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 does a scientist look like? You!

    We’re writing a feature on women in science, technology, engineering and math. Are you one? Share your story with us!

  2. Environment

    Scientists Say: Aufeis

    Water keeps flowing underground even in the coldest Arctic winters. But when it comes to the surface, it chills out and forms large layers of ice — called aufeis.

  3. A Day in the Life: Arctic ecologist

    Ever wonder what a scientist in the Arctic does all day? Mary Kate Swenarton scrubs rocks, catches fish and measures stream flow, depth, temperature and more.

  4. Climate

    Scientists Say: Albedo

    To measure how much light reflects off an object, scientists measure its albedo.

  5. Earth

    Scientists Say: Hoodoo

    When softer rocks are covered with a harder rock layer, weathering can wear away the softer stone. This will leave behind tall thin towers — hoodoos.

  6. Teachers get to do cool science in the Arctic

    The Toolik Field Station offers a hands-on research experience for science teachers, so they can take the latest techniques back to their classrooms.

  7. Genetics

    Scientists Say: DNA sequencing

    All of us have our own individual DNA. Now, scientists can determine what each individual strand is made of — a process called DNA sequencing.

  8. Get Science News magazines for free in your high school

    A new program is offering Science News free for high schools, complete with materials to guide classroom reading and an archive spanning more than 94 years.

  9. Animals

    Scientists Say: Crepuscular

    Day creatures are diurnal. Night creatures are nocturnal. Animals active at twilight get a special name.

  10. Animals

    Scientists Say: Venomous

    A poison-arrow frog is poisonous, but a rattlesnake is not. What’s the difference? It’s how their poisons are delivered.

  11. Environment

    Scientists Say: Poisonous

    A poison-arrow frog is poisonous, but a rattlesnake is not. What’s the difference? It’s how the poison is delivered.

  12. Brain

    Hormone affects how teens’ brains control emotions

    Using scans of brain activity, scientists show that surging hormones drive where emotions get processed in a teen’s brain.