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. Humans

    Volcanic doom for Neandertals

    Eruptions may have helped set the stage for modern humans.

  2. Planets

    Faraway planet could support life

    A planet 20 light-years away could be the perfect distance from its star.

  3. Tech

    Crawling, nano-sized robots

    Built from DNA, these teeny bots move as directed.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Obesity and the common cold

    A study of children finds those who caught a particular virus were more likely to be obese.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Cockroaches could be good medicine

    Ground-up bug brains are shown to kill resistant bacteria.

  6. Brain

    Action gaming and quick thinking

    Playing action games can hone ability to decide quickly, precisely.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Tomatoes that trick taste buds

    Eating these lab-grown treats can make sour foods taste really sweet.

  8. Tech

    World’s tiniest fridge

    Staying cool, even in the quantum world.

  9. Environment

    Gulf oil finds many paths

    Questions, and lots of oil, remain months after Gulf disaster.

  10. Animals

    Poop-sniffing mice to the rescue

    Animals can detect droppings left by ducks with Bird Flu.

  11. Planets

    Holes in Martian moon mystery

    Phobos may be lots of empty space.

  12. Environment

    The oily Gulf

    The Gulf oil spill is massive, will take years to clean up.