I write news and features for curious kids and adults, focusing (mostly) on archaeology, Earth science, and animal oddities. But I also draw on my past life as a researcher to cover chemistry and microbes.
Here’s a selection of my work.
Animals
Parrots Use Their Beaks to Swing Like Monkeys, The New York Times, 1/30/24
Ancient droppings may help save kakapo parrots from extinction, New Scientist, 4/6/23
Why these colorful fish engage in mouth-to-mouth showdowns, National Geographic, 10/14/22
An Anaconda’s Play Date With Dolphins Took a Strange Turn, The New York Times, 5/2/22
Tiny structures in dragonfish teeth turn them into invisible daggers, Science News, 06/05/19
A 14-foot-tall arthritis patient receives treatment at the Sacramento Zoo, The Sacramento Bee, 08/18/17
Archaeology
Ancient make-up in Chinese tomb includes concealer and skin lightener, New Scientist, 7/28/23
An archaeological look at modern refugees, Knowable Magazine, 7/13/22
Roman-era millstone and mixer makers knew their rocks, Eos, 11/18/21
The resistance and ingenuity of the cooks who lived in slavery, Sapiens, 8/26/21
The ancient origins of glass, Knowable Magazine, 11/18/21
republished online at Smithsonian
What did ancient people eat? Scientists find new clues in old pottery, Knowable Magazine, 07/21/21
republished online at Inverse and The Atlantic
Earth science
Young Salmon in British Columbia Are Getting Bigger, Eos, 2/12/24
Fire Histories May Be Written on Grains of Sand, Eos, 11/21/23
Fiber optics take the pulse of the planet, Knowable Magazine, 11/22/22
Salt spray may stifle lightning over the sea, Eos, 11/1/22
River floods can trigger powerful underwater landslides, Eos, 8/26/22
The plastic cradles of life, Hakai Magazine, 4/15/21
Writing for kids
Jupiter has a never-before-seen jet stream — and it’s speedy, Science News Explores, 11/28/23
This new fabric can ‘hear’ sounds or broadcast them, Science News Explores, 4/22/22
Analyze This: Bulky plesiosaurs may not have been bad swimmers after all, Science News Explores, 9/21/22
Analyze This: Sharks aren’t as scary as what you see on TV, Science News Explores, 9/1/21
Here’s what bats ‘see’ when they explore the world with sound, Science News Explores, 10/29/21
Frozen’s ice queen commands ice and snow — maybe we can too, Science News Explores, 11/21/19
Chemistry
Oxidizing molecules trigger tardigrades’ dormancy, Chemical & Engineering News, 1/23/24
Bursts of calcium ions prompt sensitive plants to fold up in defense, Chemical & Engineering News, 11/30/22
Bone proteins may carry clues about how a body was buried , Chemical & Engineering News, 11/30/22
Police rely on radiocarbon dating to identify forged paintings, Nature News, 3/9/22
Ancient recipes led scientists to a long-lost natural blue, Science News, 04/17/20
A new device can produce electricity using shadows, Science News, 06/02/20
Microbiology
Drug-resistant bacteria evolved on hedgehogs long before the use of antibiotics, Science News, 1/7/22
Airplane sewage may be helping antibiotic-resistant microbes spread, Science News, 12/20/19
Fecal transplants might help make koalas less picky eaters, Science News, 08/27/19
Image by Ingo Jakubke from Pixabay