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

    Big slimy lips are the secret to this fish’s coral diet

    A new imaging study reveals how tubelip wrasses manage to munch on stinging corals.

  2. Genetics

    Mummy DNA unveils the history of ancient Egyptian hookups

    A study of DNA extracted from Egyptian mummies untangles ancient ancestry and attempts to resolve quality issues.

  3. Paleontology

    Sea scorpions slashed victims with swordlike tails

    Ancient sea scorpion used a flexible, swordlike tail to hack at prey and defend against predators.

  4. Animals

    Petite parrots provide insight into early flight

    High-speed video shows that tiny parrots direct their hops to use the least amount of energy necessary.

  5. Climate

    Higher temperatures could trigger an uptick in damselfly cannibalism

    Experiments in the lab suggest that increases in temperature could indirectly lead to an increase in cannibalistic damselfly nymphs.

  6. Animals

    Watch male cuttlefish fight over a female in the wild

    For the first time, researchers have observed the competitive mating behaviors of the European cuttlefish in the field.

  7. Tech

    New pelvic exoskeleton stops people from taking tumbles

    A new exoskeleton helps people prone to falling stay on their feet.

  8. Animals

    Trackers may tip a warbler’s odds of returning to its nest

    Geolocator devices that help track migrating birds could also hamper migration survival or timing.

  9. Animals

    Big dads carry weight among wandering albatrosses

    For male albatrosses, bulking up impacts survival and reproduction.

  10. Animals

    Dog DNA study maps breeds across the world

    Here are five findings from a massive study of dog breed genomes.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Frog slime protein fights off the flu

    Urumin, a protein found in Indian frog mucus secretions, has a knack for taking down H1 flu viruses, a new study finds.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Frog slime protein fights off the flu

    Urumin, a protein found in Indian frog mucus secretions, has a knack for taking down H1 flu viruses, a new study finds.