Carolyn Wilke earned her Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Northwestern University, where her research drew on the fields of environmental chemistry, materials science and toxicology. She got her start in science writing by blogging for HELIX, Northwestern’s science magazine and wrote as a AAAS Mass Media Fellow at The Sacramento Bee. Now a freelance science writer. Carolyn worked as a staff writer at Science News Explores and interned at Science News and The Scientist. When not delving into a new scientific discovery, you might find Carolyn behind her sewing machine or trying to amuse her cat.
All Stories by Carolyn Wilke
-
Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Outbreak, Epidemic and Pandemic
These terms can describe what is happening as a disease spreads across communities, countries and the world.
-
Physics
Scientists Say: Decibel
A decibel is a unit of measurement that describes a sound’s volume. It’s used for sounds that are in the range of human hearing.
-
Ecosystems
Scientists Say: Estuary
This is where a freshwater river meets a salty sea. This environment has brackish water, a mix of saltwater and freshwater.
-
Physics
Scientists Say: Quark
These subatomic particles are the building blocks of bigger particles, including the protons and neutrons found in an atom’s nucleus.
-
Microbes
Globetrotting microbes in airplane sewage may spread antibiotic resistance
Along with harder-to-kill microbes, airplane sewage contains a diverse set of the genes that let bacteria evade antibiotics.
-
Earth
Scientists Say: Firewhirl and Firenado
Firewhirls are smallish vortices of ash and flame; firenadoes are true twisters set off by the conditions that come with a wildfire.
-
Animals
Whales echolocate with big clicks and tiny amounts of air
Toothed whales may echolocate using bits of air that they recycle inside their heads to conserve both air and energy.
-
Space
Dust-shrouded monster is a snapshot from the early universe
Scientists have spotted a massive galaxy from the early universe shrouded in dust. It turned up in a small survey by the ALMA radio telescopes in Chile.
-
Life
Scientists Say: Nutrient
Nutrients provide living things, from bacteria to animals, with the energy and materials to grow. But too much of a nutrient can sometimes cause harm.
-
Tech
Drones help scientists weigh whales at sea
Drone imagery lets scientists estimate a whale’s weight. And that may help monitor the health of these big mammals for conservation purposes.
-
Animals
Scientists Say: Papillae
These small nubs stick out from a body part. They include things such as tongue bumps with taste buds and the structures under the skin that help grow hair.