Tag Archives: journalism

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Single Molecule Determines Complex Behavior, Say Scientists

In a groundbreaking new study, scientists at Some University have discovered that a single molecule may drive people to perform that complex behavior we’ve all observed. Though other researchers consider the results of the small, poorly structured experiment misleading, a … Continue reading

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From Immuno-PCR to Peptoids: Why Great Ideas Sometimes Aren’t

From the inbox last month: Dear Dr. Dove: Just curious. Do you really think Kodadek’s Cell paper is a good piece of work? The response of the science community to this seemingly amazing news is silence. This usually means that … Continue reading

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Unleashing the Ferrets of Fear

The second of two controversial papers on H5N1 “bird flu” came out yesterday, and if you didn’t hear about it, it wasn’t for lack of publicity. Not only did journalists get the usual embargoed access to the paper at the … Continue reading

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Yay, We Captured an Endangered Fish!

Welcome to “How to Miss The Story, Fisheries Edition.” Today’s lesson features a cheerful report from Boston’s CBS affiliate, with the upbeat human-versus-nature headline “Hanover Canoers Capture 6-Foot Sturgeon With Their Bare Hands”: HANOVER (CBS) – Four young women made … Continue reading

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Cargill Lawyers Hard at Work

Here’s an interesting press release from UCLA. It’s not so interesting scientifically – it’s just another study showing that excess fructose in the diet is probably a bad idea. What caught my eye, though, was the lengthy blurb at the … Continue reading

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