|
|
| Volume 46, Number 3, Winter 1998-99 |
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the re-invigorated Science Writers in New York network presented an uplifting evening of science and medicine on the blockbuster drug Viagra. Michael Magee, MD, Pfizer’s senior medical advisor, discussed medical issues, including the latest indications. Pierre Wicker, MD, director of clinical research at Pfizer’s central laboratories, explained how Viagra works and how it was discovered and developed in England and the US. Viagra grew out of a failed heart drug with some novel side effects into a $788 million bonanza in just nine months since FDA approval.
The DC Science Writers presented a lively Internet panel discussion in November and a holiday bash in December at the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to fine spirits and food, guests enjoyed the vocal stylings of The Chromatics, an a cappella group, which includes engineers and scientists from NASA and its aerospace contractors. In addition to the DCSWA party, The Chromatics have played other impressive gigs over the years, including The White House and the Kennedy Center.
In February, members of San Diego Science Writers Association visited the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM). Founded in 1874, SDNHM is the oldest scientific institution in Southern California and the second oldest in the western United States. Tom Deméré, curator of paleontology, shared with SandSWA members several recent finds including a new species of walrus (Valenictus chulavistensis) discovered in marine sandstone deposited approximately 3 million years ago and the well-preserved tusk of a 300,000-year-old Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) uncovered on January 18 when construction workers were preparing a building site. The 4-foot long curving piece of ivory is the first solid evidence that mammoths lived in the coastal plains of San Diego during the Pleistocene era.
For most of 1998, fourteen NASW members from Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego joined forces via cyber space to plan and fundraise for the NASW Party in Anaheim. The committee, affectionately known as CyberSWA, communicated exclusively by listserv with a few committee members meeting now and then to check out venues and audition bands. And, by golly, it worked. It was a hell of a party (just ask Diane McGurgan). The experiment also fostered a sense of community in an area where geographic sprawl and traffic have foiled recent attempts to form a regional group. Based on this experience, Lee Hotz is taking on the chore of managing a moderated listserv for science writers in the southern California area. Instead of monthly meetings, members would be contacted on a periodic basis with an online discussion topic. Interested NASW members from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border are asked to contact Lee at hotz@netcom.com.