Science AMA Series: We are writers for Science News, which just
published a special issue about Aging, Ask us anything!
Abstract
I’m Tina Saey, the molecular biology reporter at Science News magazine.
I’m a former scientist turned journalist. I write about things
microscopic and molecular like cells and DNA and how they affect human
health. I recently discovered my first gray hair. My story addresses
what aging is, what can done about it, and whether slowing aging will
make people live longer. (https://www.sciencenews.org/node/192081) I’m
Laura Sanders. I am an award-winning science journalist who reports on
the latest mysteries of the mind and blogs about the science of raising
kids. I earned my Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of
Southern California in Los Angeles in 2008. Convinced that I was missing
some exciting science development somewhere, I moved to Science News and
began writing about brains in all shapes and forms. My story explores
how the brain ages. That’s a huge question, and one that’s still
mysterious in lots of ways, but it turns out that there are some
interesting parallels between how the brain grows and how it ultimately
declines. And some scientists hope that that relationship could
ultimately point out ways to slow the mental decline that comes with
age. (https://www.sciencenews.org/node/192082) I’m Susan Milius and it
took a ridiculously long time to realize what kind of journalist I
wanted to be. So after working as a freelance book editor trying to
sneak active verbs into a book on the semantics of air passenger
transportation, a food writer and some other improbable tasks, I finally
realized that there were real careers writing about biology. Best beat
in the galaxy! Just in the last few days I have had people tell me that
certain lizards have green blood and bones, that the sort of
cat-raccoon-looking creatures called binturongs smell like movie
popcorn, and that there are bacteria basically fighting with spears. My
feature on how the rest of the planet ages (meaning not humans) presents
scientists who went to extremes testing whether some animals have found
the secret of perpetual youth or whether there’s such a thing as a
creaky, frail, elderly roadside weed.
(https://www.sciencenews.org/node/192083) We’ll be back at 3 pm ET to
answer your questions, ask us anything! *EDIT: Thank you for having us
and for the awesome questions. We’ll be checking in throughout the day
to see if there are any other questions. *