Dan Garisto

Science Writer Intern, Spring 2018

All Stories by Dan Garisto

  1. Abstract polygonal background
    Science & Society

    ‘Schrödinger’s Web’ offers a sneak peek at the quantum internet

    For an entertaining overview of the physics and technological advances paving the way for the quantum internet, read ‘Schrödinger’s Web.’

  2. Apollo 7 crew
    Tech

    50 years ago, NASA astronauts prepared to return to space

    Apollo 7 crewmembers underwent their first major tests 50 years ago. Today, U.S. astronauts struggle to get into space.

  3. venus flytrap
    Plants

    Meet the speedsters of the plant world

    Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye.

  4. giant ground sloths, Megatherium
    Archaeology

    Footprints prove humans hunted giant sloths during the Ice Age

    Footprints of humans and giant sloths show a dramatic chase sequence from more than 10,000 years ago.

  5. sweet wormwood plant
    Plants

    Genetically modified plant may boost supply of a powerful malaria drug

    Using a DNA study and genetic engineering, researchers tripled the amount of an antimalarial compound naturally produced by sweet wormwood plants.

  6. Acropora millepora
    Climate

    Heat waves are roasting reefs, but some corals may be resilient

    The latest research on coral reefs clarifies the devastation of heat waves and looks at how coral might be able to adapt to warming waters.

  7. Charon
    Astronomy

    Celebrity names now mark places on Pluto’s moon Charon

    Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, now has 12 new names for its topological features.

  8. sweet potatoes
    Genetics

    Sweet potatoes might have arrived in Polynesia long before humans

    Genetic analysis suggests that sweet potatoes were present in Polynesia over 100,000 years ago, and didn’t need help crossing the Pacific.

  9. Carolina Reaper
    Health & Medicine

    World’s hottest pepper may have triggered this man’s severe headaches

    A man ate one of the hottest peppers in the world. About a minute later, his head began pounding.

  10. king penguins
    Animals

    In a colony, king penguins behave like molecules in a 2-D liquid

    Positions of king penguins in a breeding colony resemble molecules in a 2-D liquid.

  11. European robin
    Genetics

    Birds get their internal compass from this newly ID’d eye protein

    Birds can sense magnetic fields, thanks to internal compasses that likely rely on changes to proteins in the retina.

  12. fetal mummy
    Genetics

    Atacama mummy’s deformities were unduly sensationalized

    A malformed human mummy known as Ata has been sensationalized as alien. A DNA analysis helps overturn that misconception.