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. Physics

    Physics guides teen in search for which bike tire is best

    Mountain bikes have lots of options, including the size of the wheels. The choice a rider makes when buying a bike can affect how fast they can go.

  2. Animals

    How the house mouse found its home

    Once people started settling down 15,000 years ago, a mouse species followed them indoors. The animals didn’t need people to be farming and storing food.

  3. Animals

    Nighttime lights can dim a firefly’s flash

    Fireflies blink to attract mates. But when it’s too bright at night, the insects may stay away.

  4. Earth

    Scientists Say: Continent

    A continent is a large land mass. Geologists recognize six of them — Africa, Antarctica, Eurasia, Australia, North America and South America.

  5. Health & Medicine

    A light-filled box could blast bacteria from lab coats

    Doctors can pick up bacteria on their lab coats. A teen has designed a special light-filled box to keep those coats from infecting others with those germs.

  6. Health & Medicine

    This mix turns pink when sunscreen wears thin

    Many people know to put on sunscreen. Remembering to put more on is harder. A teen invented an indicator that glows pink when it’s time to reapply.

  7. Life

    Scientists Say: Mitochondrion

    Mitochondria are structures inside cells that converts certain chemicals into adenosine triphosphate — a molecule cells use as energy.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Teens take on science in the age of smartphones

    With nearly every teen using a smartphone, it’s no surprise teen scientists are studying them. Two teams do science with smartphones, one on procrastination, the other on self-esteem.

  9. Agriculture

    Sheep poop may spread poisonous weed

    Fireweed is a poisonous plant in Australia. Sheep can eat it without hurting themselves. But a teen found those sheep may be spreading more weeds.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Library books could come with a side of germs

    People transfer microbes to most of the things we touch. Does that extend to our library books? A teen did an experiment to find out.

  11. Science & Society

    Research is important because…

    Teens wouldn’t do science unless they felt it was important. Here’s why they think it matters so much.

  12. Space

    Scientists Say: Supernova

    When a star has too much mass, it can explode. The explosion is called a supernova.