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. Brain

    Restoring a sense of touch

    A zap to a monkey’s brain fools the animal into thinking its finger has been touched. The findings point to a way for artificial fingers to communicate with the brain so that touch “feels” more real.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Veggies: A radiation shield

    Here’s another reason to eat broccoli and related veggies: They protect the body’s cells from killer radiation — at least in rats.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Mining medicine from poop

    Researchers find a much less yucky way to treat people with a common killer infection.

  4. Chemistry

    Grape scents repel mosquitoes

    Safer than DEET, the new compounds could lead to insect repellents that would be affordable even in poor regions where mosquitoes carry malaria.

  5. Earth

    Hacking the planet

    The big backup plan: Scientists reluctantly consider altering Earth’s climate to head off the catastrophic effects of global warming.

  6. Planets

    Scratching the Martian surface

    What’s Mars made of? Volcanic rock, glassy particles and a poisonous rocket-fuel chemical, among other things. That’s the latest from tests by NASA’s Curiosity rover.

  7. Climate

    The certainty of climate change

    How sure are scientists that people are to blame for global warming? “Extremely likely,” says an international panel of climate change researchers in a new report.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Sleep therapy for fears

    Scared? A nap spent inhaling the proper smell might relieve those fears, a study finds.

  9. Chemistry

    Vitamin can keep electronics ‘healthy’

    Vitamin E is among cheap materials that can avoid the zap of static electricity — a discharge that risks destroying sensitive electronic circuitry.

  10. Microbes

    Slimming germs

    In the gut, the right microbe mix can help keep off extra weight — at least in mice.

  11. Brain

    The upside of cheating

    Many people assume that cheaters and thieves will secretly feel shame or guilt. A new study challenges that. It finds that people who cheat without causing anyone much harm actually enjoy a little buzz afterward.

  12. Space

    Bon voyage, Voyager 1

    A spacecraft launched more than three decades ago has entered the space between stars.