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. Health & Medicine

    Fighting spider-fear with a little Spider-Man

    Many people are afraid of spiders or ants. Watching a movie clip with the critters in it might help make people more comfortable with them, a new study shows.

  2. Climate

    Scientists Say: Eyewall

    The calm center of a hurricane or other tropical cyclone is called the eye. But the worst winds and rain are around it, in the eyewall.

  3. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Ferrofluid

    Ferrofluids are liquids with tiny magnetic particles in them. These liquids respond to magnets.

  4. Microbes

    Teens swipe a door handle and find an antibiotic

    Three teens swabbed a smartphone, a door handle and a hand dryer. The new bacterium they turned up can kill other types of germs.

  5. Scientists Say: Naloxone

    This drug can save people who have overdosed on opioids, such as fentanyl and oxycodone.

  6. Physics

    Scientists Say: Light pollution

    Light pollution is when artificial light shines into places that are normally dark. It can disrupt the lives of plants, animals and people.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Myopia

    Myopia is nearsightedness, where people have trouble seeing far away objects. This happens if someone’s eyes are slightly oval, instead of perfect spheres.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Neutrophil

    Neutrophils are the first cells to arrive when an infection takes hold. They can trap, eat and spew out chemicals that fight bad bacteria.

  9. Animals

    Let’s turn a genie blue

    Aladdin’s genie is very magical. He’s also blue. What might explain that? Nature has some tricks on offer.

  10. Animals

    Bats in the attic prompt boys to create a better bat detector

    When a teen learned he had 700 bats in his attic, he decided to develop a better bat detector.

  11. Computing

    Novel fabric could turn perspiration into power

    Sweat cools people by evaporating. A teen now wants to use it to generate electricity as well.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Sea urchins inspired a strong new medical staple

    Teens combined forces to study how a sea urchin spine might inspire a better medical staple.