In the National Association of Science Writers’ 2022 Science in Society Awards competition, Julia Rosen (@1juliarosen) won in the Science Reporting category for her November 2021 story in High Country News on how heat waves change ecosystems. The judges wrote that Rosen’s reporting on how even a few days of super-high temps in the Pacific Northwest can transform the region’s ecosystem for years was “eye-opening” and “foreboding” as global warming continues unabated.
The Allen Institute’s Rachel Tompa (@Rachel_Tompa) received an honorable mention in NASW’s Excellence in Institutional Writing 2022 competition (short-form category) for her December 2021 story on naked mole rats. The rodents’ bodies don’t show typical signs of aging, but researchers developed molecular clocks that can accurately tell the animals’ ages by analyzing epigenetic modifications on their DNA. They hope their tools can help scientists better understand these strange creatures and, perhaps, help unlock their secrets for a vigorous old age. Image by senivpetro via Wikimedia Commons