Twenty-First Century Science Writers

42 Comments / Women in Science, Words

I was very flattered to find myself on someone’s list of Top Ten 21st Century Science Non-Fiction Writers. (Unless they meant my evil twin. Grrr.)

However, as flattered as I am — and as much as I want to celebrate rather than stomp on someone’s enthusiasm for reading about science — the list is on the wrong track. One way of seeing this is that there are no women on the list at all. That would be one thing if it were a list of Top Ten 19th Century Physicists or something — back in the day, the barriers of sexism were (even) higher than they are now, and women were systematically excluded from endeavors such as science with a ruthless efficiency. And such barriers are still around. But in science writing, here in the 21st century, the ladies are totally taking over, and creating an all-dudes list of this form is pretty blatantly wrong.

I would love to propose a counter-list, but there’s something inherently subjective and unsatisfying about ranking people. So instead, I hereby offer this:

List of Ten or More Twenty-First Century Science Communicators of Various Forms Who Are Really Good, All of Whom Happen to be Women, Pulled Randomly From My Twitter Feed and Presented in No Particular Order.

I’m sure it wouldn’t take someone else very long to come up with a list of female science communicators that was equally long and equally distinguished. Heck, I’m sure I could if I put a bit of thought into it. Heartfelt apologies for the many great people I left out.

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42 Comments

42 thoughts on “Twenty-First Century Science Writers”

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  3. Bob Ladendorf

    The list of science writers who are women is impressive. I would like to add M.G. Lord to the mix for her book on JPL – “Astro Turf: The Private Life of Rocket Science” – and many articles on science, including a cover story in “Discover” magazine on the dangers of radiation for space travelers.

  5. Michael

    How about Andrea Kuszewski @andreakuszewski ? She’s an awesome neuroscientist.
    Also Jordan Gaines @GainesOnBrains

    Also seconding Amy Shira Teitel @astVintageSpace

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  8. Ray Gedaly

    I still remember Emily Lakdawalla’s great commentaries on SNL in the late-1970s. Oh wait, not the same person … “Nevermind!”.

  9. David Stewart

    Found among my shelves, Lisa Randall’s “Warped Passages” I’d been reading 7 years ago. (Date all my books). Good time to re-read/finish. I’ll parallel that with Veltman’s “Facts & Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics,” another I had not finished–same year, 2007. If I can just figure out why 2007–and now 2014 for the dots connecting. Good list. I’ll look into more of them.

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  11. rocken1844

    speaking of 19th century – some women would not accept being shut out of professional science – Lydia Ernestine Becker founded and edited the “Women’s Suffrage Journal” also corresponded with Charles Darwin and sent him plant samples and she published a book “Botany for Novices”

  12. BDNf-cynocephale

    Great work!

    It can obviously depend on one’s definition of science so, out of personal interest, I’ll add a couple of bioanth (lato sensu) bloggers (some haven’t posted for some time but I live in hope). My apologies to those I forgot.

    Holly Dunsworth http://ecodevoevo.blogspot.ca/p/about-our-contributors.html
    Anne Buchanan http://ecodevoevo.blogspot.ca/p/about-our-contributors.html
    Katie Hinde http://mammalssuck.blogspot.ca/
    Caitlin S. https://paleophile.wordpress.com/
    Hayley Forsyth https://osteoarch.wordpress.com/
    Katy Meyers http://bonesdontlie.com/
    Kate Clancy http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/context-and-variation/
    Rosemary Joyce http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-makes-us-human
    Danielle N. Lee http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/
    Julienne Rutherford http://aapabandit.blogspot.ca/
    Fiona Jordan https://evolutionaryanthropology.wordpress.com/
    Alondra Nelson https://alondranelson.wordpress.com/
    Elizabeth Quinn http://biomarkersandmilk.blogspot.ca/
    Michelle A. Rodrigues http://spidermonkeytales.blogspot.ca/
    Dienekes Pontikos http://dienekes.blogspot.ca/

    And of course all the members of the great TrowelBlazers: Victoria Herridge, Suzanne Pilaar-Birch, Rebecca Wragg-Sykes, Brenna Hassett http://www.trowelblazers.com/

    Many women anthros are on Twitter as well, here mixed with other colleagues:

    https://twitter.com/cynocephale/bioanth-inclusive/members
    and
    https://twitter.com/cynocephale/anthropology-lato-sensu/members

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  15. Mariojosé ANGELES

    I’m an international renowned artist with more than twenty five years experience.

    At the same time, working on Scientific Research Project Santa Cucaracha HIV/Aids Vaccine. A project concept of art, science and society, presented at Palace of Fine Arts in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

    Since 1995, I proposing that the most effective PREVENTIVE HIV/Aids VACCINE is in the Cockroaches.

    I say: we must strengthen the capacity of the human body immune cells (lymphocytes T CD +4) with proteins of cockroaches and create antibodies to endure and live with HIV.

    Cockroaches are the oldest living and most powerful creatures on earth, approximately 350 to 400 million years. They have survived major disasters, weather phenomena and atomic bombs. They are strong and resilient because they are loaded with viruses and bacteria and this is the beginning of any immunity.

    In September 2010, a group of scientists at the University of Nottingham, England confirmed that: “The Cockroaches, a powerful antibiotic”.
    Despite the bad reputation of cockroaches, these insects may be beneficial to health.

    Cockroaches: the new miracle cure for China’s ailments…

    Cockroach farming is booming in China as the country looks for new, cheaper medicines for its rapidly ageing population.

    “They really are a miracle drug,” said Liu Yusheng, a professor at the Shandong Agricultural university and the head of Shandong province’s Insect Association. “They can cure a number of ailments and they work much faster than other medicine.”

    It is for this reason that we are claiming that the 100 % most efficient vaccine is to be found in the proteins from cockroaches, and may be this is the cure for those who have already developed the AIDS disease and possibly other diseases.

    Edward Jenner used the serum from cows milk to create antibodies to cure the smallpox virus. In the case of HIV/Aids, I propose to use protein from cockroaches.
    We say: we must strengthen the capacity of the human body immune cells (lymphocytes T CD +4) with proteins of cockroaches and create antibodies to endure and live with HIV.

    Procedure:

    Phase (1) .- We must strengthen our immune system with small doses of cockroach protein given every (40) forty days.

    Phase (2) .- Reinforced and strengthened our body can develop antibodies to endure.

    Phase (3) .- To live with the HIV, we inject the preparation of antigens in attenuated form.

    Prevention is not a solution, the solution is the vaccine and the cockroach’s protein the HIV/Aids vaccine solutiton.

    Your Faithfully,
    Mariojosé ANGELES
    Artist and Principal Investigator on HIV/Aids and Cockroaches

    For further informations:
    SOLAR GOVERNMENT FOUNDATION
    Calle Madame Curie 14, Cond. Vizcaya, Edif. C-4-1, La Esperilla
    Santo Domingo, D.N. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
    http://www.solargovernment.org

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