Science News

It also has a very well-organized online version - partial contents for non-subscribers, complete contents for subscribers; it has some features not found in the print version.


A science magazine for the intelligent layman   June 9, 2005
 20 out of 20 found this review helpful

I've been subscribing to Science News for more than 10 years, and love it. The intelligently written articles range in length from 1/3 page to 3 pages, and because each 16-page (approx.) issue shows up in your mailbox once a week, are always current. Many of the articles are shorter versions of ones that appear in Nature and Science.

The articles are written for intelligent laymen, and subjects encompass the full range of science, physics through medicine and the social sciences. I have several friends at Caltech who subscribe to it to keep current in fields outside of their own.

If what you're looking for is a Head's Up for important developments in the world of science (as opposed to the Pop Science that appears in a Wired or Discover) then this is your magazine.


Fabulous Science Magazine   September 9, 2002
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I've been subscribing to Science News for most of the last 25 years and it is the one science publication I've kept over all the others I've tried. It provides a great mix of concise news updates on the latest developments in science as well as more in depth articles that bring you up to date on different fields. I've subscribed in the past to Discover, Omni, Science, Scientific American, Popular Science-- but this one is by far my favorite. The only other publication that comes close is the New York Times Tuesday Science section.


Erudition and Humor   November 14, 2002
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Science News has been my lifeline to the intelligibility of the world for 50 of my 60 years. It presents clear explanations and thoughtful analyses of the constant welter of information produced by the serious scientific community. Not only have I used it to stay well informed on scientific issues in this backwater of provincial Mexico where I live, but I have used it to teach English as a second language because it is so well written.
It predated and postdated my equally appreciative subscription to Science81, etc. Science News managed to live through the era of the slickening of science magazines without succumbing to the inflation debacle or to the patronizing of its readership. There is a lesson to be taken.


Science News is for the literate masses   December 8, 2005
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is a magazine for Alix Mautner. Richard Feynman wrote QED, in part, because he wanted to write a series of lectures that would make quantum electrodynamics understandable to his friend, Mautner. Science News does the same with geology, ecology, medicine, physics, chemistry, and other sciences. It does it by reviewing, in understandable terms, the theory, the experiments, the conclusions, and the alternative ways to interpret the conclusions. It projects the cutting edge of science by reviewing not only the published science, but also the science reported in scientific gatherings. Since the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of the writing is approximately 11, or 1 more than National Geographic, it is perfect for the literate masses from age 13 up. Today's issue included an article on whether honeybees can discriminate between human faces (really!). The answer is... usually. And the cover story was on the chemistry of beer.

The magazine is published 51 weeks a year, and subscribers also have access to web resources including references, extended articles, and the archive. Science News is the best thing to happen to current science news reporting since... sliced honey bread, delivered to my face.