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. Chemistry

    Superslim silicene

    Lab-made sheets of silicon are only one atom thick.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Fat weighs heavy on the brain

    New study shows obesity interferes with memory, thinking and reasoning.

  3. Enthusiasm and reward for science

    Meet the high schoolers who won the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search.

  4. Oceans

    Sea changes

    Carbon dioxide is making the oceans more acidic.

  5. Tech

    Cell phones on the brain

    When an active cell phone is pressed against the ear, the brain gets busier.

  6. Materials Science

    Battery powered to heal

    With its own first-aid kit, this battery can really keep going.

  7. Environment

    Floor of Gulf got slimed

    Oil from BP spill was likely dragged down by bacterial goo.

  8. Animals

    Eating can be skin deep

    In the laboratory, bottom-dwelling hagfish absorb nutrients through the skin.

  9. Earth

    Quake leaves destruction, fear

    In Japan, an earthquake started a tsunami that caused a nuclear disaster.

  10. Animals

    There’s no ‘i’ in elephant

    These clever mammals may know when two trunks are better than one.

  11. Physics

    Like electricity, but magnetic

    Getting magnetic poles on the move makes a new kind of flow.

  12. Plants

    Carnivorous plants say ‘cheese’

    It took high-speed cameras to reveal how the bladderwort gets lunch.