REGIONAL GROUPS

by Suzanne Clancy

New England

During the preparations for the annual February AAAS meeting Sunday night party-hosted this year by the New England Science Writers-the three go-go dancers hired to entertain nearly 500 science writers wondered if they should dress and perform more conservatively given the professional crowd they expected. Obviously, the dancers hadn't read recent prose penned by members
about the unusual sexual proclivities of beetles or on the provocative bumping and grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates. "The scantily clad dancers in Boston would have shocked the Puritans," said party-goer John Travis, science writer at Science News. Far from being shocked, the women science writers successfully chanted for the male dancer to take his shirt off. Hundreds of other party-goers sculpted fluorescent glow sticks into neon hair ornaments, bracelets and bangles, and belts and other accessories. Pink boas and fuzzy tiaras were passed around the dance floor.

The party planning and fundraising committee (Richard Saltus, Eugenie Samuel, Seema Kumar, Karen Hopkin, Carol Cruzan Morton, Nadia Halim, Wendy Wolfson, Ethan Herberman, Jeff Hecht, Pete Spotts and Neil Savage) thank the party sponsors--Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Aventis, Massachussetts Biotechnology Council, Whitehead Institute, Feinstein Kean, Transkaryotic Therapies, Charles River Labs, Northern California Science Writers, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and the American Meterological Society.

In March, NESW members heard the riveting tale behind Patricia Thomas' new book, Big Shot: Passion, Politics And The Struggle For An AIDS Vaccine. Writers in the audience were impressed by the drama Thomas evoked in telling her story and perhaps a little daunted by the dedication, commitment, and sacrifice it took to complete her book. At a talk and reception at Harvard Medical School, Thomas described how a wily microbe was the least of the challenges faced by a small group of persistent scientists, who also had to navigate social attitudes towards AIDS, career concerns and timidity of bureaucrats, corporate anxieties about profits and liability, and low scientific prestige and even lower federal funding.

Northern California

NCSWA capped off a banner year with a rousing holiday dinner in December, dining on food from Morocco, Turkey, and the Middle East, while sitting under a red-hued Sultan's tent, surrounded by pillows and gleaming brass tables. A belly dancer performed, followed by a few science writers "willing" to try the dances themselves. An energetic conga-style line snaked through the restaurant and out onto the street. Later, members were entertained by mile-a-minute sneer artist (and NPR commentator) Ian Shoales, with his recap of the good, the bad, and the excesses of the 1990s. Shoales' alter ego, Merle Kessler, helped create Dr. Science, and is a founding member of the Duck's Breath Mystery Theater, a troupe of comedy performers dubbed the "American Monty Python" by Newsweek.

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Suzanne Clancy is a science writer at The Salk Institute, in La Jolla, Calif. Send information about regional meetings and events to clancy@salk.edu.

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