Stephen Ornes

Freelance Writer

Stephen Ornes has been writing for Science News Explores since 2008, and his 2014 story "Where Will Lightning Strike?" won an AAAS/Kavli Gold Award. He lives in Nashville, Tenn., and he has three children, who are inventing their own language. His family has a cat, six chickens, and two rabbits, but he secretly thinks hagfish are the most fascinating animals. Stephen has written two books. One is a biography of mathematician Sophie Germain, who was born during the French Revolution. The other, which was published in 2019, features art inspired by math. Visit him online at stephenornes.com.

All Stories by Stephen Ornes

  1. Health & Medicine

    An itch switch

    Scientists identify a chemical that helps the brain know where to scratch.

  2. Physics

    Black hole mysteries

    Scientists are just getting to know the black holes that help anchor our cosmos.

  3. Brain

    A mind for math

    A part of the brain associated with making memories may also predict success in learning math.

  4. Physics

    Light dancing on glass

    New type of material lets light travel across its surface without interruption.

  5. Animals

    Honey’s hidden helper

    Scientists identify a substance in honey that helps bee bodies fight poisons.

  6. Archaeology

    American cannibals

    Skeletal remains of a Jamestown teen show signs of cannibalism in colonial America, new data show. The girl’s skull provides the first concrete support for historical accounts that some starving colonists had resorted to eating the flesh of others.

  7. Animals

    Motion in the ocean

    Scientists figure out why pulsing corals pulse.

  8. Brain

    Perfect pacifier

    In people and mice, carrying a baby calms it.

  9. Tech

    ‘Print’ almost anything

    3-D printers allow people to build almost anything they can imagine — from toys to food, buildings to body parts.

  10. Health & Medicine

    New life for a used organ

    Scientists transplant a rebuilt kidney into a rat.

  11. Microbes

    Deadly new flu

    The germ responsible carries genes from other flu viruses.

  12. Computing

    A switch for a living computer

    Scientists are finding that computer parts can also be built from DNA.