
Maria Temming
Assistant Managing Editor, Science News Explores
Maria Temming is the Assistant Managing Editor at Science News Explores. Maria has undergraduate degrees in physics and English from Elon University and a master's degree in science writing from MIT. She has written for Scientific American, Sky & Telescope and NOVA Next. She’s also a former staff writer at Science News.

All Stories by Maria Temming
- Brain
Let’s learn about reading
Reading can be fun — but it can also be really hard. New research is exploring how to make reading easier for people of all ability levels.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Humidity
Feel sticky when you step outside on a summer day? Blame humidity — water in the air.
- Genetics
Scientists Say: DNA
Short for deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA is the molecule that determines how each living thing looks and works.
- Psychology
Scientists Say: Trauma
No one experiences trauma the same way. Its effects can be physical or emotional. Immediate or delayed. Brief or long-lasting.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Pigment
From fruits to fur to fine art, many materials get their colors from compounds called pigments.
- Science & Society
Let’s learn about music
Researchers are delving into how instruments and spaces shape our experience of music, and how computers could play a role in the future of music-making.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Proton
These positively charged particles are important building blocks in atoms.
- Tech
Like an octopus, this glove lets fingers grip slippery objects
The octopus-inspired suckers on each fingertip grab and release objects on demand.
- Planets
Scientists Say: Habitable Zone
The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures could be right for worlds to host liquid water.
- Space
Let’s learn about surviving a trip to Mars
Getting to and surviving on the Red Planet will take lots of innovation.
- Computing
Scientists Say: Supercomputer
These ultrafast computers perform complex calculations for research on cancer, quantum physics and more.
- Materials Science
Let’s learn about diamond
Diamond is born under extreme heat and pressure inside Earth and elsewhere in the universe.