, scientists are piecing together the past by identifying remains using ethnographic and forensic data collection.
Jellyfish: The future of ocean research?
John O. Dabiri has developed a non-harmful robotic attachment for jellyfish. This new device allows researchers to potentially access larger ocean regions. But how did the path to robotic jellyfish begin?
Desk Notes Newsletter, March 16, 2022
Inside the March 2022 edition: Tomorrow's the deadline for ScienceWriters2022 ideas, a "finding and working with agents" virtual event on March 23, student coverage of the AAAS meeting, and more.
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy shakes off an old stigma
In a February 19, 2022, panel at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science conference, researchers and practitioners of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy discussed promising results from studies and clinical trials that could tip the balance in favor of bringing psychedelic therapies into mainstream medical practice.
Christoph Drösser—Absolutely Record-Breaking: Your Life in Numbers
Numbers tell the story of our lives, from our one and only first kiss, to the 183 pairs of jeans we buy over a lifetime. We can control some numbers, Christoph Drösser asserts in Absolutely Record-Breaking: Your Life in Numbers. “We can work on producing less waste or CO2,” he says, “and eat more fruit or less meat.” His book for young readers currently is available only in German.