The winner of the 2010 Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award, an annual prize for young science journalists, is Amber Dance, a writer in Pasadena, Calif. Dance received the award and its $1000 prize for four stories: “Bacterial Waists: Bacteria living in our guts may play a role in obesity,” in the Los Angeles Times; “From Pond Scum to pharmacy shelf,” in Nature Medicine; “DNA Referees,” in the Los Angeles Times; and “Illegal Whale Meat Traced Back to Japan,” in Nature. The panel of judges cited Dance for her impressive package of stories, which showed her versatility and mastery of topics that ranged from epigenetics to intestinal fauna. The judges said that Dance brought the reader deep into complex subjects with engaging writing, good organization, and the use of colorful quotes. The story on pond scum was a particular favorite.
2010 Amber Dance
Amber Dance / Writer