A Future of ‘Geoengineering’? Times is Sanguine; Atlantic is Cautious
Back in March, on the blog ScienceProgress.org, journalist Chris Mooney mused on the future of geoengineering–the active gaming of the earth’s natural systems to avert the effects of climate change. Ideas to accomplish this intervention include shooting sulfate particles into the atmosphere to reflect the sun’s rays, constructing a humongous mirrored visor in space or bulking up clouds by having ships spray water high into the air. Mooney noted that new papers “by major climate researchers, or policy wonks,” appeared to be popping up everywhere. That led him to the question: Is…
What’s the Big Deal with Rapamycin?
Rapamycin is a prospective longevity drug even Ray Kurzweil wouldn’t take. According to Google News, a study about the antibiotic, published Wednesday on Nature‘s website, garnered nearly 300 stories by a science journalism corps that’s no doubt suffering through a summer scoop-slump. The paper reports that lab mice taking the drug, which has the exotic distinction of hailing from Easter Island, outlived peers who didn’t–even when the animals on rapamycin started taking it late in their lives (comparable to when humans are 60).
This is interesting for two reasons: 1) Most methods to…
Punditry Instead of Reporting in Discover Piece on Autism and Vaccines
Chris Mooney examines the battle lines in the decade-old culture war surrounding vaccines and autism in the June issue of Discover. (The article has been online since early May.) In contrast to Mooney’s prior attempts to survey a hotly debated topic–such as the 2005 Columbia Journalism Review cover story he cowrote with Matthew Nisbet on evolution vs. intelligent design–this piece struck me as imbalanced and eerily similar to something I’ve been consuming a lot of since late-2007: political shows on cable.
The piece fails to venture out of greater scientific community, which long ago…
Put “Pandemic” Back in Pandora’s Box—Until We Really Need It
Remember swine flu? I don’t blame you if you don’t. Think about what’s happened since late-April/early-May, when we all mentioned it (jokingly or worriedly) after every innocent cough and sneeze: Manny Ramirez earned an asterisk on his batting stats. Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his imminent departure from the Court — and President Obama introduced his presumptive replacement, Sonia Sotomayor. Conan O’Brien succeeded Jay Leno as host of “The Tonight Show.” And the next so-called “iPhone killer,” the Palm Pre debuted…just in time for the announcement of a new…
