freelance science journalist and author
Science reporting
From Nature, 27 March 2024: Posting about a research paper on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) doesn’t translate into a bump in citations, according to a study that looked at 550 papers. The finding comes as scientists are moving away from the platform in the wake of changes after its 2022 purchase … Continue reading Tweeting your research paper boosts engagement but not citations
From the Guardian, 8 January 2024: A good espresso coffee is sexy as hell. It flows out of the machine at a languid pace, initially dark and brooding, before shifting into a golden foam that would bat its eyelashes at you if it had them. Once settled in the glass, it breathes out and releases … Continue reading ‘Give the espresso a little swirl’: the very particular science of a good cup of coffee
From The Brilliant, 31 January 2024: In 2023, Australia’s pre-eminent journalism awards – the Walkleys – included two new categories that had science journalists cheering: ‘specialist and beat reporting’ and ‘explanatory reporting’. It wasn’t the slam-dunk that science journalists – and particularly those who report on climate change –were hoping for. We’d hoped for a … Continue reading Why does science journalism matter?
From The Guardian, 18 February 2024: On a rainy night in London, a young woman walks towards the entrance of a sidestreet, smiling to herself as she recalls the evening spent with the friend she just farewelled at the train station. She’s about to walk down the poorly-lit shortcut that will take her back to … Continue reading Go with your gut: the science and psychology behind our sense of intuition
From Cosmos, 21 December 2023: “Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from, neutrino?” This 1880’s folk tune – Cotton-Eyed Joe – now popular with line dancers, could well have been adapted to be the theme of last week’s gathering of scientists from around the world who gathered in Sydney to … Continue reading Scientists agree on new group to search for dark matter
From Nature, 28 November 2023: Scientists have reacted with alarm at a proposal by the Australian Department of Defence to control information sharing with foreign researchers, even those working in Australia. If it is passed, the proposed Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill 2023 would affect scores of scientists working in Australia and have a chilling … Continue reading “My collaborations would see me jailed”: Australian researchers fear proposed new laws
From Nature, 21 November 2023: Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles is suing her employer, the University of Auckland, in New Zealand’s employment court. She alleges that the university’s management “failed in their duty to keep her safe in her employment” while, as a high-profile scientist providing public information about the COVID-19 pandemic, she was subjected to “vitriolic … Continue reading Microbiologist who was harassed during COVID pandemic sues university
From Nature, 11 May 2023: Because it makes them better hunters, scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) have evolved a unique method to avoid losing body heat when they dive for prey in deep, cold waters: they close their gills. Numerous fish and marine-mammal species are known to dive from the warm surface to deeper waters … Continue reading Hammerhead sharks are first fish found to ‘hold their breath’
From Nature Middle East, 6 April 2023: Horses have long held a special place in the culture, spirituality and day-to-day lives of North America’s Indigenous people, such as the Lakota and Comanche of the American southwest and Great Plains.Until recently, horses were thought to have been introduced to North America by European colonisers. Now, an … Continue reading The plain truth about North America’s horse history
From Nature, 27 February 2023: The existence of the Higgs boson was first posited in a trio of papers in 1964. Two of those were authored solely by UK theoretical physicist Peter Higgs and the other was co-authored by his US and Belgian counterparts Robert Brout and François Englert. Nearly half a century later, the … Continue reading Hyperauthorship: the publishing challenges for ‘big team’ science
Bianca Nogrady 