Sharon Oosthoek

Freelance Writer

Sharon Oosthoek is a freelance science journalist who lives in Toronto, Canada. She has written about how bed bugs have favorite colors, why your shoelaces untie themselves and how chicken cologne can protect you from malaria.

 

She likes writing for young readers. They ask good questions, like how do scientists know the Earth is warming?

 

Sharon also writes for adults. Her articles have appeared in New Scientist, Canadian Geographic, Maclean’s, The Globe and Mail, cbc.ca and Chemical & Engineering News. She is the winner of an American Academy for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Award for children’s science writing.

All Stories by Sharon Oosthoek

  1. Climate

    Explainer: How scientists know Earth is warming

    Scientists can calculate global temperatures, both present and past. Their findings show that the planet is rapidly heating up.

  2. Environment

    Insecticide can change a spider’s personality

    A chemical meant to kill moths affects the behavior of some spiders. It alters the spiders’ ability to capture prey — including those moths.

  3. Environment

    Nanosilver: Naughty or nice?

    Nanosilver is in many products, from socks to toothbrushes. The tiny particles kill microbes. But it’s still unclear whether they can harm us or the environment.

  4. Chemistry

    How sweat might make you smell sweeter

    A new scent-delivery system ensures that the more you sweat, the more perfume it releases. In fact, it only works in contact with moisture.

  5. Environment

    Deep-sea fish show signs of exposure to pollution

    A new study suggests deep-water fish may have health problems linked to human pollution. Eating these fish may expose diners to the same pollution.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Mice can teach us about human disease

    Humans and mice look and act very differently. But 85 to 90 percent of their genes are the same or quite similar. So an international group of scientists is deciphering the instructions in mouse genes to help us better understand our own.

  7. Climate

    Fast sea level rise is a very recent change

    Sea levels have been rising for more than a century. But that rise is now speeding up. That suggests that what is driving the rise — climate change — also has increased dramatically in recent years.

  8. Animals

    How birds stay in the air

    The sensors inside a boxy device measure the forces generated with each stroke of a bird’s wings. Learning how much force is needed to keep a bird aloft could help in designing future drones that flap, hover and dart.

  9. Environment

    Air pollution can mess with our DNA

    New research suggests a type of air pollution — diesel fumes — can affect your health. It inappropriately switches some genes on, while turning off others.

  10. Environment

    Plastics at sea create raft of problems

    About 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic float in the world's oceans, a new study finds. That's a problem. This 269,000 tons of plastic can choke, entangle and poison a wide variety of sea creatures.

  11. Environment

    ADHD linked to air pollutants

    Air pollution from cars and industries can spew pollutants known as PAHs. A new study shows children have a greater risk of ADHD if their mothers inhaled a lot of PAHs while pregnant.

  12. Microbes

    How ‘bugs’ in our bellies impact our health

    Gut bacteria can play a powerful role in human health, new studies show. In one, bacteria turned a nutrient in red meat into a chemical that boosts the risk of a heart attack. Another study shows that our genes play a role in whether we are fat or thin, probably by affecting which bacteria prefer to live in our intestines.