Bethany Brookshire

Bethany Brookshire

Bethany Brookshire was a longtime staff writer at Science News Explores and is the author of the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. She has a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in philosophy from The College of William and Mary, and a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She was a 2019-2020 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, the winner of the Society for Neuroscience Next Generation Award and the Three Quarks Daily Science Writing Award, among others.

All Stories by Bethany Brookshire

  1. Animals

    Monkeys might share our instincts for math

    To show how monkeys think about math and shapes, scientists had them play games — including some designed by kids.

  2. Health & Medicine

    The sweet truth about carbohydrates

    Many carbohydrates are important sources of energy, while others offer little benefit. Learn why not all carbs are the same and how our bodies use them.

  3. Chemistry

    Not all that tastes sweet is sugary

    We’re naturally drawn to sweet foods and drinks. Scientists have designed several ways to make things taste sweet with little or no sugar.

  4. Animals

    Frozen poop reveals Ice Age squirrels’ ecosystem

    Ancient ground squirrels were anything but picky eaters. Genetic material from grasses to woolly mammoths popped up in frozen squirrel poop.

  5. Animals

    This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two

    The strangler fig provides food and shelter for animals in the tropics. For at least 17 mammal species, it also serves as a toilet.

  6. Science & Society

    What’s so noble about the Nobel Prize?

    The Nobel Prize might be the one science prize you’ve heard about. But does it really recognize the most important science?

  7. Humans

    Forget droplets. Here’s how sweat really forms

    This is the most detailed look yet at how we perspire. Beads of sweat are out, puddling is in.

  8. Animals

    What dogs see on TV depends on their temperament

    Breed, age or sex didn’t seem to matter in how dogs reacted to TV, but personality did. That’s according to a survey of more than 400 dog owners.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is cancer?

    Cancer is a whole collection of diseases with one thing in common: all develop when the body’s cells start dividing out of control.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Can you really die of a broken heart?

    Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause takotsubo syndrome — a sometimes fatal heart problem.

  11. Ecosystems

    There’s life beneath the snow — but it’s at risk of melting away

    The organisms that make winter homes in this subnivium help forests thrive year-round. But climate change is making this ecosystem disappear.

  12. Brain

    This neuroscientist looks at how your brain plans for the future

    Freek van Ede studies how the brain selects information to plan for the future. He’s finding clues in the tiny movements people make with their eyes.