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. Animals

    When the giant ants went marching

    A new study of an ancient fossil suggests that 50 million years ago, supersized ants went on a cross-continental trek.

  2. Tech

    Roll, robot, roll

    Caterpillars inspire researchers to build a robot that rolls to safety.

  3. Animals

    Open eyes, dozing minds

    Scientists find that rats that stay up late are neither fully asleep nor fully awake.

  4. Animals

    Ants aweigh!

    In a flood, fire ants cling together to keep afloat.

  5. Earth

    Ash blast

    Tiny particles ejected from a 2010 volcanic eruption pose big problems.

  6. Fossils

    Dangerous dinos in the dark

    Eye fossils reveal predatory dinosaurs’ preference for hunting at night.

  7. Environment

    Busy bacteria leave big mark

    Earth’s earliest life-forms built mounds on an Antarctic lake bottom.

  8. Space

    The dark side of the universe

    Most of the cosmos is invisible, but that doesn’t stop scientists from searching for it.

  9. Space

    A curious cosmic explosion

    A bright blowup far, far away keeps astronomers guessing.

  10. Health & Medicine

    New source for healthy fats

    Scientists found a way to produce fish oil without harming a single fish.

  11. Animals

    Big fish in troubled waters

    Overfishing cuts number of large predator fish in the ocean.

  12. Physics

    Planetary paparazzo

    NASA satellite snaps historic photographs of Mercury.