All good journalists are storytellers, and science writers are simply journalists who like to tell stories about science. Still, it has only been in the last few decades that science writing has become a profession in its own right, with journalists specifically trained to cover research ranging from genetics to particle physics.

The Growth of Specialization

Previously, most publications put so little emphasis on science that they did not need a specialized reporter. More and more, though, news organizations regard scientific results as necessary information, part of the everyday reporting of news. After all, science and technology have radically altered the way we live. For example, consider the development of antibiotics and vaccines, nuclear weapons, computer technologies, lasers, and fiber optics. Advances in science and technology will undoubtedly continue to occur in ways that we can not fully predict. The Human Genome Project, with all its...