Political "science writing"

This story was written by an "AP Science Writer." Who needs a lab when you can have fun with statistics?

Belated News Brief Idea Blog

Hello interested peers,

In keeping with my interest in the female reproductive field, I am planning to write my news brief on research which explains why women might have an irregular menstrual cycle and/or the long-term implications of an irregular menstrual cycle.

I have found the following articles which sparked my interest. I could focus on one, or two or three that are most closely related, or draw examples from all of them for a non-comprehensive overview of stuff women with irregular menstrual cycles might like to know about the research therein:

"Menstrual Cycle Dysfunction Associated with Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders"

"Long or Highly Irregular Menstrual Cycles as a Marker for Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus"

"The Relationship between Premenstrual Symptoms, Menstrual Pain, Irregular Menstrual Cycles, and Psychosocial Stress among Japanese College Students"

"Influence of anthropometric measures and socio-demographic factors on menstrual pain and irregular menstrual cycles among university students in Bangladesh"

"Yoga Nidra as a complementary treatment of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with menstrual disorder"

There was also one about medical residents studying to get MDs of some sort (clearly I am very familiar with this field, not) and their irregular menstrual cycles, which would relate to the articles about stressed-out Japanese students and Bangladeshi students — but I can't seem to find it again at the moment (probably because I can't remember the words I should be searching).

I know it's almost the weekend and probably nobody will look at this, but if you happen upon it I would love your input on the angle you would most enjoy reading (which of the above titles most captivated your interest? which, if any, did you click on to read more about?).

My thoughts at the moment are that I should focus on two or three articles on a similar subject. And since I'm a student, I'm leaning towards the articles about students. I think I could even frame it as if I was writing for a science-related college newspaper (maybe I'll persuade the Exponent to publish it...ha ha).

The last article about using yoga to treat menstrual disorder I think would be an interesting factoid to include at the end, kind of a more cheerful way to end the article. But, I only have 600 words, so that may or may not happen (and I think it will be clear when I write it whether it will be relevant to include or not).

Thanks, have a great weekend.

If you don't want to get pregnant but you don't like condoms, use an IUD or hormonal implant.

When a man and a woman want to have sex without using a condom but don't want to make a baby, the woman's best contraceptive option is an IUD or a hormonal implant. Women who use these forms of birth control are about 20 times less likely to unintentionally get pregnant, according to a study by the Washington University School of Medicine published May 24, 2012 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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The 7,500 women who participated in the study received free contraceptives of their choice and could change the form they were using at any time. They chose from the intrauterine device (IUD), hormonal implant, birth control pills, patch, ring and contraceptive injection. The study did not mention the use of condoms alone or in conjunction with other forms of birth control.

About 75% of women in the study chose the IUD or implant, and 0.27% of those women unintentionally got pregnant, compared with 4.55% of women using other methods of birth control.

“If there were a drug for cancer, heart disease or diabetes that was 20 times more effective, we would recommend it first,” Jeffrey Peipert, MD, told Science Daily. As one of the study's senior authors, Peipert said the results support a shift in how patients should be counseled.

Hormonal Implant
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Doctors traditionally only recommend IUDs and hormone implants to women in healthy relationships who are absolutely certain they don't want to get pregnant. "When you go to get an IUD put in, they like your boyfriend to come with you," said Carolyn Wilson, who has been using an IUD for over a year. "They just want to make sure you aren't using it to be promiscuous."

This ideology may be the reason that about 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and about half of those unplanned pregnancies result from failed birth control.

* * * * * *

Ok, that's all. I based this on a Science Daily article titled "IUDs, implants most effective birth control, study suggests." The anecdote at the bottom is my own spin on it, quoting my sister. I'm not sure if that's "legit," but along with the absence of condoms in the study that is the main thing this study made me think of. Also, it's more like 300 words — the last two paragraphs are extraneous, but I included them because I want to know what you think. Does that part seem like a cohesive part of the article or a random add-in? Am I "allowed" to include something not in the original article? I think quotes always make articles more interesting, but since nobody knows who my sister is, she isn't really an authority on the subject.

Finally, do the graphics seem random? Would they be more informative with captions?

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.

Curiosity, not ADD.

In past writing classes, I have broadened my definitions of "rhetoric" and "writing," so why not broaden my definition of "science," in this class? That way, this whole "science writing" thing seems much more doable. Thanks, Elise Hancock.

This summer I worked as a gardener, and when I started I knew basically nothing about gardening. Now, I know quite a bit, at least about high-altitude mountain desert gardening (that's how I describe Big Sky's climate), and I think that qualifies as a "science" topic — what do you think?

As far as specific story ideas within that category, I'll have to think about it more.

"The curious can write about many different topics because they suck up so much miscellaneous information." (Hancock 22)

Gardening is one of the 15 jobs I've had in the 8 years I've been legally old enough to work. Clearly, I have ADD, or maybe I'm just a curious person. Thanks again, Elise. Who knew that knowing a little about a lot of random things could come in handy in a profession other than elementary education? Maybe I don't have to teach after all (not to mention the prospect of teaching high school and trying to be a writer sounds horrifying after Hancock said what you read becomes how you write).

Other science-y things I know something about:

Food. Does this count? Baking it, frying it, grilling it, etc. Everybody loves food, and I probably love it a little too much. Yesterday I made pancakes and the recipe calls for a tablespoon of sugar, but we were out of granulated sugar so I used brown instead. The first pancake came out weird, but not because of the sugar — it was because I didn't pre-heat the pan enough. Fascinating, I know.

Outdoor gear and outdoor survival. This is where I wonder about the title of Roach's compilation, "The Best American Science and Nature Writing." Is nature writing science writing? I would argue it is, when approached from a scientific standpoint rather than a political or activist standpoint, but I'd like to know what everybody else thinks about it.

Am I on the right track here? Do any of the above ideas intrigue you? What do you want to know about them?