Science journalism awards return after two-year absence

Freelance journalists have received multiple nominations for this year's journalism awards from the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW).

The ABSW Science Writers' Awards, which recognise excellence in science journalism in the UK and Ireland, ran from 1966 to 2007, before a lack of funding forced the programme to stop. The awards return this year after a two-year absence.

Angela Saini, who left the BBC in 2008 to go freelance, will compete against the Observer's science editor Robin McKie, chief features editor at Nature Helen Pearson and the Guardian's Leo Hickman for the best feature award.

Freelancer Brian Deer has received a nod in the investigative journalism category for his work on the altered data behind the MMR vaccination scare published in the Sunday Times; while two freelancers, Jacob Aron and Colin Stuart, are shortlisted for the best newcomer prize.

A full list of the nominees can be seen below. The winners across five categories, who will receive a small cash prize and induction into the ABSW hall of fame, will be announced on 23 July.

ABSW Science Writers' Awards shortlist

Best news item

• Linda Geddes, reporter, New Scientist, for 'What if you had to decide in your 20s: A gene test available next year could tell women how long they can put off having children', New Scientist;
• Mark Henderson, science editor, the Times, for 'Stem-cell hope for paralysed patients: Trials on human beings given the go-ahead in new ruling', the Times;
• Robin McKie, science editor, the Observer, for 'The most dangerous place in Europe', the Observer;
• John Travis, Europe news editor, Science Magazine, for ‘Scientists Decry "Flawed" and "Horrifying" Nationality Tests', Science.

Best feature

• Leo Hickman, features, the Guardian, for ‘Fake: WIRED meets the Dutch scientists racing to make in vitro meat the next billion-dollar industry', published in WIRED;
• Robin McKie, science editor, the Observer, for 'Breathing lessons', the Observer Magazine;
• Helen Pearson, chief features editor, Nature, for ‘One gene, twenty years: When the cystic fibrosis gene was found in 1989, therapy seemed around the corner.  Two decades on, biologists still have a long way to go', Nature;
• Angela Saini, freelance, for 'Guilty: People are being jailed after lie-detecting brain scans find them guilty', WIRED.

Best scripted/edited programme (podcast, radio, TV or online video)

• Geraldine Fitzgerald, producer, Sue Broom, presenter, BBC (team entry), for 'The Naming of Genes',  BBC Radio 4;
• Richard Hollingham, freelance, and John Watkins, BBC, (team entry), for 'Frontiers: bioprecipitatio', BBC Radio 4;
• Nick Jordan, producer/director, Adam Rutherford, presenter, Jaqueline Smith, series producer, BBC (team entry), for 'The Cell', BBC 4;
• Paul Olding, producer/director, Chris Granlund, series producer, Andrew Marr, presenter, BBC (team entry), for 'Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Life and Death', BBC 2.

Best investigative journalism

• Peter Aldhous, San Francisco Bureau chief, New Scientist, for 'How My Genome Was Hacked: If a New Scientist reporter’s DNA is vulnerable, so is yours', New Scientist;
• Deborah Cohen, assistant editor, British Medical Journal (BMJ), Philip Carter, producer, freelance, Tom Clarke, reporter, Channel 4 (team entry), for 'Complications: tracking down the data on oseltamivir', BMJ;
• Brian Deer, freelance, for 'Hidden records show MMR truth', the Sunday Times.

Best newcomer

• Jacob Aron, freelance;
• Colin Stuart, freelance;
• Helen Thomson, Biomedical news editor, New Scientist.

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