
Maria Temming
Assistant Editor, Science News Explores
Maria Temming is the assistant 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
- Archaeology
Let’s learn about Stonehenge
Questions remain about exactly who built Stonehenge and why. But some details are known about the site’s origins.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Rare earth element
Rare earth elements aren’t all that rare — but skyrocketing demand for these metals makes them precious.
- Animals
Toothed whales use their noses to whistle and click
Much as people do, toothed whales, such as dolphins and sperm whales, make noises in three different vocal registers.
- Animals
Let’s learn about beetles’ survival superpowers
Some beetle species can survive extreme pressure, dehydration or even getting eaten.
- Physics
Scientists Say: X-ray
X-rays are a type of light that doctors use to image the inside of the body. Astronomers use X-rays to explore the cosmos.
- Climate
Let’s learn about why summer 2023 was so hot
Human-caused climate change has played a big role in this summer’s historic heat.
- Tech
Scientists Say: Fiber optic cable
Whether you’re reading these words on a phone, computer or other device, you may have fiber optic cables to thank.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Radio Waves
Lightning, stars, supermassive black holes and more give off radio waves.
- Animals
Northern elephant seals snooze only two hours a day at sea
These marine mammals sleep only minutes at a time on months-long trips at sea.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Tectonic Plate
Tectonic plates are giant slabs of rock that make up Earth’s outer layer.
- Math
Scientists Say: Parabola
A parabola is a U-shaped curve, where every point along that curve is the same distance from another point and a line.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Explosion
Explosions happen when chemical or nuclear reactions blow out a lot of heat, noise and expanding gas.