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. Animals

    Crows safeguard sticks to speed future food-finding forays

    New Caledonian crows safeguard the sticks they use to find food. As the risk of losing the tool increases, the more protective the birds become.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Playtime at the pool may boost youngsters’ bodies and brains

    Learning to swim early in life may boost kids’ learning in language and math.

  3. Genetics

    Quicker sepsis diagnosis may be a step closer

    Identifying genes linked with sepsis may make it possible to develop a blood test to diagnose the infection days sooner than current methods.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Too much light slows brown fat, suggesting link with obesity

    Brown fat is supposed to be the friendly kind, but making the days longer with artificial light may turn it into an enemy in the battle against obesity.

  5. Animals

    Stretchy nerves help some big whales open wide

    Blue whales and their closest relatives have stretchy nerves near their mouths so they can open wide and swallow a lot of prey.

  6. Genetics

    ‘Brainbow’ illuminates cellular connections

    A mouse’s optic nerve fluoresces in a rainbow of colors. The image offers a detailed look at nerve-protector cells called oligodendrocytes.

  7. Physics

    Tiny particles propel themselves upstream

    Light-activated, human-made particles can align themselves with the flow of a fluid and swim upstream.

  8. Paleontology

    This dinosaur’s ride may have been a glide

    A new dino called Yi qi may have taken to the skies with wings akin to those of pterosaurs and flying squirrels.

  9. Paleontology

    ‘Frankenstein’ dinosaur was a mash-up of meat eater and plant eater

    Fossils of a bizarre-looking dinosaur found in Chile are challenging ideas about how dinosaurs adapted to their environments.

  10. Life

    Bolder snails grow stronger shells

    Bold snails have tougher shells than shy snails. Understanding what drives snails to develop such differences is a bit of a challenge.

  11. Tech

    Smart card taps track clogs on London’s Tube

    To make public subway systems more efficient, researchers track smart card taps and flag problem stations.

  12. Planetary Science

    Before moon landings, scientists thought dust or crust might disrupt touchdown

    Moon dust didn’t swallow spacecraft as was suggested in the 1960s. Successful exploration since that has changed our view of the moon.