Category Archives: Science writing for the public

What have you discovered?

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Joan E. Strassmann

In the last two weeks I have nominated more than a dozen of you for a very nice honor. I had to go to your papers, to your web pages and CVs to do this. And I found how productive … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Communication, Science writing for the public, Social media, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Active learning in research perspectives and science communication

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Joan E. Strassmann

Science is a lot more than measuring and testing ideas. It is a rich social endeavor with its own language, its own standards, its own ethics, and its own literature. Undergraduates miss out if they do not learn this. But … Continue reading →

Posted in class, Science writing for the public, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing, Your lab group | 2 Comments

Improv for scientific communication with Aniek Ivens

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Joan E. Strassmann

How I wish I understood you, but I have no idea what you are talking about. You seem friendly and animated and clearly love your research, but what is your question? Why do you like this figure so much? What … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Creativity, Science writing for the public, Scientific meetings, Talks | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

St. Louis Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Haiku

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Joan E. Strassmann

Minnows in water/ indicate old ancestry/ and flowing rivers. Leiopelma frogs/ jumping cannot tuck their legs/ so they belly flop. How many women/ Make scientific meetings fair?/ We need many more. Kudzu from China/ Does American climate/ predict invasion? Burying … Continue reading →

Posted in Science writing for the public, Scientific meetings | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Why you should use the word “evolution” if that is what you study

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Joan E. Strassmann

How often do you hear people say evolution when that is actually what they are working on? If you do not use the word, then some people will not get the connection of your work to this unifying theory. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Outreach, Presentations and seminars, Public Communication, Science writing for the public | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Consider a temporary stint as ecology and evolution editor at Nature

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Joan E. Strassmann

Patrick Goymer is taking a half year paternity leave at Nature and so they are looking for a replacement. Here is the announcement. I bet there are few positions that are as likely to help you learn about your field … Continue reading →

Posted in behavioral ecology, Publishing your work, Science writing for the public, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do reporters ever understand authorship?

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Joan E. Strassmann

We just published a paper in PNAS that showed something really cool. In summary, we identified the small molecules produced by an inedible bacterium and used as weapons against other clones and secret sauce for the host Dictyostelium discoideum clone. … Continue reading →

Posted in Science writing for the public | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments