Student science writers from around the world have created a set of 52 stories from the World Conference of Science Journalists 2017, spanning most of the meeting’s sessions and creating a valuable reference archive for journalists in the U.S. and abroad. The reports, along with bios of the authors, are online at the WCSJ2017 Student... Read More
By Amelia Jaycen SAN FRANCISCO—Saul Perlmutter, a Nobel Prize–winning astrophysicist and cosmologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has spent a lot of his time ascertaining how quickly the universe is expanding. But he is also concerned with some down-to-earth issues, like the state of human interactions. As he watched public discussions unfold in the last... Read More
By Carolyn M. Wilke SAN FRANCISCO—Is fact-checking the future of journalism? That question, at once disturbing for our society and promising for the increased role science journalists might play in combating fake news, drove a panel discussion among four experts on 30 October at the World Conference of Science Journalists 2017. The panelists, all experienced... Read More
SAN FRANCISCO—Science podcasts are more popular than ever. Producing them takes time, technical savvy, and a deep passion to engage listeners with material that is both informative and fun. How does one start a science podcast and build a dedicated audience? Those topics drew an enthusiastic crowd on 27 October at the World Conference of... Read More
By Liz Kimbrough SAN FRANCISCO—When South African student journalist Sibusiso Biyela sat down to write about the launch of the MeerKAT telescope in both English and Zulu, he thought it would be simple. The English version rolled out smoothly. But when he began to translate into Zulu, his native language, he found he would have... Read More
Text and photos by Amelia Jaycen BERKELEY, California—A group of eager writers attending the World Conference of Science Journalists 2017 stood on an upper platform at Berkeley’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) research lab. Under their feet, electrons raced at nearly the speed of light. Overhead, an iconic domed ceiling—the same ceiling under which Nobel laureate... Read More
By Ellen Rykers SAN FRANCISCO—The tip of bone sticking out of the dusty Patagonian earth was a tantalising hint: dinosaur fossil. Paleontologist Diego Pol and his team began to dig—unaware that they were about to unearth the largest dinosaur bone ever found. This giant bone was just one of a series of sensational South American... Read More
By Jillian Clemente SAN FRANCISCO—Behind every scientific discovery is a scientist with a story. Getting to the root of how and why researchers do what they do brings light to the human side of science—and there is an art to telling those stories. Four panelists, each accomplished science profilers, discussed tactics and tips for getting... Read More
By Jennifer Lu SAN FRANCISCO—Indigenous voices are integral to science and science reporting. That’s why journalists should keep an open mind and be aware of political narratives when reporting on indigenous issues, four speakers said 28 October during a session at the World Conference of Science Journalists 2017. Key to keeping an open mind is... Read More
Text and photos by Jennifer Lu San Francisco’s Ocean Beach is famous for its surfable waves. But it’s the sand beneath the bay that grabs Patrick Barnard’s attention. The underwater sand dunes, called sand waves, are some of the largest in the world. They rise up to 33 feet high and span up to two football... Read More
By Kelsey Harper SAN FRANCISCO—She wasn’t trying to create a gene-editing tool that would change the world. Jennifer Doudna was just curious—and she really liked RNA. She hadn’t always loved it, though. Scientists initially thought RNA, DNA’s single-stranded sibling, was a “throwaway molecule,” which sounded to Doudna “like the most boring molecule imaginable.” But when... Read More
