The Best Australian Science Writing 2023

by Donna Lu

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. 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

Genres: Science

Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is an annual pleasure, and 2023 is no exception. Some of the more memorable entries include the magnificent Buried Treasure, which looks at Australia's relationship with the Antarctic, Alice Klein's The Whole Body Mystery, which explains PCOS, In the Shadow of the Fence, which looks at ecology through the lens of dingoes. Other topics covered range from Long Covid to space observation, to Indigenous astronomy. I had read a fair few when they came out, but all were worth a refresher. Science writing gets more important both as crises get more intense and as science gets further down a mass-computed mile from easily explicable. It is a great thing that Australia continues to celebrate it, even as modestly as this.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection, and a very timely reminder that humans are much better at looking at individual components of the natural world but we are only now realising how deeply connected these systems are (although I suspect there are many more connections to be made than we can possibly imagine). Truly, what would we have to do to live in harmony with nature?