Los Angeles freelance science writer and editor
by Janice Nigro I was shocked once when my PhD advisor ran into the lab to read out loud the first sentence of my first draft of a manuscript. A nightmare moment-hearing your own words read in front of a group of extraordinarily talented and accomplished people. He read it and then said why he... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro We travel to escape. To escape our work, to escape our lives, and maybe to escape who we are. I would be the first to admit to trying things on holidays that I would never attempt back home. There is ample opportunity; real gelato can only be eaten in Italy. But also no one is there... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro Scientists just gave us yet another reason to love octopuses: RNA editing. Normally we are stuck with genes the way they are delivered to us when sperm and egg unite. RNA editing is a cellular tool enabling genetic diversity but without changing the DNA. Scientists have recently discovered that octopuses, along with other cephalopods, the cuttlefish and... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro You have been there. Done that. Just maybe not in Norwegian. Norwegian is not one of those languages you can expect to use much outside of Norway. Unless your Norwegian teacher and her young son show up in Los Angeles for a visit. I was the guide more or less for the past... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro I am not a surfer, an actress, or a musician. But here I am-a scientist-three years into making a life in southern California. Yes, in LA LA Land. LA is a great city to be in, but it is not all that easy to live here. The city is big, expansive, and cars... Continue Reading →
Scientists are human too! by Janice Nigro Critical review serves as an important regulator of the quality of our science. We are supposed to man up and take it, but do we really know how to give it effectively? Based on the myriad reviews I now have the pleasure of reading as an editor, I... Continue Reading →
We picture Los Angeles as a place where summer never ends. Sunshine is what we come west for. The truth is that gray days are as characteristic of the coast as sunny days. If you didn't know, we often wake up to a marine layer in Southern California, especially in summer. June gloom it's called.... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro We can probably all agree that there are different types of vacations. For me, there are dive vacations, work related vacations, weekend vacations, European vacations, and family reunion types of vacations. Some require a lot of planning and suitcases filled with ridiculous amounts of stuff to get me there (or sometimes to get me back). But if... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro I was shocked once when my PhD advisor ran into the lab to read out loud the first sentence of my first draft of a manuscript. A nightmare moment-hearing your own words read in front of a group of extraordinarily talented and accomplished people. He read it and then said why he read it. "It is... Continue Reading →
Underwater photography: what it takes by Janice Nigro All in all, my recent participation in a local artists’ exhibition was a success. At least from my perspective. My name is officially listed under “artists” somewhere on the Internet. There my photographs were. Three small prints hanging on a wall. They were unique in this venue.... Continue Reading →
Janice Nigro 