Council for the Advancement of Science Writing

Yale University

New Horizons 2010—at Yale University!

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50 years of science and science writing: a conversation

Share your CASW memories and ideas

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From deep-sea life to HIV: What were the big stories?

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Why Scientists Should Talk to the Media: Watch it online

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The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is committed to improving the quality of science news reaching the public. Comprised of a panel of distinguished journalists and scientists, CASW develops and funds programs to help reporters and writers produce accurate and informative stories about developments in science, technology, medicine and the environment.

CASW P.O. Box 910
Hedgesville, WV 25427
304-754-6786

In Focus

50 Science Sagas for 50 Years

How do you summarize the past 50 years of discoveries in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics? That kind of challenge would be daunting for any one person - but fortunately, we have a huge crowd of science fans to help with the task. Coming up with the top 50 sagas in science is one of more…

CASW News

Why Scientists Should Talk to the Media: Watch it online

Prominent science and medical journalists recently spoke at Yale School of Medicine about the importance of scientists communicating their work to the public. They were part of a more…

Share your CASW memories and ideas

What impact has CASW had since its founding a half-century ago, and what should the organization be doing to carry out its mission in the coming decades? To celebrate more…

New Horizons 2009 video now online

All talks given at the New Horizons in Science conference at the University of Texas at Austin Oct. 18-20 have been captured as video streams and posted at Ustream.tv. more…

From deep-sea life to HIV: What were the big stories?

The 1970s and '80s were scary and exciting times on the frontiers of science as molecular biology began to bloom, and voyages to new domains revealed that many more…

New Horizons 2010—at Yale University!

The Welsh merchant Elihu Yale made a considerable donation to a local institution: the money earned from “nine bales of goods,” 417 books and a portrait of King more…

CASW News

CASW Periscope

But how old are you really?

A new study makes the link between a gene and human lifespan for the first time. In this week’s /Nature Genetics [1]/, a team of mostly UK researchers report on a particular genetic variation in people who are biologically years older than the age printed on their drivers’ licenses. “What our study suggests is that some people are more…
The Great Beyond (Nature Magazine News Blog)
The Heroic Cells of an Unwitting Donor

Many modern medical breakthroughs have come about thanks to laboratory research that relied on an immortal cell line known as HeLa, which stands for Henrietta Lacks, the woman from whom the cells came. A new book, /The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks/, was much in the news last week, thanks to reviews and author interviews. [1]Â ... [1] more…
Science in the News Weekly
A Westerner in Ancient Mongolia

DNA analysis recently revealed that a skeleton found in a 2,000-year-old cemetery in eastern Mongolia belonged to a man of European descent. [1] What's more, scholars believe he had a prominent position in the Xiongnu Empire, which included ethnically diverse nomadic tribes. ... [1] http://snipr.com/u92m8 more…
Science in the News Weekly
Wired’s Danger Room blog: Pentagon wants to make Cylons that will live forever

Today’s most irresistible story [1], from *Katie Drummond*, on *Wired* mag’s *Danger Room blog*: >Darpa is looking to re-write the laws of evolution to the military’s >advantage, creating “synthetic organisms” that can live forever — or >can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch. > This is either very funny, or frightening, or–I don’t know, can they more…
Knight Science Journalism Tracker
Toronto Star, Reuters, As G7 ministers meet in Arctic capital, the place keeps on melting..

A meeting of G7 finance ministers in the Nunavut capital of Iqaluit (near right center at the largest airline route nexus on this map) is so unusual – which is to say, /Arctic/ – that it merits attention just for the unusual spotlight it shines on this Canadian first-nation realm. In fact, until I went looking more…
Knight Science Journalism Tracker
Quotes of the day

*“Scientists, just like every other trade - bus drivers, lawyers and bricklayers - are a mix. Most are pretty average, a few are geniuses, some are a bit thick, and some dishonest.”* John Krebs, zoologist and principal of Jesus College, Oxford, takes on those who claim something has ‘gone wrong with science’ in the wake of climate-gate more…
The Great Beyond (Nature Magazine News Blog)