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

    Scientists Say: Acceleration

    Acceleration is a change in velocity. That could mean a change in speed or in direction.

  2. Physics

    Scientists Say: Radiation

    Radiation is the motion of energy through space as waves or particles.

  3. Physics

    Let’s learn about light

    Light is a form of energy that moves in waves. Some light comes in waves we can see. Other waves are invisible to us — but still affect our world.

  4. Brain

    Scientists Say: Neuron

    Neurons are the foundational cells in the nervous system. They pass along and process information using electrical signals.

  5. Science & Society

    When COVID-19 comes for your science fair

    When labs shut down due to COVID-19, teens took their science fair projects to the internet and … sometimes even to the bathroom.

  6. Life

    Scientists Say: Hominid

    Scientists are still working out what counts as a hominid. Some say it’s just people and our extinct ancestors. Others say add more apes.

  7. Space

    Let’s learn about the moon

    The moon is Earth’s nearest neighbor, and its gravity helps stabilize the planet’s climate and creates the tides.

  8. Life

    Scientists Say: Egg and sperm

    An egg or a sperm cell contains half of the normal genes an organism needs. They fuse together to form a new individual.

  9. Climate

    Scientists Say: Weather

    The state of the atmosphere in a specific place and time is weather. Over a long time, the weather conditions in an area will reveal its climate.

  10. Chemistry

    Let’s learn about acids and bases

    Acids give away particles with positive charge. Bases accept positively charged particles. They are both critical for chemical reactions.

  11. Space

    Scientists Say: Planet

    Planets have to orbit a star, be big enough to form a sphere and keep other objects out of their path around their star.

  12. Math

    Scientists Say: Outlier

    Data points often fall within a normal range. When one data point sticks out a lot, it might be an outlier.