Jonathan Lambert
Staff Writer, Biological Sciences, 2019-2021
Jonathan Lambert was a staff writer covering biological sciences at Science News from 2019 to 2021. He earned a master’s degree from Cornell University studying how a bizarre day-long mating ritual helped accelerate speciation in a group of Hawaiian crickets. A summer at the Dallas Morning News as a AAAS Mass Media fellow sparked a pivot from biologist to science journalist. He previously wrote for Quanta Magazine, NPR, and Nature News.
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All Stories by Jonathan Lambert
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Life
The ‘Blob,’ a massive marine heat wave, led to an unprecedented seabird die-off
Scientists have linked thousands of dead common murres in 2015–2016 to food web changes caused by a long-lasting marine heat wave nicknamed the Blob.
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Health & Medicine
What we know — and don’t know — about a new virus causing pneumonia in China
A newfound coronavirus is behind a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia in central China. Experts urge vigilance but say there’s no cause for panic.
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Life
Ocean acidification may not make fish act weird after all
A new study casts doubt on the results of early work into the effects of ocean acidification on coral reef fish behavior.
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Earth
Climate change is bringing earlier springs, which may trigger drier summers
An earlier than normal start to spring foliage is associated with drier soils come summer across much, but not all, of the Northern Hemisphere.
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Life
Stick-toting puffins offer the first evidence of tool use in seabirds
Puffins join the ranks of tool-using birds after researchers document two birds using sticks to groom, a first for seabirds.
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Life
Ocean acidification could degrade sharks’ tough skin
Nine weeks of exposure to acidic seawater corroded the toothlike denticles that make up a puffadder shyshark’s skin, a small experiment found.
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Animals
Why some whales are giants and others are just big
Being big helps whales access more food. But how big a whale can get is influenced by whether it hunts for individual prey or filter-feeds.
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Life
A single-celled protist reacts to threats in surprisingly complex ways
New research validates a century-old experiment that shows single-celled organisms are capable of complex “decision making.”
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Earth
Plastics outnumber baby fish 7-to-1 in some coastal nurseries
Ocean slicks serve as calm, food-rich nurseries for larval fish. A new study shows that slicks also accumulate plastics, which get eaten by baby fish.
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Animals
Silver-backed chevrotains have been ‘rediscovered’ by science after 29 years
With help from Vietnamese villagers, researchers captured photos of a species of deerlike ungulate thought lost to science nearly three decades ago.
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Health & Medicine
Running just once a week may help you outpace an early death
Any amount of running can lower a person’s risk of early death, an analysis of multiple studies finds.
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Animals
Apple TV+’s ‘The Elephant Queen’ shies away from hard truths
The Elephant Queen offers an intimate look into the lives of elephants, but the documentary largely avoids threats the animals face.