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. Life

    Lucy Cooke’s new book ‘Bitch’ busts myths about female animals

    Female animals get their due in Lucy Cooke’s exploration of the roles of the sexes in biology and evolution.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Why taking medications during pregnancy is so confusing

    It's hard to know what new drugs are safe when medical research excludes pregnant people.

  3. Science & Society

    ‘Paradise Falls’ thrusts readers into the Love Canal disaster

    ‘Paradise Falls’ tells the story of the Love Canal environmental tragedy from the point of view of the people who lived near the former dump site.

  4. Science & Society

    Social media crackdowns during the war in Ukraine make the internet less global

    Social media has become an important battleground, and now stands to split along geopolitical lines.

  5. Animals

    Here are 7 incredible things we learned this year that animals can do

    From wielding weapons to walking on the underside of water, these are the creature capabilities that most impressed us in 2021.

  6. Science & Society

    6 surprising records science set in 2021

    Ancient mammoth DNA and a new source of gravitational waves set new records this year.

  7. Animals

    A new book shows how animals are already coping with climate change

    ‘Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid’ takes a clear-eyed look at future of animal life.

  8. Science & Society

    2020’s science superlatives include the oldest, highest and grossest discoveries

    From the earliest modern bird to the highest-temperature superconductor, science set plenty of records in 2020.

  9. Animals

    Rumors of a ‘murder hornet’ apocalypse may have been exaggerated

    Murder hornets sightings in the Pacific northwest inspired a mix of concern and delight.

  10. Science & Society

    From Elvis worms to the Milky Way’s edge, these science stories sparked joy in 2020

    During a gloomy year dominated by a pandemic, these scientific discoveries were reminders that we live in a world of wonder.

  11. Animals

    With a litter of tactics, scientists work to tame cat allergies

    New research may reduce the allergen levels of house cats or make people less reactive to our feline friends.

  12. Life

    Giving cats food with an antibody may help people with cat allergies

    Research by pet-food maker Purina aims to disable the major allergen carried in cat saliva, a protein called Fel d1.