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

    Intel International Science and Engineering Fair concludes with awards ceremony

    Here’s our summary of the awards ceremony of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair as told in tweets.

  2. Teen finds more graphic heroines are ‘super’

    Why study the science depicted in comics when you can do a scientific study on the comics themselves. One teen finds women have more, bigger and better roles than ever.

  3. Brain

    Scientists Say: MRI

    MRI is a technique used to diagnose diseases and to study the body. The machine can map internal structures, all the way down to tiny blood vessels.

  4. Tech

    Stepping out with a smarter cane

    Many older people trip and fall on uneven ground. A Colorado teen has designed a ‘smart’ cane to help seniors avoid dangerous obstacles.

  5. Tech

    Making cents of sounds

    Some people give up when a vending machine rejects their money. But one student decided to turn his frustration into inspiration. Through research, he showed how to identify coins by the sounds they make.

  6. Brain

    Hands-free but still distracted

    When people aren’t distracted, they can see a traffic light change very quickly. But a teen scientist now shows that texting — even with a hands-free device — gets dangerously slow.

  7. Inspired to do research

    Finalists at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair tell Eureka! Lab why they do scientific research.

  8. Science & Society

    The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair kicks off

    The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair brought together more than 1700 kids from around the world to share their science project. We live-tweeted the opening ceremony.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Teen researcher eyes peripheral vision

    Our peripheral vision helps us work and play. A student scientist studied how the distance between our eyes affects what we can see on the outer edges of our field of view.

  10. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Ion

    Some atoms and molecules have a positive or negative electrical charge. These are called ions.

  11. Cookie Science 16: If I had to do it all again

    My second cookie experiment didn’t turn out quite like I planned. Here’s what I would do differently, knowing what I do now.

  12. Environment

    Scientists Say: Fracking

    Liquid fuel sources such as natural gas and petroleum form deep underground between layers of rock. To retrieve them, engineers often use a technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.