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. 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?

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. Animals

    Werewolves could learn from other critters when to hunt

    Werewolves aren’t the only creatures that undergo transformation under the full moon. But could weak werewolves be at risk of becoming prey?

  9. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: Anatomy of a heartbeat

    Here’s how the heart pumps blood to each and every cell of the body. It beats roughly 60 times every minute, starting before we’re born.

  10. Brain

    Zap, zap, zap! Our bodies are electric

    Electricity powers key functions in the brain, heart and bone. Scientists are working to understand those currents to improve our health and moods.

  11. Chemistry

    Explainer: How cells use chemistry to make the electricity of life

    Charged particles, or ions, constantly move in and out of cells. These migrations produce tiny electric currents, which power your brain, heart and more.

  12. Animals

    Phoenixes aren’t the only creatures to survive the flames 

    Although a phoenix that burns and lives is a myth, many living things on Earth don’t mind hot temperatures.