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. Brain

    Explainer: What is dopamine?

    Dopamine is a chemical messenger that carries signals between brain cells. It also gets blamed for addiction. And a shortage of it gets blamed for symptoms of diseases such as Parkinson’s.

  2. Brain

    Explainer: What is neurotransmission?

    When brain cells need to pass messages to one another, they use chemicals called neurotransmitters. This sharing of chemical secrets is known as neurotransmission.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Bruxism

    Some people clench their jaw when their stressed. People who do it a lot may have bruxism.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Snot Science: A snotty setup

    We’ve got a video with a snotty experiment. Now we describe how you can do the same test yourself. Try it!

  5. Health & Medicine

    Snot Science: Results are nothing to sneeze at

    We tested a lot of snot, but now we need to figure out what our data mean. Here’s how to group and analyze our data.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Snot Science: Taking mucus to the next level

    There’s more to science than just squirting snot. It’s time to place data in context and figure out how to take my boogers to the next level.

  7. Smithsonian museum hosts research program for local teens

    Want to do some real science? Apply to the National Museum of Natural History’s summer program for hands-on research experience.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Tinnitus

    Ever had ringing in your ears? Tinnitus is a condition in which you hear a persistent sound that isn’t there.

  9. Space

    Movie, book illuminate Hidden Figures from the space race

    A new movie and book showcase the hidden heroes of the space race — the mathematicians who crunched the numbers.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Insulin

    This chemical is a lifesaver. It helps our bodies use the sugars from our food, and without it, people develop diabetes.

  11. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Sublimation

    Matter doesn’t always go from solid to liquid to gas. Sometimes it skips a step.

  12. These women tackle science in the lab, classroom and far, far beyond

    Not all scientists end up in the lab. Some end up in the classroom, designing science coloring books and making science jewelry.