
Carolyn Gramling
Earth & Climate Writer, Science News
Carolyn is the Earth & Climate writer at Science News. Previously she worked at Science magazine for six years, both as a reporter covering paleontology and polar science and as the editor of the news in brief section. Before that she was a reporter and editor at EARTH magazine. She has bachelor’s degrees in Geology and European History and a Ph.D. in marine geochemistry from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She’s also a former Science News intern.

All Stories by Carolyn Gramling
- Animals
Megalodons may have become megahunters by running hot
O. megalodon sharks were warm-blooded mega-predators. But when food sources dwindled, colder-blooded sharks may have had an evolutionary edge.
- Materials Science
This house is partly made of recycled diapers
After being washed, dried, sanitized and shredded, used diapers were mixed with other materials to make a strong concrete.
- Climate
Explainer: What is an atmospheric river?
These long-traveling storm systems bring moisture to many parts of the world. Here’s what scientists are learning about them.
- Environment
Rare-earth mining is dirty but key to a climate-friendlier future
That’s spurring new research to find a steady but safer supply of these precious metals, including in the United States.
- Chemistry
Chemists have unlocked the secrets of long-lasting Roman concrete
By searching ancient texts and ruins, scientists found a concrete recipe that could make buildings stronger — and help address climate change.
- Fossils
An ancient ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground
Some 230 million years ago, huge dolphin-like reptiles appear to have gathered to breed in safe waters, just as many whales do today.
- Fossils
Sprinting reptiles may have been forerunners of soaring pterosaurs
A new analysis of an old fossil supports the idea that winged pterosaurs evolved from swift and tiny two-legged ancestors.
- Climate
Heat waves appear more life-threatening than scientists once thought
This is bad news as a warming planet leads to growing numbers of excessive heat waves — and millions more people facing potentially deadly temperatures.
- Fossils
Warm feathers may have helped dinos survive mass Triassic die-off
Dinosaurs may have weathered freezing conditions about 202 million years ago, thanks to warm feathery coats.
- Fossils
This big dino had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool
A predecessor to Tyrannosaurus rex, Meraxes gigas had a giant head. But the muscularity of its puny arms suggests those limbs served some purpose.
- Fossils
Great white sharks may be partly to blame for the end of megalodons
Zinc levels in shark teeth hint that megalodons and great whites competed for food — and great whites won.
- Fossils
Bright-colored feathers may have topped pterosaurs’ heads
Fossil remains of a flying reptile hint that their vibrant crests may have originated 250 million years ago in a common ancestor with dinosaurs.