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
By Jennifer Leman Despite flames, rains and the rolling waves of a shaking Earth, a journalist must report the news. Natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes and earthquakes are among the most challenging topics a journalist will cover. Such field reporting is physically, mentally and emotionally draining—not to mention hazardous. In a 29 October plenary session... Read More
By Leah Rosenbaum SAN FRANCISCO—When the next big disease outbreak comes around, science journalists will have a key role to play in keeping the public informed. Two public health experts and a global health journalist reflected on that role during a panel called “The Challenges of Covering Infectious Disease Outbreaks,” held on 27 October at... Read More
By Kimberly Hickok SAN FRANCISCO—Women have made great strides in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But in non-Western countries, huge gender gaps remain in both representation and opportunity. That reality drove a vigorous discussion during a special luncheon sponsored by 23andMe and Johnson & Johnson Innovation on 27 October at the World... Read More
Video by Félix Reskala GUERNEVILLE, California—Many attendees of the World Conference of Science Journalists 2017 had never seen a redwood tree. So it was no surprise that spots quickly filled up for a 30 October field trip to the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve north of San Francisco. The day included a walking tour with... Read More
Text and photos by Jesús Antonio Pascual Álvarez POINT REYES STATION, California—On a bright October day, the Point Reyes National Seashore seems clean and unspoiled. But it is steadily invaded by trash from the San Francisco Bay Area and Asia, said integrative biologist David Ackerly of the University of California, Berkeley, during a field trip... Read More
By Carolyn M. Wilke MOSS LANDING, California—Forget Mars. The next frontier in the search for undiscovered life forms may lie deep in the oceans of our own planet. Thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface, hulking underwater rovers probe the remote depths looking for mysterious creatures. “It really is like an alien landscape, but just... Read More
