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. Do flame retardants make people fat?

    Fat cells exposed to brominated flame retardants undergo changes that would appear to foster obesity and type 2 diabetes.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Breakfast trends

    Although breakfasts tend to pack a lot of nutrition per typical calorie consumed, one in five U.S. residents skips this meal.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Defusing the Dairy Dilemma

    A new analysis finds that most people who suffer from lactose intolerance can still down dairy products in moderation.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Meat Poses Exaggerated Cancer Risk for Some People

    Animal research probes why a genetic vulnerability renders some individuals especially susceptible to the colon carcinogens that can form in cooked meats.

  5. Nonstick chemicals upset behavior

    A study in mice finds that early-life exposure to the fluorinated chemicals used in nonstick products can rewire the brain in ways that dramatically affect behavior.

  6. Chemistry

    Drinking increases skin’s permeability

    Drinking alcohol can greatly compromise the skin's barrier to chemicals.

  7. Earth

    Leaden streets

    Street grit is the probable source of lead in urban homes, and flaking paint from overpasses and bridges is a major contributor.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Moldy whiff kills brain cells

    A common black mold that blooms on moist cellulose-based materials produces a toxin that can kill certain brain cells.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Protozoa Aid Food-Poisoning Germs

    Ubiquitous waterborne protozoa appear capable of aiding the survival of several types of bacteria responsible for gut-wrenching food poisoning.

  10. Ecosystems

    Caviar Caveats

    Caviar may become harder to find as a new trade ban goes into effect that's aimed at giving the most prized sturgeon a much-needed break from overfishing for their roe.

  11. Ecosystems

    Saving Sturgeon

    Sturgeon species around the world are in trouble, which is why humans will increasingly be stepping in to give them a big assist.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Prescription Strength Chocolate, Revisited

    Studies reported at a recent symposium on chocolate's biological impact are zeroing in on the ingredients that seem to make it good for your heart.