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. Humans

    Father’s obesity linked to autism in children

    A father-to-be’s body mass may be a greater risk factor for his child’s development of autism than the body mass of the mother.

  2. Paleontology

    Footprints of dino chase digitally reconstructed

    Footprints of a T. rex-type dinosaur chasing an Apatosaurus-like animal have been turned into a 3-D fly-through, giving researchers a way to verify maps of the tracks drawn 70 years ago. (includes video)

  3. Paleontology

    Sea stars sighted predators 79 million years ago

    Sea stars may have evolved complex lenselike structures to detect and evade predators at least 79 million years ago.

  4. Archaeology

    Black Death grave reveals secrets of 14th century life

    Skeletons dug up by London Crossrail excavations are giving scientists a more detailed look at the bubonic plague, or Black Death, of the 1300s.

  5. Genetics

    Gene editing reverses liver disorder in mice

    By editing a mouse's genes with bacterial proteins, scientists have reversed a rare liver disorder in the animal.

  6. Paleontology

    Microbes indicted in ancient mass extinction

    About 252 million years ago an estimated 96 percent of all species were wiped from Earth, and now scientists have a new suspect in the killing — methane-belching microbes.

  7. Materials Science

    Oyster shells could inspire improved armor

    Making tiny indentations in windowpane oyster shells has revealed some processes that could inspire better armor.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Bile acids may play lead role in weight-loss surgery

    Having more gastric juices swirling around a smaller space and a change in the gut microbiome may be what helps with weight loss after stomach-shrinking surgery.

  9. Animals

    Giant pandas like sweets, but prefer the natural ones

    Despite sustaining themselves on bamboo, which isn't very sweet, giant pandas will indulge in a bit of sugar, if they can.

  10. Paleontology

    Ancient oceans’ top predator was gentle filter feeder

    New fossils suggest that a distant relative of lobsters used bristled limbs to net its prey, not spike it.

  11. Environment

    Artists’ sunsets may reveal past pollution

    The colors artists used in the sunsets of their paintings may provide clues to what was circulating in the air hundreds of years ago.

  12. Materials Science

    Pearl coating inspires tougher ceramics

    A material called mother of pearl, or nacre, has inspired the design of more durable, less brittle ceramics.