Janet Raloff

Janet Raloff

Editor, Digital, Science News Explores

Editor Janet Raloff has been a part of the Science News Media Group since 1977. While a staff writer at Science News, she covered the environment, toxicology, energy, science policy, agriculture and nutrition. She was among the first to give national visibility to such issues as electromagnetic pulse weaponry and hormone-mimicking pollutants, and was the first anywhere to report on the widespread tainting of streams and groundwater sources with pharmaceuticals. A founding board member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, her writing has won awards from groups including the National Association of Science Writers. In July 2007, while still writing for Science News, Janet took over Science News Explores (then known as Science News for Kids) as a part-time responsibility. Over the next six years, she expanded the magazine's depth, breadth and publication cycle. Since 2013, she also oversaw an expansion of its staffing from three part-timers to a full-time staff of four and a freelance staff of some 35 other writers and editors. Before joining Science News, Janet was managing editor of Energy Research Reports (outside Boston), a staff writer at Chemistry (an American Chemical Society magazine) and a writer/editor for Chicago's Adler Planetarium. Initially an astronomy major, she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (with an elective major in physics).

All Stories by Janet Raloff

  1. Health & Medicine

    Researchers Probe Cell-Phone Effects

    Scientists are trying to find out whether biological changes associated with cell-phone use represent health risks.

  2. Humans

    Treaty Nears on Gene-Altered Exports

    In an effort to help preserve biodiversity, negotiators from 130 nations crafted rules of conduct for international trade in living, genetically engineered organisms.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Diet Pills: It’s Still Buyer Beware

    With some half of the adult U.S. population overweight–many individuals severely so–is it any wonder that the fastest growing segment of the dietary supplement industry is weight-loss aids? Since 1997, sales of diet pills and related supplements have been increasing 10 to 20 percent annually to the point where last year they reached $2 billion. […]

  4. Animals

    Strong Medicine: Over-the-counter remedy snags snakes

    Acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—vanquishes brown tree snakes, the bane of Guam.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Surprise! Obesity (and Inactivity) Can Spur Cancers

    Some 60 percent of U.S. adults say they’re worried at the prospect of developing cancer, yet only 6 percent recognize that being overweight is a leading predisposing factor. That’s one finding from a June survey, commissioned by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. The survey was unveiled on July 11 at a […]

  6. Earth

    Study links dioxin to breast cancer

    A new study finds support for the long-proposed hypothesis that dioxin, a hormonelike pollutant, can trigger breast cancer in heavily exposed women.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Antioxidants for greyhounds? Not a good bet

    Antioxidant vitamins that greyhound racers have been giving their animals to boost performance actually slow down the dogs.

  8. Earth

    Study links cancer to Vatican Radio

    Broadcast transmissions from a forest of antennas owned by Vatican Radio, outside Rome, appear to have boosted leukemia incidence in neighboring communities.

  9. Health & Medicine

    A Rash of Kisses

    A kiss can trigger allergic reactions.

  10. Earth

    Liquid Assets

    Research provides guidance on how best to bank water during times of plenty for use during subsequent droughts

  11. Earth

    Backyard burning is recipe for dioxin

    A few rural households burning trash may generate more toxic dioxins than a major, properly operated municipal incinerator.

  12. Earth

    Tomato compound repels mosquitos

    New insect repellents based on a compound that contributes to the smell of crushed tomato leaves are under development.