Kate Baggaley

Kate Baggaley was the fall 2014/spring 2015 intern at Science News.

All Stories by Kate Baggaley

  1. Astronomy

    Remote star clusters discovered on edge of Milky Way

    Two newly discovered star clusters are the first ever seen at the remote edges of the Milky Way.

  2. Plants

    Plant growth patterns changing on much of Earth’s surface

    More than half of Earth’s land surface has seen major changes in factors such as leaf-on date and how much vegetation grows in a season.

  3. Plants

    Tropical plant knows whose bill is in its flowers

    A rainforest plant avoids inbreeding by accepting pollen only from hummingbird species that must travel to reach it.

  4. Plants

    Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal

    When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Additives that keep foods fresh may sour in the gut

    Additives called emulsifiers that are used in ice cream and other foods weaken the intestines’ defenses against bacteria, causing inflammation in mice.

  6. Ecosystems

    Bubonic plague was a serial visitor in European Middle Ages

    Outbreaks of Black Death in medieval Europe may have been triggered by faraway weather patterns and hungry gerbils.

  7. Animals

    Ocean animals have bulked up since ancient eras

    Marine animals today are much larger on average than they were in the Cambrian Period.

  8. Neuroscience

    Blame pot munchies on nerve cells that normally nix appetite

    Pot munchies demystified: Marijuana hijacks fullness nerve cells, making them send hunger signals instead.

  9. Neuroscience

    Bipolar risk boosted by accumulation of rare versions of genes

    A buildup of rare versions of genes that control nerve cell activity contributes to the genetic risk of bipolar disorder.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Stoplights are hot spots for airborne pollution

    Drivers get a big chunk of their exposure to pollutants from short stops at traffic intersections.

  11. Animals

    Tiger swallowtail genome gives clues to insect’s stinky defense

    Clues within the genetic code of the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) explain how it developed a smelly defense against predators.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Fallout from nuclear bomb testing presaged today’s radioactive tracers

    Scientists in 1965 measured buildup of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in people.