Carolyn Wilke

Contributing Editor, Science News Explores

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

  1. Earth

    Scientists Say: Glacier

    Glaciers are massive ‘rivers of ice’ that move slowly over land. But climate change is shrinking them.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Animals

    Scientists Say: Herbivore

    Herbivores are animals that can live on a diet of mostly plants.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.