The Best Australian Science Writing 2021

Is there life in the clouds of Venus? How could Indigenous burning practices stave off catastrophic bushfires? What do horseshoe bats, raccoon dogs and pet cats have to do with the global pandemic? Science writing tells the stories of life and human endeavour in all its marvellous - often messy - complexity. Now in its eleventh year - and with a foreword by Australia's Chief Scientist, the renowned physicist Cathy Foley - The Best Australian Science Writing 2021 is a collection that showcases the nation's best science writing. New voices join prominent science writers and journalists, taking us to the depths of the ocean, the fuels of the future, and to the Ryugu asteroid and back. The collection also brings us straight to the heart of complex ethical dilemmas and the calamitous crises challenging scientists and writers alike. Includes the shortlisted entries for the 2021 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2020 UNSW Press Bragg Student Prize winning essay.

Is there life in the clouds of Venus? How could Indigenous burning practices stave off catastrophic bushfires? What do horseshoe bats, raccoon dogs and pet cats have to do with the global pandemic? Science writing tells the stories of life and human endeavour in all its marvellous – often messy – complexity. Now in its eleventh year – and with a foreword by Australia’s Chief Scientist, the renowned physicist Cathy Foley – The Best Australian Science Writing 2021 is a collection that showcases the nation’s best science writing. New voices join prominent science writers and journalists, taking us to the depths of the ocean, the fuels of the future, and to the Ryugu asteroid and back. The collection also brings us straight to the heart of complex ethical dilemmas and the calamitous crises challenging scientists and writers alike. Includes the shortlisted entries for the 2021 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2020 UNSW Press Bragg Student Prize winning essay.

This much-loved anthology showcases the nation's best science writing. New voices join prominent science writers and journalists, taking us to the depths of the ocean, the fuels of the future, and to the Ryugu asteroid and back. The anthology also takes us straight the heart of complex ethical dilemmas and the calamitous crises frustrating scientists and writers alike.

Is there life in the clouds of Venus? How could Indigenous burning practices stave off catastrophic bushfires? What do horseshoe bats, raccoon dogs and pet cats have to do with the global pandemic? Science writing tells the stories of life and human endeavour in all its marvellous - often messy - complexity. Now in its eleventh year - and with a foreword by Australia's Chief Scientist, the renowned physicist Cathy Foley - The Best Australian Science Writing 2021 is a collection that showcases the nation's best science writing. New voices join prominent science writers and journalists, taking us to the depths of the ocean, the fuels of the future, and to the Ryugu asteroid and back. The collection also brings us straight to the heart of complex ethical dilemmas and the calamitous crises challenging scientists and writers alike. Includes the shortlisted entries for the 2021 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2020 UNSW Press Bragg Student Prize winning essay.

What can a microbial gravesite on a moon teach us? Why is a group of scientists risking their lives to safeguard a seed bank? How does a virus detective story show us why we need to be vigilant about the next disease outbreak? Great science writing has the ability to make us captive bystanders to the complexities of research. It makes us ask questions, and sustains in us an infinite curiosity about our world. Science writing also brings into sharp focus stories that surprise and compel us to pay attention to parts of the world often unseen, from a dusty gold mine which could help answer one of the biggest questions in astrophysics to a delightful date with the misunderstood blobfish. This much-loved anthology – now in its twelfth year – selects the most riveting, entertaining, poignant and fascinating science stories and essays from Australian writers, poets and scientists. With a foreword by health broadcaster and author Dr Norman Swan, this anthology covers another remarkable year filled with seismic moments in science. Includes the shortlisted entries for the 2022 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2021 student prize-winning essay.

Is there life in the clouds of Venus? How could Indigenous burning practices stave off catastrophic bushfires? What do horseshoe bats, raccoon dogs and pet cats have to do with the global pandemic? Science writing tells the stories of life and human endeavour in all its marvellous - often messy - complexity. Now in its eleventh year - and with a foreword by Australia's Chief Scientist, the renowned physicist Cathy Foley - The Best Australian Science Writing 2021 is a collection that showcases the nation's best science writing. New voices join prominent science writers and journalists, taking us to the depths of the ocean, the fuels of the future, and to the Ryugu asteroid and back. The collection also brings us straight to the heart of complex ethical dilemmas and the calamitous crises challenging scientists and writers alike. Includes the shortlisted entries for the 2021 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2020 UNSW Press Bragg Student Prize winning essay.

New York Times best-selling author and renowned science journalist Ed Yong compiles the best science and nature writing published in 2020. "The stories I have chosen reflect where I feel the field of science and nature writing has landed, and where it could go," Ed Yong writes in his introduction. "They are often full of tragedy, sometimes laced with wonder, but always deeply aware that science does not exist in a social vacuum. They are beautiful, whether in their clarity of ideas, the elegance of their prose, or often both." The essays in this year's Best American Science and Nature Writing brought clarity to the complexity and bewilderment of 2020 and delivered us necessary information during a global pandemic. From an in-depth look at the moment of the virus's outbreak, to a harrowing personal account of lingering Covid symptoms, to a thoughtful analysis on how the pandemic will impact the environment, these essays, as Yong says, "synthesize, evaluate, dig, unveil, and challenge," imbuing a pivotal moment in history with lucidity and elegance. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2021 INCLUDES - SUSAN ORLEAN - EMILY RABOTEAU - ZEYNEP TUFEKCI - HELEN OUYANG - HEATHER HOGAN BROOKE JARVIS - SARAH ZHANG and others

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 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, The Best Australian Science Writing 2023 covers another remarkable year filled with watershed moments in science. INCLUDES THE SHORTLISTED ENTRIES FOR THE 2023 UNSW PRESS BRAGG PRIZE FOR SCIENCE WRITING, AND THE 2022 STUDENT PRIZE–WINNING ESSAY. CONTRIBUTORS: Jo Chandler Angus Dalton Nicky Phillips Jacinta Bowler Helen Sullivan Heather Taylor-Johnson Sara Webb Meredi Ortega Drew Rooke Amalyah Hart Alice Klein Lauren Fuge Zoe Kean Miki Perkins Bianca Nogrady Rebecca Giggs Alice Gorman Belinda Smith and Alan Weedon Felicity Plunkett Clare Watson Fiona McMillan-Webster Euan Ritchie Paul Biegler Tabitha Carvan Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli Jane McCredie Elizabeth Finkel Smriti Mallapaty Anne Casey Jackson Ryan Carl Smith