Physics writer Emily Conover joined Science News in 2016. She has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago, where she studied the weird ways of neutrinos, tiny elementary particles that can zip straight through the Earth. She got her first taste of science writing as a AAAS Mass Media Fellow for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She has previously written for Science Magazine and the American Physical Society. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award.

All Stories by Emily Conover

  1. Particle Physics

    There’s a new measurement of muon magnetism. What it means isn’t clear

    The measurement, from the Muon g−2 experiment, is the most precise yet. But recent theoretical predictions are a bit muddled.

  2. Physics

    Mass has different definitions. The moon’s orbit confirms two are equivalent

    Laser measurements of the moon’s orbit square with Newton’s third law of motion and Einstein’s theory of gravity.

  3. Physics

    Electrons are extremely round, a new measurement confirms

    The near-perfect roundness deepens the mystery behind how the universe came to be filled with matter as opposed to antimatter.

  4. Astronomy

    A newfound gravitational wave ‘hum’ may be from the universe’s biggest black holes

    Scientists reported evidence for a new class of gravitational waves, likely created by merging supermassive black holes.

  5. Quantum Physics

    Quantum computers could break the internet. Here’s how to save it

    Today's encryption schemes will be vulnerable to future quantum computers, but new algorithms and a quantum internet could help.

  6. Physics

    Julian Muñoz has a ‘ruler’ that could size up the early universe

    The measurement tool could lay out a distance scale for cosmic dawn —and offer clues to the nature of dark matter.

  7. Chemistry

    One photon is all it takes to kick off photosynthesis

    A single particle of light is the spark that begins the process of turning light to chemical energy in photosynthetic bacteria, a new study confirms.

  8. Math

    A ‘vampire einstein’ tile outdoes mathematicians’ latest feat

    A newfound shape covers an infinite plane with a pattern that doesn’t repeat and without mirror images of the shape.

  9. Physics

    Measurements of a key radioactive decay nudge a nuclear clock closer to reality

    In a step toward building a nuclear clock, scientists measured light emitted when a special type of thorium nucleus decayed.

  10. Quantum Physics

    Quantum computers braided ‘anyons,’ long-sought quasiparticles with memory

    Particle-like quantum states called non-abelian anyons remember being swapped and could be useful for protecting information in quantum computers.

  11. Physics

    Science explains why shouting into the wind seems futile

    Sending a sound upwind, against the flow of air, makes the sound louder due to an acoustical effect called convective amplification. Sound sent downwind is quieter.

  12. Physics

    These worms can escape tangled blobs in an instant. Here’s how

    Tangled masses of California blackworms form over minutes but untangle in tens of milliseconds. Now scientists know how.