Erika Engelhaupt

Erika Engelhaupt is a freelance science writer and editor based in Knoxville, Tenn. She began her blog, Gory Details, while she was an editor at Science News. She continues the blog at National Geographic, where she was online science editor and managed the Phenomena science blog network. Her work has also appeared at NPR, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Story Collider podcast, and in other newspapers and magazines.

All Stories by Erika Engelhaupt

  1. Science & Society

    Best science to see and hear

    Science Studio bills itself as “a collection of the best science multimedia on the web.

  2. Particle Physics

    Higgs boson tale wins book prize

    The Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll.

  3. Ecosystems

    Cannibalistic mantis invades New Zealand, eats natives

    Native male New Zealand mantises try to mate with females of an invasive species, only to find out the hard way that those females eat their mates.

  4. Psychology

    Almost-lifelike hands perceived as creepy

    Devices have to be very realistic to the escape uncanny valley of eeriness.

  5. Chemistry

    Why death smells so deadly

    Pinning down animals' odor detectors gives researchers a way to study aversion or attraction to certain objects. And understanding how these behavioral responses work will help researchers clarify why humans feel disgust.

  6. Planetary Science

    Uninhabitable Earth

    A recent estimate of the lifetimes of the habitability zones of Earth and various exoplanets suggests Earth could become unable to support life as soon as 1.75 billion years from now, when the sun brightens before dying out.

  7. Life

    Getting to know the real living dead

    A look at the bacteria inside bloated cadavers finds the dead are teeming with life.

  8. Animals

    How ticks get under your skin

    A close look at a tick’s mouthparts reveals enviable burrowing tools.

  9. Psychology

    Maybe mean girls’ mental games have a purpose

    Science is just beginning to tap the wellspring of female competition.

  10. Life

    The reason to avoid poop coffee isn’t what you think

    Beans from civet feces have become so popular that abuse and fraud are common.

  11. Anthropology

    Neandertals ate stomach goop, and you can too

    Eating partially digested stomach contents, or chyme, has long been a nutritional boost.

  12. Animals

    Hiding up your nose is a clever strategy for ticks

    Found hiding in the noses of Ugandan chimps, a new tick species hitchhiked its way to America in a researcher's nose.