Bethany Brookshire

Staff Writer, Science News for Students, 2013–2021

Bethany Brookshire was the staff writer at Science News for Students from 2013 to 2021. She has a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in philosophy from The College of William and Mary, and a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She is also a host on the podcast Science for the People, and a 2019-2020 MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow.

All Stories by Bethany Brookshire

  1. Health & Medicine

    Arsenic spurs adaptation in Argentinian villagers

    The people of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina, have genetic adaptations that may help them efficiently get rid of arsenic, a new study shows.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Report offers stimulating recommendation on coffee

    Results from a committee of experts give the blessing to moderate coffee intake. But as we all raise our mugs, the science behind the report is worth a closer look.

  3. Planetary Science

    Space simulations of 1960s focused on survival

    50 years ago, space simulations focused on survival. Now, quality of life is critical, too.

  4. Health & Medicine

    There’s more than one way to persuade people to vaccinate

    Fear, facts and attitude are all strategies for promoting immunization

  5. Psychology

    Scientists of a feather flock together

    When it comes to major scientific issues such as global warming and GMOs, scientists and the public don’t see eye to eye. It might be because socially, they don’t see each other at all.

  6. Physics

    On the biomechanics of popcorn

    When popcorn pops, the biomechanics resemble both an explosion and a spring.

  7. Neuroscience

    How the brain sees follow-through

    The follow-through on your golf swing is more than just a way to use up extra energy. It’s part of how your brain “sees” a movement.

  8. Ecosystems

    ‘Earth: A New Wild’ puts people in the picture

    PBS nature series ‘Earth: A New Wild’ shows humans living with, and not off, their environments

  9. Science & Society

    Attitude, not aptitude, may contribute to the gender gap

    Does talent or hard work matter most? A new survey suggests an emphasis on genius predicts how many women end up in a field of study.

  10. Neuroscience

    To beat sleepiness of anxiety drugs, team looks to body’s clock

    Studying basic functions, such as the body’s clock, has inadvertently led to a compound that relieves anxiety in mice.

  11. Life

    Fossil fish eye has 300 million-year-old rods and cones

    A fossil fish shows the earliest evidence of rods and cones, cells essential for color vision in vertebrates.

  12. Animals

    The scent of a worry

    The smell of fear makes other rats stressed. Now, scientists have isolated the Eau de Terror that lets rats communicate their concerns.