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. Fossils

    Dino find ruffles feathers

    Nearly-perfect, newfound dinosaur fossil reveals more dinos were feathered than previously thought.

  2. Animals

    A trout’s nose-y magnets

    Cells in a fish’s snout respond to magnets.

  3. Space

    An invisible cosmic bridge

    Astronomers find strange stuff in the space between two clusters of galaxies.

  4. Tech

    Hot technology

    A new device harvests energy that would otherwise go wasted.

  5. Environment

    Bad news for big bird

    Lead poisoning, which nearly killed off California condors, still threatens the birds.

  6. Fossils

    Hot or cold dinos

    Patterns in dinosaur bones fuel a debate over whether they were warm- or cold-blooded.

  7. Plants

    Whale-free perfume

    Tree gene trick is good news for people who like perfume made without sperm whale waste.

  8. Animals

    Chimp’s gift for numbers

    Translating numbers into colors may explain an animal’s apparent memory trick.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Kids with ‘adult’ problems

    Nationwide survey shows that children are headed toward serious health problems related to excess weight.

  10. Brain

    Sweets on the brain

    Sugar-free sweeteners fool the body’s internal computer.

  11. Space

    Life beyond Earth

    Are we alone? Scientists search for an extraterrestrial answer.

  12. Animals

    Skeeters ride the rain

    Mosquitoes survive collisions with raindrops by going with the flow.