The Best Australian Science Writing 2015

From the furthest reaches of the universe to the microscopic world of our genes, science offers writers the kind of scope other subjects simply can't match. Good writing about science can be moving, funny, exhilarating or poetic, but it will always be honest and rigorous about the research that underlies it. Now in its sixth year, The Best Australian Science Writing 2016 brings together knowledge and insights from Australia's brightest thinkers as they explore the intricacies of the world around us. This lively collection of essays covers a wide range of subjects and challenges our perceptions of the world and how we exist within it.

Presents a collection of nature and science essays published in American periodicals in 2014.

The annual collection -- now in its thirteenth year -- celebrating the finest voices in Australian science writing. Should we alter animals' DNA to save them from extinction? What secrets will old ice reveal to us about the Earth's deep past? How is the world's most expensive -- and explosive -- substance made? Great science writing offers fascinating insights into our surrounding environments, inspires awe at the wonders of the natural world, and also seeks to understand and address some of the biggest problems of our time. Science writing encompasses the vastness of the universe and all the diverse life forms within it. Stories abound in both the microscopic and the astronomical, from the scientists trying to reverse-engineer brain circuitry to the largest radio telescope of its kind on Earth, which could help us detect alien life. This much-loved anthology -- now in its thirteenth year -- selects the most fascinating, thought-provoking, poignant and dazzling science stories and essays from Australian writers, poets and scientists. With a foreword by scientist and engineer Professor Mary O'Kane AC, this anthology covers another remarkable year filled with watershed moments in science. It includes the shortlisted entries for the 2023 UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing, and the 2022 Bragg Student Prize-winning essay.

The annual collection celebrating the finest Australian science writing of the year. How does dust connect the cosmos with our bed sheets? Why do lobsters do the Mexican Wave backwards? And what makes us feel 'wetness' when there's no such thing as 'wet' nerve receptors? Now in its fifth year, The Best Australian Science Writing 2015 draws on the knowledge and insight of Australia's brightest thinkers in examining the world around us. From our obsession with Mars to the mating habits of fish, this lively collection covers a range of topics and delights in challenging our perceptions of the planet we think we know.

The annual collection celebrating the finest Australian science writing of the year. How does dust connect the cosmos with our bed sheets? Why do lobsters do the Mexican Wave backwards? And what makes us feel 'wetness' when there's no such thing as 'wet' nerve receptors? Now in its fifth year, The Best Australian Science Writing 2015 draws on the knowledge and insight of Australia's brightest thinkers in examining the world around us. From our obsession with Mars to the mating habits of fish, this lively collection covers a range of topics and delights in challenging our perceptions of the planet we think we know.

The annual collection celebrating the finest Australian science writing of the year. How does dust connect the cosmos with our bed sheets? Why do lobsters do the Mexican Wave backwards? And what makes us feel ‘wetness’ when there’s no such thing as ‘wet’ nerve receptors? Now in its fifth year, The Best Australian Science Writing 2015 draws on the knowledge and insight of Australia’s brightest thinkers in examining the world around us. From our obsession with Mars to the mating habits of fish, this lively collection covers a range of topics and delights in challenging our perceptions of the planet we think we know.

Good science writing makes us feel. It makes us delight in the discovery of a black hole munching on a star, laugh at the image of aliens puzzling over golf balls on the Moon, wonder at the mystery of the Spanish influenza’s deadly rampage, grieve for baby shearwater chicks dying with plastic-filled stomachs, rage at the loss of the Great Barrier Reef and cheer for the clitoris’ long-overdue scientific debut. This ninth edition of The Best Australian Science Writing showcases the most powerful, insightful and brilliant essays and poetry from Australian writers and scientists. It roams the length and breadth of science, revealing how a ceramic artist is helping to save the handfish, what is so dangerous about the hype around artificial intelligence and whether too much exercise is bad for the heart. It makes us think, feel and hopefully act.