Nancy Shute

Editor in Chief

Nancy Shute joined the staff in February 2018 as the editor in chief of Science News. Shute is a science journalist in print, digital and broadcast, and a lecturer and trainer in science writing and multimedia journalism.  She is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers, the United States’ largest and oldest science writing membership organization. Before joining Science News, Shute was cohost of NPR’s health blog, Shots, and contributed news coverage and radio features to NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition.  She also has written for national publications, including National Geographic and Scientific American. While serving as assistant managing editor at U.S. News & World Report, Shute led the magazine’s award-winning coverage of science and technology.  As a senior writer for U.S. News, she led group investigations and reporting projects, and authored dozens of cover stories. Shute trains journalists and scientists in the uses of social media and other new media technologies. She taught science writing at Johns Hopkins University’s Advanced Academic Programs. Additionally, Shute has been a science writer in residence at the University of Wisconsin, and guest lecturer at major universities, including Columbia, NYU, the University of Maryland, Georgetown and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

All Stories by Nancy Shute

  1. Summer nights may never be the same again

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses this summer's record-breaking high temperatures and Science News' continued climate coverage.

  2. Our enduring fascination with outer space

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses science's fascination with space, from 25 years of Mars rovers to the James Webb Space Telescope's mind-blowing first images.

  3. We won’t shy away from covering politicized science

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses Science News' commitment to covering politicized science

  4. The Higgs boson discovery was just the beginning

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the future of Higgs boson research, 10 years after the particle's discovery

  5. Predicting the damage caused by extreme storms

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how scientists are figuring out how to predict the effects of extreme hurricanes.

  6. A new Science News for the young people in your life

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute introduces Science News Explores, our new print magazine for young people.

  7. A changing climate means changes on the plate

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the future of food through the lens of climate change.

  8. To solve mysteries, scientists look to muons

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how researchers are using subatomic particles called muons as tools for scientific discovery

  9. In Pandemic Year Three, still so many questions

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses what we've learned about COVID-19, and what questions remain in the pandemic's third year.

  10. An extraordinary era in 80,000-plus articles

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute looks back at 100 years of Science News coverage and ahead to the future.

  11. Why aren’t we listening to what science is telling us?

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how the last century of climate science has mapped our understanding of today's climate crisis and solutions.

  12. Computing has changed everything. What next?

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the last century's extraordinary advances in computing, and what they might mean for the future