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. Planets

    Scientists Say: Dwarf planet

    Dwarf planets are distinct from the full-size models. A little too small, they also have a lot of space stuff filling their path around the sun.

  2. Highlights from the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search

    The Regeneron Science Talent Search celebrates 40 of the brightest young scientific minds at a gala celebration.  

  3. Brain

    High-school brain researcher takes home $250,000 prize

    Three teens won big in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search. They studied brain injury, mathematical models and networks of connections within big data sets.

  4. Why do science? Teens explain why they put in the effort

    Doing scientific research can be hard work. Here, the finalists of the Regeneron Science Talent Search explain why it’s all worth it.

  5. Space

    Student programs computer to predict path of space trash

    People are already using space as a garbage dump, which could prove dangerous to future space travelers. A teen set out to track space junk using only her home computer.

  6. Agriculture

    Teen converts water pollutant into a plant fertilizer

    Too much phosphate can fuel algal growth, which can rob oxygen from the water. This can suffocate fish and other wildlife. Stefan Wan found a way to collect that pollutant, which can later be used as a farm nutrient.

  7. Microbes

    Teen invents a dip to keep germs away

    A teen competing in the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search invented an eco-friendly chemical mix. It should keep bacteria from growing on treated paper, fabrics — including wound coverings — and more.

  8. Life

    Scientists Say: ATP

    This chemical is a bit like a rechargeable battery. Cells build and break apart its chemical bonds to store and release energy.

  9. Science & Society

    For minority students to succeed, teachers need to earn trust

    Minority middle-school students begin to lose trust in their teachers when they see peers treated unfairly.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Hibernation: Secrets of the big sleep

    Mammals from bears to squirrels hibernate the winter away. Learning how they do it might one day help people mimic aspects of it to heal from brain injuries or voyage to Mars.

  11. Animals

    Explainer: How brief can hibernation be?

    Many animals frequently slow body functions and drop their temperatures — sometimes for just a day. Is that hibernation, or just torpor? Are the two even related? Scientists disagree.

  12. Planets

    Scientists Say: Goldilocks zone

    Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. This is the region around a star where water could be a liquid, instead of a solid or gas.