Bianca Nogrady

Postsurgical withdrawal of antiepileptic drugs raises only short-term seizure risk

March 4, 2014No Comments

From Clinical Neurology News, 24 February 2014: Withdrawing antiepileptic medication after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery may increase the risk of breakthrough seizures in the short term but does not alter long-term remission rates, a retrospective, observational cohort study found. Two years after surgery, 69% of patients whose medication was discontinued at 1 year were completely … Continue reading Postsurgical withdrawal of antiepileptic drugs raises only short-term seizure risk

Stem cell transplantation effective in aggressive relapsing-remitting MS

March 4, 2014No Comments

From Clinical Neurology News, 27 February 2014: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was an effective treatment option for aggressive multiple sclerosis, particularly in patients with inflammatory activity at baseline, in a study of the Swedish experience with the procedure since it was first performed there in 2004. A prospective, observational study of 41 patients with … Continue reading Stem cell transplantation effective in aggressive relapsing-remitting MS

Desert cane toads no longer nocturnal

February 26, 2014No Comments

From ABC News in Science, 26 February 2014: Once creatures of the night, cane toads are now becoming active during the day to adapt as they move into semi-arid regions of Australia. Australian researchers used acoustic tags normally used to track fish movements and discovered that cane toads were accessing a dam during daylight hours, … Continue reading Desert cane toads no longer nocturnal

Diversify or perish?

February 25, 2014No Comments

I’m writing an article about diversification in farming. WAKE UP! It’s not as boring as it sounds. It’s about a farmer who started out in egg production, then in an attempt to cut down overly high costs in one area of his business, he ended up developing a separate business in that area. Then his … Continue reading Diversify or perish?

Plotting or pantsing?

February 16, 2014No Comments

When I first heard the term ‘pantsing’ I thought it was cutesy Gollum-speak (“yessssss, we is pantsing, my precioussssss”). But no. Turns out it’s writer-speak for ‘flying by the seat of your pants’, also known as discovery writing, also known as driving without TomTom, also known as writing without an outline. What is an outline? … Continue reading Plotting or pantsing?

Do you need a science background to write about science?

February 10, 2014No Comments

I wrote my first astronomy story recently. It was one of those stories where the journal/research organisation press release sounds amazing and you think, ‘wow, this story is going to write itself’. Then you look at the actual paper and you can’t even understand what the title means. Reading the abstract makes your brain leak … Continue reading Do you need a science background to write about science?

Oldest known star discovered

February 10, 2014No Comments

From ABC Science News Online, 10 February 2014: Astronomers have discovered the oldest known star, born in the fiery wake of a first generation supernova after the Big Bang. The star, with the catchy name SMSS J031300.362670839.3, came to the attention of an international team of astronomers because of its unique chemical fingerprint showing it … Continue reading Oldest known star discovered

Why science?

February 6, 2014No Comments

I’ve had a few professional titles over the years, and a few unprofessional ones too (Office Monkey in the 1995 student newspaper office being a notable one), but the one that has always been there and I hope will always be there is science journalist. I’m very proud to be a science journalist and I … Continue reading Why science?

Blocked up

February 4, 2014No Comments

So I’m at a conference about science communication. I’m surrounded by fellow science nerds, communicators, journalists and scientist. I have met some inspiring, fascinating, funny and dedicated individuals who have fired me with enthusiasm to be a better science journalist, a more diligent blogger and a more discerning science nerd. I am brimming with ideas … Continue reading Blocked up

Gotham’s finest

January 29, 2014No Comments

I used to believe that I wasn’t cut out for writing fiction. That was until I did an online writing course at the Gotham Writers’ Workshop. (I should point out that I am as yet unpublished as a fiction writer, so for all I know I’m utterly shite at it). I wanted to try my … Continue reading Gotham’s finest