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. Environment

    Fighting big farm pollution with a tiny plant

    Fertilizer runoff can fuel the growth of toxic algae nearby lakes. A teen decided to harness a tiny plant to sop up that fertilizer.

  2. Life

    Scientists Say: Exocytosis

    For a cell to remove something large from inside itself, it turns to a process called exocytosis.

  3. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Acidification

    When a solution becomes more acidic, it’s acidifying. And that’s not always a good thing.

  4. Life

    Scientists Say: Endocytosis

    Small molecules can go into a cell through receptors or even just dissolve into it. But something big? That requires endocytosis.

  5. Animals

    Eating toxic algae makes plankton speedy swimmers

    After slurping up harmful algae, copepods swim fast and straight — making them easy prey for hungry predators.

  6. Teen gymnast finds how best to keep her grip

    Unsatisfied with anecdotal opinions on which type of gymnastics chalk was best, a teen used science to find out for herself.

  7. Physics

    Scientists Say: Absolute zero

    Even when we think it’s cold out, most molecules are moving. Only at absolute zero will all of their motions stop.

  8. Earth

    Common water pollutants hurt freshwater organisms

    The germ killers we use and the drugs we take don’t just disappear. They can end up in the environment. There they can harm aquatic organisms, three teens showed.

  9. Animals

    Snakes go dark to soak in the sun

    Snakes are paler in the South and darker in the North. The darker species absorb heat more quickly, a teen showed.

  10. Animals

    Scientists Say: Copepod

    Copepods are tiny crustaceans. They eat phytoplankton and float in the water column, although some live in freshwater and on the sea floor.

  11. Teens share what inspired them in STEM

    What inspires kids to pursue science, technology, engineering and math? These teens share their stories.

  12. Taking science to the track

    An athlete took on science research with a few friends and a heart monitor.