Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson

Multimedia Editor

Helen Thompson is the multimedia editor at Science News. She makes videos, creates data visuals, helps manage the website, wrangles cats and occasionally writes about things like dandelion flight and whale evolution. She has undergraduate degrees in biology and English from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, a master’s degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and strong opinions about tacos. Before Science News, she wrote for Smithsonian, NPR.org, National Geographic, Nature and others.

All Stories by Helen Thompson

  1. Animals

    Evidence piles up for popular pesticides’ link to pollinator problems

    Neonicotinoid pesticides linked to population declines in California butterflies and wild bee extinctions in Great Britain.

  2. Animals

    Female fish have a fail-safe for surprise sperm attacks

    A Mediterranean fish provides evidence that, even after laying their eggs, females can still influence who fertilizes them.

  3. Animals

    Colugo genome reveals gliders as primate cousins

    New genetic analysis suggests gliding mammals called colugos are actually sisters to modern primates.

  4. Animals

    Colugo genome reveals gliders as primate cousins

    New genetic analysis suggests gliding mammals called colugos are actually sisters to modern primates.

  5. Paleontology

    New fossil suggests echolocation evolved early in whales

    A 27-million-year-old whale fossil sheds light on echolocation’s beginnings.

  6. Chemistry

    X-rays reveal portrait hiding beneath Degas masterpiece

    X-ray technique reveals an additional painting hiding behind Edgar Degas’ "Portrait of a Woman."

  7. Animals

    Smart mice have better odds of survival

    African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) may survive summer droughts by their wits, a study suggests.

  8. Plants

    Why a parasitic vine can’t take a bite out of tomatoes

    Cultivated tomatoes fend off parasitic vines as they would microbes.

  9. Animals

    How Houdini tadpoles escape certain death

    High-speed video of red-eyed tree frog embryos reveals the secrets to their getaway plans.

  10. Animals

    Some primates prefer nectar with a bigger alcohol kick

    Aye-ayes and slow lorises may be able to discern the alcohol content of boozy nectar and go for more potent drinks.

  11. Health & Medicine

    IVF doesn’t up long-term breast cancer risk, study says

    A Dutch study of more than 25,000 women over two decades suggests that IVF-treated women are no more likely to get breast cancer than other women.

  12. Animals

    Insect debris fashion goes back to the Cretaceous

    Ancient insects covered themselves in dirt and vegetation just as modern ones do, fossils preserved in amber suggest.