Bethany Brookshire

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. Science & Society

    Spiny media battle highlights importance of scientific credit

    Media coverage of research on invasive lionfish tolerating brackish water brought up issues of attribution and recognition in science.

  2. Science & Society

    An app to track firefly flashings

    This summer, you can contribute to citizen science by tracking lightning bugs in your backyard.

  3. Neuroscience

    For rats, a break from stress isn’t worth the relief

    An unplanned vacation from stress might seem like a good idea, but a new study in rats shows that unpredictable escapes from pressure produce more strain on the first day back.

  4. Psychology

    To do your best, find a rival

    There are rivals in every walk of life. A new study shows that for runners, a rival might help them do their best.

  5. Neuroscience

    In female flies, sex is more complex than yes or no

    A female fruit fly’s role in mating has appeared to be a simple yes or no. But now three new papers show the behavior is far more subtle, and intricate, than first thought.

  6. Psychology

    Vocal fry

    At the lowest registers of the human voice, a creaky, popping sound known as vocal fry emerges.

  7. Neuroscience

    A mutated bacterial enzyme gobbles up cocaine

    Cocaine is highly addictive, and those attempting to quit often relapse. Modifications to an enzyme that breaks down cocaine could help prevent abstinence setbacks.

  8. Neuroscience

    The simplest form of learning is really quite complex

    Habituation, the ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli, is the simplest form of learning but may require a whole neural network.

  9. Neuroscience

    Neurons pull together as a brain learns

    Learning and memory in rats is linked with increases in cortical oscillations, or brain cells firing off in groups, a new study shows.

  10. Animals

    Ant sperm swim as a team

    The desert ant has sperm that swim in bundles for extra speed, perhaps increasing their likelihood of fertilizing an egg.

  11. Humans

    There’s more to acing interviews than holding the vocal fry

    A new study of vocal fry, a low razz in human speech, suggests job interviewees might want to hold the fry. But there's more to a job interview than a little vocal sizzle.

  12. Neuroscience

    Stress and the susceptible brain

    Some of us bounce back from stress, while others never really recover. A new study shows that different brain activity patterns could make the difference.