Bethany Brookshire

Bethany Brookshire was a longtime staff writer at Science News Explores and is the author of the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. She has a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in philosophy from The College of William and Mary, and a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She was a 2019-2020 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, the winner of the Society for Neuroscience Next Generation Award and the Three Quarks Daily Science Writing Award, among others.

All Stories by Bethany Brookshire

  1. Brain

    Explainer: What are opioids?

    Opioid drugs can kill pain, but they can also kill people. Here’s how.

  2. Brain

    Scientists Say: Receptor

    This molecule is a chemical messenger’s docking station. A receptor serves as a lock for cell activity.

  3. Earth

    Scientists Say: Inclusion

    As rocks form slowly, they can trap things in their timeless clutches. A material trapped inside a mineral is called an inclusion.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Teens win big prizes for research on potato killer, vaping and a rare disease

    The Regeneron Science Talent Search awarded more than $2 million in prizes this year. This year’s top winners tackled plant disease, vaping and more.

  5. How to build your dragon — with science

    Dragons are creatures of fantasy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use science to design one.

  6. These questions inspired science champs. How do you match up?

    Fancy science fair projects sometimes seem like they’re only for super-geniuses. But that’s not true! Many rely on what everyone learns in school.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Ectoparasite

    Many people think of parasites as organisms that live inside their hosts. But some of them can be found on the outside instead.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: CT scan

    Short for computerized tomography, this technique lets scientists and doctors see insides in detail.

  9. Animals

    Scientists Say: Zooplankton

    These plankton are tiny, but don’t let that fool you. They are predators, too.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Why many Olympic athletes have early birthdays

    When kids start out in sports, coaches tend to pick the biggest as the best. Here’s what scientists are trying to do about it.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Triclosan

    This chemical is known for its bacteria-killing skills. But its use can also promote the development of dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

  12. Brain

    Unlike adults, teens don’t perform better when the stakes are high

    Adults tend to do better on tasks that have bigger rewards. Not teens. This difference might have to do with the rewiring of the brain during adolescence, new data suggest.