The Best Australian Science Writing 2024

The finest voices in Australian science writing. This much-loved anthology – now in its fourteenth year – selects the most riveting, entertaining, poignant and fascinating science stories from Australian writers, poets and scientists. The Best Australian Science Writing 2024 anthologises another major year in science. From AI to the climate crisis, the long tail of the pandemic and the changing nature of what science looks like, there’ s been plenty of ground to cover over the past year. Science writers have been vital in decoded these, at times worrying, glimpses of the future – and the many solutions that scientists are working on. With a foreword by DeadlyScience founder Corey Tutt, this collection includes the shortlisted entries for the 2024 UNSW Press Bragg Prize and the 2023 student prize-winning essay.

Carl Smith is a science journalist working for ABC’ s Science Unit and Radio National. He makes audio documentaries, podcasts, and written features with original photography. He’ s won a Young Walkley Award for Longform Journalism and jointly won a Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. Carl’ s been an ABC News Cadet, a geneticist, a reporter on Behind the News, a 'Journalist in Residence' in Germany, and an animated presenter on the ABC Education series Minibeast Heroes. His most recent audio series are Strange Frontiers and Pacific Scientific. Dr Jackson Ryan is a former molecular biologist and current science and tech journalist with a focus on longform and narrative non-fiction science writing. He served as the Science Editor at CNET.com between 2018 and 2023 and was the 2022 winner of the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. His longform writing has appeared in the Best Australian Science Writing in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, as well as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Monthly and Nature. He lives with a collection of more than 70 Christmas sweaters and zero dachshunds, the latter of which he hopes to rectify one day.

Introduction Jackson Ryan & Carl Smith In the heart of the forest, one woman built a house of slime Liam Mannix Satellite Tracking the Pacific's Most Endangered Leatherback Turtles Justine E Hausheer WA had its hottest summer ever, but climate change barely made the news James Purtill The Heroes of Zero Cameron Stewart Dog People: How our pets remind us who we really are Amanda Niehaus Can a wild animal make your house feel like a home? Tabitha Carvan Of Moths and Marsupials Kate Evans The consciousness question in the age of AI Amalyah Hart AI's dark in-joke Ange Lavoipierre Why solar challenges? They're in the DNA of Tesla, Google for starters Matthew Ward Agius Poetic Constellations – Exploded Sonnet Sequence Shey Marque Origins -- of the universe, of life, of species, of humanity Jenny Graves & Leigh Hay Rural Pharmacy Placement Michael Leach The world's oldest story is flaking away. Can scientists protect it? Dyani Lewis Predicting the Future Drew Rooke This little theory went to market Elizabeth Finkel How scientists solved the 80-year-old mystery of a flesh-eating ulcer Angus Dalton ‘ Why would you find me attractive?’ : the body disorder that needs more attention Lydia Hales Why my adenomyosis went undetected for five years Lauren Chaplin Doing drugs differently: for public health, not profit Clare Watson Indigenous science must be a standalone national science priority Joseph Brookes Are psychedelics a treatment for long COVID? Researchers probing this mystery don't have the answer yet Rich Haridy Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Alicia Sometimes The last King Island emu died a stranger in a foreign land Zoe Kean Call of the Liar Carly Cassella Science in the Balance Jacinta Bowler Everything starts with the seed Natalie Parletta Born to ruler? Petra Stock Surviving in One Place Viki Cramer ‘ Give the espresso a little swirl’ : the very particular science of a good cup of coffee Bianca Nogrady Chips now come in flavours like cheeseburger. How do food chemists get the taste right? Belinda Smith A chemist's guide to optimism Ellen Phiddian Indigemoji India Shackleford