Sharon Begley (June 14, 1956 – January 16, 2021) was an American journalist who was the senior science writer forStat, a publication fromThe Boston Globe that covers stories related to the life sciences.[1][2][3] She regularly contributed articles to theYale Scientific Magazine while at University.[4] She published recurring columns and feature articles in several mainstream publications on a wide variety of scientific topics.[5][6] Begley was also an author[7][8][9] and spoke at professional and community organizations. Her topics included the neuroplasticity of the brain, issues affecting science journalism, and education.[10][11] She appeared on radio and television to discuss topics covered in her articles and books.[12][13][14] Begley attracted both praise and criticism as a writer.[15][16][17][18]
Begley was born Sharon Lynn Begley, on June 14, 1956, inEnglewood, New Jersey, to Shirley (née Wintner) and John J. Begley Jr. Her father was a stockbroker while her mother was a homemaker.[19] She grew up inTenafly, New Jersey, where she graduated from high school as avaledictorian.[19] She graduated fromYale University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in combined sciences.[20]
Begley started her career as a journalist during her undergraduate studies, where she was a contributing reporter forYale Scientific Magazine.[4] She began work withNewsweek upon graduation in 1977,[21] and by October 1984 she had already been named as a recipient ofThe Newspaper Guild of New York's Page One Award in the category of science reporting in magazines for theNewsweek article "How the Brain Works".[22]
Begley's tenure withNewsweek established her as a well-known science communicator.[15][23] She received accolades from the Religion Communicators Council for the 1998 article "Science Finds God".[24] Her 2002 article "The Mystery of Schizophrenia" received honors from theNational Alliance on Mental Illness.[15][25][26] Other awards have cited her clarity of communication and the accessibility of her articles in furthering the public's understanding of science.[23][27]
In March 2002, after 25 years atNewsweek, Begley joinedThe Wall Street Journal to write its weekly science column called Science Journal.[28] Only three months later, "So Much for Destiny: Even Thoughts Can Turn Genes 'On' and 'Off", earned Begley aFront Page Award for Best Column/Editorial from theNewswomen's Club of New York.[15][23][29] More awards followed for her reporting on a wide variety of topics related to scientific research,[15][23][30][31] including an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree from the University of North Carolina.[5][20]
In 2007, Begley returned to writing an award-winning science column atNewsweek.[15][32][33][34][35] In 2010Newsweek formed an alliance withThe Daily Beast,[36] and Begley's byline often appeared on this site as well.[2][37] From 2012 until 2015 she worked as senior health and science editor atReuters.[2]
In August 2015, the first article appeared under themasthead of theBoston Globe's new science publicationStat[38] with Begley as a member of the inaugural staff.[2][39]
On November 7th, 2025,Stat posthumously published a text by Begley, a criticalobituary forJames Watson she had prewritten before her own death.[40]
Countryside near McLeod Ganj, a scene similar to that in the opening pages ofTrain Your Mind, Change Your Brain
In 2002 the bookThe Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, Begley andJeffrey M. Schwartz explained the results of Schwartz's research into the origin and treatment ofobsessive compulsive disorder.[7] Here, Schwartz explores the subject of theneuroplasticity of the brain and expands upon the idea of "brain lock", a term he introduced in his 1997 bookBrain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior.[41]
Featuring a foreword written byTenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and a preface byDaniel Goleman,Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves was published in 2007.[9] This book begins with a description of the visit by scientists from theMind and Life Institute to the northern Indian town ofMcLeod Ganj—the home of the 14th Dalai Lama in exile. The book then explores the ability of various therapeutic treatments to change the functioning of the neural pathways of the brain and the relationship between this research and the traditionalmeditative practices ofBuddhism.[9]
In 2012 Begley again served as a co-author, this time withRichard Davidson, forThe Emotional Life of Your Brain: How its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live — and How You Can Change Them.[8] The premise of this book is that each person has an individual "Emotional Style". Davidson uses six parameters to determine this Emotional Style: Resilience, Outlook, Social Intuition, Self-Awareness, Sensitivity to Context, and Attention.[42]
"Why Doctors Hate Science", published inNewsweek in 2009,[43] prompted many critical responses.David Gorski, writing under his pen name "Orac", took issue with Begley's characterization of medical practitioners as ignoring basic medical science.[17] One example used by Begley was that of women continuing to receivepap tests after having had totalhysterectomies.[43] Gorski looked into this claim, and found that the subject of Begley's source for this claim was full hysterectomies and hysterectomies for benign conditions of the uterus.[17] Ongoing Pap smears are still indicated for women who have had partial hysterectomies, or who have had uterine cancer.[17] "Begley may indeed have a point that too many pap smears are still done after hysterectomy, by simplifying and mocking she completely undermined her point–not to mention showed that she doesn't understand the issues involved. Either that, or she does understand them but decided to score cheap points against physicians instead of adding three words after "hysterectomy": "for benign disease." ... At the very least, Begley should have acknowledged that her blanket statement is more than a bit over-the-top."[17] This and similar criticism from other defenders of the medical community prompted Begley to write a follow-up article entitled "Why Psychologists Reject Science", in which she referred to the previous article as one in which she was "asking, facetiously" why doctors hated science, but then went on to explain that, "The problem is even worse in psychology."[18] This prompted a fresh wave of criticism, such as that expressed by Leslie Becker-Phelps inPsychology Today when she referred to Begley's article as "alarmingly misleading".[44] Becker-Phelps stressed the intense educational requirements of the field and stated that, "theAPA mandates that its member psychologistsuse their scientific knowledge in their clinical judgments."[44]
When Begley's article "Placebo Power" appeared in the January/February 2013 issue of theSaturday Evening Post highlighting the perceived power of theplacebo effect,[45] it raised criticisms from science writers andskeptics. Skeptical blogger and science writerPZ Myers said of "Placebo Power", "She's got a tendency to go charging off into fluff and that's what's happened here."[16] Myers' objection largely rested on Begley's reliance onanecdotal evidence to bolster claims of the efficacy of placebo treatments.[16] Similar objections were raised bySteven Novella. "Those skeptics that Begley seems to dismiss have done the hard work for her and other journalists of actually reading the original research, digging down to the salient details, and teasing out the nuances that make all the difference to a proper interpretation of a complex clinical issue."[46]
Other articles by Begley have attracted criticism from the political arena.[27] The cover of the August 13, 2007, issue ofNewsweek bore the large-print words: "Global Warming is a Hoax*", with the asterisk pointing to the smaller-print words: "*or so claim well-funded naysayers who still reject the overwhelming evidence of climate change."[47] Anthropogenicclimate change denierMarc Morano, former communications director forOklahomaSenatorJim Inhofe, referred to the article as a "one-sided editorial, masquerading as a 'news article.'"[27] This and other articles on the subject ofclimate change by Begley were cited in a press release by Morano as part of the reason for launching Climate Depot—a website devoted to denying the scientific evidence ofanthropogenic climate change.[48] Criticism of the August 13, 2007, article also came from fellowNewsweek columnistRobert Samuelson. In a column that appeared in the next issue, Samuelson characterized the article as "'fundamentally misleading' because it focused on the 'peripheral' actions of the 'denial machine' instead of the intractability of man-made warming".[27]
1984 Page One Award (Science Reporting in Magazines) from The Newspaper Guild of New York (for the 1983Newsweek article "How the Brain Works")[22]
1986 First place Award (Food News Reporting, circulation over 200,001) from the Association of Food Journalists[49]
1992 Outstanding Achievement in Media from the American Society on Aging[5][15]
1993 Premier Award for Space Coverage from the Aviation/Space Writers Association (for the 1992Newsweek articles "ET Phone Us" and "The Science of Doom")[11][15][50][51]
1997 Clarion Award (Magazine Article) from The Association for Women in Communication (for the 1996Newsweek article "Your Child's Brain")[11][15][52]
2007 Global Media Award of Excellence for Best Environmental Reporting from The Population Institute (for the 2007Newsweek article, "The Truth About Denial")[15][59]
2007 Genesis Award from the Humane Society of the United States (for the 2006Newsweek article "Cry of the Wild: Gorilla Warfare")[15][23][60]
Begley married Edward Groth in 1983 and went on to have a daughter and a son. Her husband was a scientist withConsumers Union. She died on January 16, 2021, from non-smoking lung cancer.[19]
^abDavidson, Richard J.; Begley, Sharon (2013).The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live—and How You Can Change Them. New York City: The Penguin Group.ISBN978-0-452-29888-0.
^abcdefghijk"About Sharon Begley".Yale Office of Public Affairs and Communications. Yale University. November 1, 2009. Archived fromthe original on October 16, 2015. RetrievedOctober 16, 2015.
^Davidson, Richard J.; Begley, Sharon (2012).The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live—and How You Can Change Them. New York City: Penguin Books. pp. 4–6.ISBN978-0-452-29888-0.
^Morano, Marc (April 6, 2009)."Climate Depot: Redefining Global Warming Reporting".Climate Depot. Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT). Archived fromthe original on September 6, 2015. RetrievedOctober 18, 2015."For far too long, climate and environmental news has been tainted by the woeful reporting of journalists like . . .Newsweek's Sharon Begley . . . and many others," Morano said.
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