Jack J. Lee

Jack J. Lee

Science Writing Intern, Summer 2020

Jack J. Lee is a freelance science writer based in the San Francisco Bay area. He was the Summer 2020 science writing intern at Science News. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Caltech and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton University. He recently completed a master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work has been published in Eos, the Monterey Herald and The Mercury News.

All Stories by Jack J. Lee

  1. Animals

    Gray wolves scare deer from roads, reducing dangerous collisions

    The predators use roads as travel corridors, creating “a landscape of fear” that keeps deer away and saves millions of dollars a year, a study finds.

  2. Animals

    How researchers can keep birds safe as U.S. wind farms expand

    Tracking bald eagle abundance and migrating whooping cranes provides a clearer picture of where wind turbines could be safely built.

  3. Earth

    Color-coded radar maps reveal a patchwork of California wildfire destruction

    A composite made up of fine-scale vegetation maps from different years lets researchers track the story of plant loss and regrowth around Los Angeles.

  4. Life

    Life on Earth may have begun in hostile hot springs

    What researchers learn at hot springs and seafloor vents may guide the search for life on icy moons and Mars.

  5. Space

    How do you clean up clingy space dust? Zap it with an electron beam

    An electron beam is the newest addition to a suite of technologies for cleaning sticky and damaging lunar dust off surfaces.

  6. Health & Medicine

    New coronavirus tests promise to be faster, cheaper and easier

    Researchers are developing a smorgasbord of tests to detect RNA and proteins from the virus that causes COVID-19.

  7. Climate

    Hurricanes have names. Some climate experts say heat waves should, too

    A newly formed international alliance aims to raise awareness about extreme temperatures and protect vulnerable populations.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Human sperm don’t swim the way that anyone had thought

    High-speed 3-D microscopy and mathematical analyses reveal that rolling and lopsided tail flicks keep the cells swimming in a straight line.

  9. Animals

    A South American mouse is the world’s highest-dwelling mammal

    At 6,739 meters above sea level, the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse survives low oxygen and freezing conditions atop a dormant volcano.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Coronavirus-infected cells sprout filaments that may spread the virus

    Like other coronaviruses, the virus behind COVID-19 causes infected cells to grow spindly projections that may act as highways to other cells.

  11. Genetics

    A bacterial toxin enables the first mitochondrial gene editor

    Researchers have engineered a protein from bacteria that kills other microbes to change DNA in a previously inaccessible part of the cell.

  12. Animals

    A sparrow song remix took over North America with astonishing speed

    A variation on the white-throated sparrow’s song spread 3,300 kilometers in just a few decades.