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. A gory good time with a dinosaur dissection

    Scientists will never be able to examine a fresh, dead dinosaur. But thanks to TV magic, we can now see what it might be like if they could.

  2. Animals

    Scientists Say: Autopsy and Necropsy

    Sometimes when animals die, they need to be investigated. These examinations have two special names. One is for people, the other for non-human animals.

  3. Plants

    Using plants to solve environmental problems

    Problems in their communities suggested good research projects to three teens. Each wanted to tackle a different issue, from pollution to world hunger. To learn more about these issues, they turned to their local ponds, wetlands and gardens.

  4. Ecosystems

    Scientists Say: Taphonomy

    Studying what happens to plants and animals after they die can teach us about ecosystems and evolution. This study has a special name.

  5. Chemistry

    The science of getting away with murder

    A student took her love of crime shows to the next level. She did a science fair project to find out which cleaner works best at getting rid of bloody evidence.

  6. Science & Society

    Intel International Science and Engineering Fair concludes with awards ceremony

    Here’s our summary of the awards ceremony of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair as told in tweets.

  7. Teen finds more graphic heroines are ‘super’

    Why study the science depicted in comics when you can do a scientific study on the comics themselves. One teen finds women have more, bigger and better roles than ever.

  8. Brain

    Scientists Say: MRI

    MRI is a technique used to diagnose diseases and to study the body. The machine can map internal structures, all the way down to tiny blood vessels.

  9. Tech

    Stepping out with a smarter cane

    Many older people trip and fall on uneven ground. A Colorado teen has designed a ‘smart’ cane to help seniors avoid dangerous obstacles.

  10. Tech

    Making cents of sounds

    Some people give up when a vending machine rejects their money. But one student decided to turn his frustration into inspiration. Through research, he showed how to identify coins by the sounds they make.

  11. Brain

    Hands-free but still distracted

    When people aren’t distracted, they can see a traffic light change very quickly. But a teen scientist now shows that texting — even with a hands-free device — gets dangerously slow.

  12. Inspired to do research

    Finalists at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair tell Eureka! Lab why they do scientific research.