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Author Archives: Alan
On “Leaving Science”
I follow news about the science job market pretty closely, but perhaps the most reliable indicator I have of it isn’t in my RSS folder or Twitter feed. It’s my inbox. When graduate students and postdocs start to think their … Continue reading
How to Make $75,000/Year Writing (And Hate It)
I’ve gotten some good feedback on the previous post, in which I disclosed my science writing income from the past decade and a half and explained where those numbers come from. Now it’s time to delve a little more deeply … Continue reading
15 Years of Income as a Freelance Science Journalist
I’ve been pondering – no – obsessing over this post for longer than I’d care to admit. On the one hand, I think it would be very useful for people considering a career in science journalism to get a direct … Continue reading
The DSM-5: What’s Your Alternative?
Last week, Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) made an announcement that set science bloggers and medicine-watchers atwitter: In a few weeks, the American Psychiatric Association will release its new edition of the Diagnostic and … Continue reading
Poo and Shit, Revisited
Correspondent Bob has provided an interesting update on some research I did on relative publication rates back in 2010: Just as a follow up to your Poo vs Shit analysis, a PubMed search today (11 April 2013) reveals that Shit … Continue reading
NEC-4 and Software Security Revisited
Almost a year ago, I tore the folks at Lawrence Livermore National Lab a new one over their security policies for a computer algorithm called NEC-4. The short version is that this is a very useful antenna modeling algorithm developed … Continue reading
Threading the NEIDL
After two long days of shooting and hundreds of hours of editing, the American Society for Microbiology and This Week in Virology are proud to release the documentary “Threading the NEIDL.” This video provides an unprecedented (and probably never-to-be-duplicated) look … Continue reading
Betrayals of Trust
I wish I’d been wrong about polio eradication. Really, I do. Against the ever-extending deadlines, outbreaks of vaccine-associated poliomyelitis, and deadly violence, there’s no comfort in having anticipated failure. Way back in 1997, when Vincent Racaniello and I penned the … Continue reading
Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad ORF?
A recent paper in the journal GM Crops and Food has generated an outsized splash in the press, particularly in biotechnology-averse Europe. I won’t reward a muckraking tabloid with a link, but here’s a screenshot that shows the basic theme: … Continue reading
Sentient Spambots vs. Journalism
As a blog owner, I get a lot of spam. Of course my automatic filters weed out the usual ads for anatomical enlargement, financial offers from alleged Nigerian clergy, and suggestions to earn advanced degrees from diploma mills, but in … Continue reading