photo of Ashley Yeager

Ashley Yeager

Associate News Editor

Ashley Yeager is the associate news editor at Science News. Previously, she worked at The Scientist, where she was an associate editor for nearly three years. She has also worked as a freelance editor and writer, and as a writer at the Simons Foundation, Duke University and the W.M. Keck Observatory. She was the web producer for Science News from 2013 to 2015, and was an intern at the magazine in the summer of 2008. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Her book, Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter and Beyond, on the life of astronomer Vera Rubin, will be published by MIT Press in August.

All Stories by Ashley Yeager

  1. Genetics

    Rainbow trout genome shows how genetic material evolved

    The finding challenges the idea that whole genome duplications are followed by quick, massive reorganization and deletions of genetic material.

  2. Genetics

    New antibiotic resistance genes found in cow manure

    Identifying these genes offers clues to how antibiotic resistance could move from agricultural ecosystems to other communities of organisms.

  3. Genetics

    Neandertal, modern human DNA deviates even more

    An analysis of genetic material of Neandertals and modern humans shows genetic differences in the species' population sizes and even the curves of their spines.

  4. Environment

    Lead levels in ancient Rome’s water were high, but not toxic

    Ancient Romans probably drank tap water with up to 100 times more lead than the levels found in local spring water.

  5. Life

    Insulating sheath on nerve cells isn’t an even coat

    Myelin doesn't evenly coat axons, a finding that runs counter to what scientists suspected.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Gene variant, processed meat linked to boost in cancer risk

    In people with a specific variation of a gene on chromosome 10, eating processed meat is associated with an increased risk of developing colon cancer.

  7. Life

    Protein that gets sperm into egg identified

    The protein Folr4 on a reproductive egg plays this crucial role in the fusion of the sperm and egg, research shows.

  8. Neuroscience

    Even with rest, brain changes linked to football linger

    The offseason may not allow enough time for football players' brains to heal from hard hits.

  9. Paleontology

    Early meat-eater may have led to larger plant-eaters

    The newly identified Eocasea martini may have set the stage for later, much larger animals to become plant-eaters.

  10. Genetics

    Down’s syndrome goes beyond chromosome 21

    A genetic analysis suggests that the DNA changes linked to Down's syndrome happen on all chromosomes, not just the 21st.

  11. Paleontology

    Fish gill fossils gnaw at ideas of jaw evolution

  12. Quantum Physics

    Excitons’ motions captured in images

    Scientists have observed how quasiparticles called excitons move.