Science Writing
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Item ANIMALS THAT SING(2023-12) Haran, Renée MendozaIn Animals that Sing, I try to make sense of my place on our planet through my jaw-dropping astonishment for “the least of these.” For birds and bats and whales that sing. For monarchs who, with their inexplicable instinct, migrate despite having fewer and fewer places to land. For the humans making gorgeous games about butterflies and climate change and species extinction to remind us we can learn hard things, and sometimes change, when we remember how to play. For exquisitely housed mollusks who slurp each other alive with rasp-riddled suck-tongues. For dandelions who grow despite other’s efforts to extinguish them. And for myself, as it is my dumbfounded reverence for life that has kept me afloat through all of its joys and heartbreaks. I humbly attempt to amplify their voices with mine.Item SCIENTIFIC SENTIMENT: UNITING FACTS AND FEELINGS IN SCIENCE NEWS(2023-12) Schmitt, EmmaThis thesis explores the dynamic intersection of human emotions and the objective realm of hard-hitting science news. In an era characterized by a continuous flow of information, the dichotomy between emotional resonance and factual accuracy within science reporting is an important one. The works within this volume shed light on the potential for emotionally resonant narratives to enhance public engagement and comprehension of complex scientific concepts. Ultimately, this thesis underscores the importance of recognizing the shared humanity that underpins both the emotional experiences of real life and the pursuit of scientific knowledge, proposing a harmonious coexistence.Item SEEDS OF SCIENCE: A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES & ESSAYS(2023-12) Loscocco, AmethystThis collection of essays, feature articles, and news articles spans topics from public health issues to climate change. The essays are about the ways I have been shaped by health, by the extreme presence and absence of water in the environment, by encounters with rattlesnakes below and comets above. Every step we take in life is an act of finding balance while at the same time recognizing and taking action to right imbalances in the world. The articles are about solutions to some of those imbalances, such as strategies to reduce the carbon emissions of the healthcare industry, protect unsheltered people from wildfire smoke, and support the mental health of frontline healthcare workers traumatized by the pandemic.Item GILDING LILY: THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS(2023-12) Leo, Lily Madeleine BowlesThis collection of work centers on my struggles with treatment-resistant depression and my exhaustive search for cures. I have been depressed as far back as my autobiographical memory goes—but I have also experienced tremendous joy. I look for ephemeral glimmers of happiness in my children, substances, a new form of magnetic brain stimulation, nature, sleep, humor, music, movement, God, the psychedelics psilocybin and ketamine, and electricity itself. I search for those flashes of lightness and euphoria, hoping to triangulate, capture, and hold them. I process my emotions through my experiences, therapy, and writing, whose boundaries sometimes blur. I examine these issues through the lenses of multiple selves: scientist, writer, mother, journalist, advocate, and patient. At times, my work contrasts my disease with my immense privilege. Gilding Lily is a meditation on motherhood, femininity, illness, and hope. These essays explore how selves are both warped by tragedy and repaired with words.Item TELLING THE FIGHTER’S STORY: TALES OF ENDURANCE, GRIT, AND SURVIVAL(2023-12) Howell, Morgan FrancesThis anthology highlights the endurance, grit, and survival of people and nature adapting to and overcoming imperfect events and circumstances and describes medical, political, and social barriers that present opportunities for people to harness hope, push personal boundaries, and rise above challenging situations.Item SHORT CHATS WITH SPACE CATS(2023-12) Bradley, ChrisThe “chats” in this thesis assume a variety of forms. These forms include flash nonfiction, essay, profile, and Q&A. One subject—space exploration—unites them. But space exploration does not happen in a vacuum. Not entirely, anyway. What also unites these forms are the “space cats,” the people behind the discovery and innovation, the conduits for our knowledge and wonder. These are educators, engineers, astrobiologists, and historians. Carla Johns, who occupies the first pages in “Medium of the Light Bucket,” exemplifies what I mean by conduit: “At Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, photons spoke to Johns through telescopes, and Johns spoke to hundreds of people every night as she fielded questions about black holes, quasars, binary stars.” Johns, like the others in the pages of this thesis, illuminate our reality with the tool of science. My goal, in turn, is to illuminate these space cats with the tool of writing.Item NOTES FROM A DIGITAL NATURALIST(2023-12) Barnett-Fischels, KelseyIdeally, we can experience and explore nature firsthand. Yet there are times when we have limited access. Be it modern schedules and lifestyles, inconvenience of location, or globe-inflicting pandemics, sometimes we just can’t get out. How can we access the benefits and wonders of nature then? In “Notes From a Digital Naturalist,” I invite readers to explore our natural world in novel ways—through screens, in video games, beside fellow creatures, juxtaposed with artwork, and through the eyes of farmers and conservationists alike. No matter how pixelated or removed, these stories approach the real complex issues of the climate and biodiversity crises.Item BACK FROM THE BRINK A COLLECTION OF STORIES AND ESSAYS EXPLORING THE HUMAN SPIRIT(2023-12) Novak, SaraWe are at a turning point in the human experiment. We live on a rapidly warming planet where a record number of species face extinction as we continue to rebound from a global pandemic that killed nearly 3 million people. In the wake of all this environmental upheaval, humans are left with mounting mental health struggles. But we press on. Even when faced with the grief of loss and loneliness, we’re always trying to improve ourselves and the world around us through scientific exploration and human ingenuity. “Back from the Brink” is a collection of essays and articles that explore the human spirit and our ability to bounce back from the challenges we face.Item IN MOTION ON MOVING WITH THE WIND AND MOVING GLACIERS(2023-12) Ye, Bridget“Linger” is a word that sounds like its meaning. The “ger” at the end is a syllable that softly fades. The end to lingering is movement. What I’ve written about here—soundscape ecology, sunsets, body parts preserved in museum display jars, and glaciers—are topics that preoccupied me before finally appearing as paragraphs and pages. They carry with them memories and history as much as they do movement and change. This collection begins by the sea and ends in the mountains. It begins with a place I keep close and ends somewhere far from where I am now. In between these pieces and places are stories of science and people and our past and present. I hope this collection moves you, as its subjects have moved me.Item NATURE AND HEALTH ARTICLES AND ESSAYS ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND MEDICAL ISSUES(2023-12) Aubry, Lisa S.Much of my early career in public relations has involved fielding clients’ requests and writing content to align with a communication strategy. JHU’s Science Writing program has granted me the simple pleasure of exploring any science stories that interest me. Eager and unfettered, I tread across diverse terrains of subject matter, from how nature and people interact to how societal structures impact human health. This thesis assembles stories that most delighted and challenged me. Nearly every piece arose from unassuming, everyday experiences, such as pulling weeds, chatting with a close friend, or donating blood. Once dissected, however, commonplace encounters become on-ramps for exploring important issues: nature conservation, gender-affirming care, and national blood supply shortages. Before long, one begins to see the story in every moment.Item OUR MATERIAL WORLD HOW MATERIALS INFLUENCE SCIENCE AND SOCIETY(2023-12) Bolling, Megan C.Atoms are impactful at any scale. Millions of subatomic particles drift through space, invisible to the naked eye, and yet they shape our existence. Probing the behavior of matter is vital to understanding everything from revolutionary scientific discoveries to mere moments of happenstance in our mundane lives. In this collection of stories, atoms—and the materials they form—play a central role.Item MISTAKES: HOW WE FACE THE PROBLEMS OF NATURE, SCIENCE, AND LIFE(2023-05-08) Hoy, Claire ElizabethThe pursuit of science is the pursuit of newer, better, and bigger mistakes. Good thing we humans make plenty of them. In the essays and nonfiction articles of this thesis, I describe the consequences of previous missteps in our ecological history and examine the means by which we continuously attempt to remedy them. The focus shifts from macro- to micro-level, from the public to the deeply personal. We all make mistakes; I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.Item FUSION ENERGY FOR ALL(2023-05-07) Kelso, HarryFusion is the energy of the universe. Our sun and all the stars in the night sky are powered by a fusion furnace. For decades, scientists and engineers have attempted to crack the code to this celestial energy source. The rewards are monumental, and the drawbacks are few. Once humanity creates economical fusion power, we will enter a new paradigm of energy, tracing all the way back to the taming of fire. And while progress has slowly drawn out over the years, the 2020s have already proven to be a pivotal decade for fusion energy. Fusion is when two nuclei combine into one, a symbolic act of unity at the subatomic level. Everything in the world around us is a result of fusion energy, born from the building blocks of the universe, including you and me. Now we have the chance to wield the core of the sun to mitigate climate change, combat energy poverty, and unleash a new era of human innovation. Fusion is the story of who we are, and where we are going.Item REFLECTIONS OF HOME(2023-05-06) Brautigan, Amy HelenThe author considers the concept of home, reflects on her connection to her own home, and explores various avenues for building such a connection. These works discuss what makes a place a home from perspectives ranging from the intimate to the cosmic and all stops in between.Item EXPLORING THE FRONTIERS OF MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY RESILIENCE OF THE HUMAN KIND(2023-05-06) Leigh, RobMy interests revolve around medical advances, especially new approaches to the management of age-old conditions such as diabetes or obesity. I am intrigued by medical breakthroughs that change healthcare paradigms while improving patient outcomes. But it’s not just healthcare. Other inventions and innovations that fuel humanity’s technological advances fascinate me. While the stories included in this collection have no central theme, the thread that binds them is my fascination with science and technology and my informal storytelling style.Item MENTAL ILLNESS: PRESERVING PERSONAL IDENTITY IN THE FACE OF SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS AND PREJUDICE(2023-05-06) Tsingalia, AkivagaMental illness has been bittersweet for me, a sentiment that would likely be shared by many other people affected by it. It has shaped my identity and in effect has assumed my identity. Some people would identify themselves according to bases of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, to name a few categories. My identity, my defining trait, the very quintessence of who I am and how I exist is that I am an individual with mental illness. It has shaped my own self-appreciation and critique, my immediate and secondary interactions, my views of society, and of the wild world that whirls about me. I have found communion, society, and camaraderie with other individuals with mental illness, who inevitably became friends and fellow proud sufferers and survivors. The stories herein tell of their anguish, their agony, their resolve, and their mettle. These works examine the phenomenon of mental illness in its many iterations, how it exerts its effects, the divisive approaches to characterizing and managing it, efforts at treatment as well as questions about justifications for such treatments. Yet what is sanity but a majority consensus of social decorum and allowed behavior, learned and perpetuated to posterity? Society considers it staunch, yet it is fluid. Is behaving different subsequently subpar? Behavior varies vastly, whether by family, culture, society, or nationality. It is foolhardy to impose standards of normalcy even within the minutest of these units. At the very least, we should accommodate deviations in behavior as allowable actions. Bear easy; what is currently considered “mentally abnormal” is not necessarily so.Item NATURE’S RESILIENCE IN A CHANGING WORLD: HOPE, ACTION, AND LESSONS FROM THE PANDEMIC ERA(2023-05-05) McCusker, CarrieEmerging against the backdrop of a global pandemic, this collection of writing highlights the vital significance of preserving natural spaces for human well-being and the survival of native species. Inspired by the refuge nature provides during challenging times, this body of work delves into humanity’s environmental footprint and encourages collective action to mitigate further harm and remediate existing damage. The text underscores the importance of equitable access to essential resources such as nutritious food, clean water, and public land, cultivating a sense of shared responsibility for our planet and each other. The only pre-pandemic writing closes out the thesis with an exploration of the effects of indoor swimming pool chemicals on swimmers’ health. A version of that story was published in the online version of Triathlete Magazine. It is my hope that, upon engaging with this work, readers will be inspired to contemplate the significance of coexisting harmoniously with nature, ensuring that we safeguard and cherish the environment for the benefit of future generations.Item PAST MEDICAL HISTORY(2023-05-04) Jarman, Alison M.A physician who writes about medicine has a conundrum to solve: who are you when you write? We may see ourselves as scribes, as translators of facts, or as observers with inside knowledge. But perhaps we should examine our own part in the story. When we write the patient record, by tradition we include a list: the past medical history. It is both our knowledge of body, and our body of knowledge. This thesis is my own lore, my history, and my knowledge of science and the medical world I inhabit.Item THE INTERSECTION: A STUDY OF THE TECHNIQUE AND ART OF SCIENCE WRITING(2022-05) Wasserman, Haley MarieMy professional and personal passions have always straddled the seemingly disconnected, unmerging paths between two subjects: English and science. But, I knew if I followed each one long enough, I would find the place where these disciplines intersect. Enter science writing. This collection of work highlights how art and science coincide with one another to propel each subject to its ultimate goal: understanding the nature of being.Item WE BRACE FOR IMPACT: STORIES OF HUMAN RESILIENCY(2022-05) Noack, Chelsea Jaqueline“The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday,” poet Mary Schmich writes. Indeed, when humans are confronted with unexpected problems, they often discover and implement creative solutions. The work in this thesis explores seven stories of resilience, both big and small. What happens when a healthy yoga teacher’s body breaks down? How does one young scientist from Algeria take the inequities of illegal fishing into her own hands? How does a group come together to combat climate change in one of the largest cities in the world? In the face of difficult circumstances, humans find ways to innovate, research, and explore. My thesis, in a variety of forms, documents how individuals have responded to environmental and health challenges with resilience and strategic solutions.