WRITING SAMPLES
The following are examples of articles and magazine pieces I have written for publications in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Other writing samples are available on request. I also write scripts for SciShow.
What’s up with ADHD?
Once a condition associated with children, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnoses in adults have quadrupled in New Zealand in the past 10 years. What’s behind this sudden and extraordinary rise, and should we take it at face value?
Published in March 2023 North & South.
Image credit: Rachel Salazar / North & South.
Conformism comes with a cost: The push for authenticity in the workplace
Research shows employees who mask at work end up emotionally exhausted and less engaged.
Published in the Financial Post.
Why connected cars are the next frontier in cybersecurity
The next big cyber hack might not target your computer, or even your bank card. It might be on your car.
Published in the Financial Post.
The Bigger Picture
Despite decades of alarm about rising rates of obesity, as a nation we’re getting fatter — clear evidence our approach so far simply isn’t working. What are the costs of getting things so wrong, and what do the experts say we need to do to tip the scales in the right direction once and for all?
Cover story published in North & South.
Scientists Created a Mind-Bending 'Mirror' That Reflects Time Backwards
Seeing our reflections staring back at us in the bathroom mirror, or hearing our voices echoed off the walls of a tunnel, aren’t exactly phenomena to write home about. But now scientists have shown that it’s possible to reflect something far less intuitive: time.
Published by Motherboard.
Scientists Discover Stunning Evidence of Multiple Lost Prehistoric Societies
Researchers analyzed more than 100 pieces of prehistoric jewelry and found that the ancient past was more complex than we imagined.
Published by Motherboard.
Image credit Baker, Rigaud et al.
'Nanoplastics' Could Be Worse Than Microplastics and We Know Almost Nothing About Them
“From the public point of view, this could be the next asbestos."
Published by Motherboard.
The unsteady, underpaid reality of life as a New Zealand scientist
Scientists have been among the heroes of the pandemic, but away from the headlines their careers are more precarious than ever.
Published by The Spinoff.
Ant art: The exhibition of paintings created entirely by artificial intelligence
AI-made art is more than a gimmick. It shows us how computers think. But if machines can be creative, Mirjam Guesgen asks: have we lost the last thing that makes us different from them? Have we lost a part that makes us human?
Published by The Spinoff.
Image credit Ben Newman.
Can Greyhound racing survive?
With damning reports of injury and doping, a once-fashionable sport is officially on notice.
Published in North&South.
Maybe we should be shouting at clouds
Clouds. Great for staring at and making pictures out of, potentially bad for climate change. Mirjam Guesgen asks whether clouds are our friends or our foes when it comes to our warming planet.
Published by The Spinoff.
The World’s Most Precise Clock Reveals the Nature of Time and the Universe
Physicist Jun Ye built the world’s most precise clock and is part of the group of scientists who changed our understanding of time itself.
Published by Motherboard.
The cannabis conundrum
With New Zealand’s cannabis referendum just around the corner, pet owners are already looking for ways to make the plant part of their pet wellness regimes. I investigate the efficacy and legalities.
Published in VetScript.
Disturbing Data
When making your way to a morning coffee meeting, you’re working for Apple. When browsing for new headphones over lunch, you’re working for Amazon… But unlike the computer scientists or software engineers who write code or create apps, this kind of work is harder to quantify and harder to monetize.
Nonetheless, we are data labourers. And if we’re working for these companies, we should be paid.
Published in C2 magazine.
Surfers off Canada’s West Coast face significant risks of concussions
While most of the attention surrounding the risk of concussions has focused on hockey and football, surfers off Canada’s West Coast face significant risks of concussions according to international data and accounts from surfers and physicians.
Published by The Globe and Mail.
Image credit Melissa Renwick.
What Brain Banks Can Teach Us About Alzheimer's
Research at the Calgary Brain Bank bridges the gap between exploratory animal models and human clinical trials. It may also upend decades of thinking about Alzheimers in the process.
Published by BrainFacts.
Jason Kenney’s budget cuts are bad news for Alberta’s tech sector
Calgary’s growing tech sector has been held up as a way for the city to shift from an energy industry that has been stuck in a downturn for years, but deep funding cuts from the provincial government have put that sentiment in doubt.
Published in The Globe and Mail.
Image credit Todd Korol.
Greener Pastures
In the age of the conscious consumer, who, less than a decade ago cried out against battery cage hens, can we tolerate a cow being tethered inside all day? And why has Canada, unlike many other countries, made so little headway in getting cows outdoors?
Published in the Spring issue of Maisonneuve Magazine.
Image credit Alexis Aubin.
A White House Report on the Opioid Crisis Overlooks Gender Differences in Addiction
The report excludes studies showing that women experience pain and develop addictions differently than men—differences that mean women might not receive adequate treatment.
Published by Tonic.