With more than 3 million children dying around the world each year from malnutrition and nearly a billion people lacking access to clean drinking water, the role of science and technology in improving global health is more urgent than ever, a top U.S. State Department official told the recent AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy.

Three Science articles—by staff writers Jennifer Couzin-Frankel and Erik Stokstad, along with psychologist Daniel Wegner—have been selected for The Best American Science Writing 2010.

The annual anthology, set for publication in September, this year will feature 22 articles from across the spectrum of science, including both up-and-coming writers and some of the most venerable voices in the field.