Nikk Ogasa is a staff writer who focuses on the physical sciences for Science News, based in Brooklyn, New York. He has a master's degree in geology from McGill University, where he studied how ancient earthquakes helped form large gold deposits. He earned another master's degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His stories have been published in ScienceScientific American, Mongabay and the Mercury News, and he was the summer 2021 science writing intern at Science News.

All Stories by Nikk Ogasa

  1. Environment

    Pumping cold water into rivers could help fish chill out

    Hundreds of salmon, trout and other fish sought shelter from summer heat in the human-made cool zones. These areas may help fish adapt to river warming.

  2. Climate

    Some tree leaves are finding it too hot for photosynthesis

    Earth’s ongoing fever threatens to push entire forests toward this heat limit — and possible death.

  3. Earth

    To get diamonds perfect for Barbie, make and break a supercontinent

    Most pink diamonds may have formed billions of years ago during the tectonics that led to formation and breakup of Nuna, Earth’s first supercontinent.

  4. Animals

    Adult corals have been frozen and revived for the first time

    Living corals could be frozen for safekeeping. Scientists could later revive them to restore reef ecosystems that are withering in warming seas.

  5. Ecosystems

    The Amazon is in trouble. Here’s why — and why it matters

    Challenges from human-caused climate change, deforestation and degradation leave the fate of this vast forest uncertain.

  6. Tech

    Nanobots can now enter brain cells to spy on what they’re doing

    Fleets of advanced versions may one day be able to detect disease and then go about surgically treating it — without ever opening the skull.

  7. 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.

  8. Fossils

    This bizarre ancient predator snagged soft prey

    Scientists are rethinking how this extinct creature used the spiky limbs sticking out of its face to hunt.

  9. Space

    Lightning dances through Jupiter’s skies much like it does on Earth 

    Data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft hint that Jupiter’s lightning extends in jagged steps as it does on Earth.

  10. Earth

    One collision could have formed the moon and started plate tectonics

    A hypothetical planet slamming into Earth 4.5 billion years ago might have set subduction into motion.

  11. Fossils

    Ocean life may have bounced back after the ‘Great Dying’

    Marine ecosystems may have been back in action just a million years after the most severe extinction event known.

  12. Earth

    Rare earths’ hidden electrons make much of modern tech possible

    Because of their unique chemistry, rare-earth elements can generate powerful magnetic fields and fine-tune light for a wide range of applications.