image of Luis Melecio-Zambrano

Luis Melecio-Zambrano

Science Writing Intern, Summer 2023

Luis Melecio-Zambrano was the summer 2023 science writing intern at Science News. They are finishing their master’s degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where they have reported on issues of environmental justice and agriculture. Their work has appeared in Science, Mongabay, Eos and the Mercury News, among other publications.

All Stories by Luis Melecio-Zambrano

  1. Climate

    ‘Our Fragile Moment’ finds modern lessons in Earth’s history of climate

    Michael Mann’s latest book, Our Fragile Moment, looks through Earth’s history to understand the current climate crisis.

  2. Archaeology

    Ancient Egyptian jars hint at complex mummification balms

    Residue from ancient jars holding the internal organs of the mummy Senetnay hints at early Egyptian trade routes and complex mummification practices.

  3. Chemistry

    Chemists turned plastic waste into tiny bars of soap

    Researchers developed a process to turn plastic waste into surfactants, the key ingredients in dozens of products, including soap.

  4. Artificial Intelligence

    How artificial intelligence sharpens blurry thermal vision images

    A thermal imaging technique uses a special camera and AI to create clear images and accurately gauge distances of objects, even in pitch-blackness

  5. Climate

    Emperor penguins lost thousands of chicks to melting ice last year

    In 2022, groups of emperor penguins in western Antarctica lost almost all their chicks to receding sea ice, signaling the threat of climate change.

  6. Climate

    Extreme heat taxes the body in many ways. Here’s how

    Climate change is bringing longer, humid heat waves and hotter nights. Here's how our bodies try to beat the heat and what happens when they can't.

  7. Psychology

    Time in nature or exercise is touted for happiness. But evidence is lacking

    A review of hundreds of studies finds limited strong scientific evidence to support many common recommendations for leading a happier life.

  8. Health & Medicine

    ‘Milking’ umbilical cords may help some sickly newborns

    Taking a few seconds to push umbilical cord blood into a baby’s belly could provide extra essential nutrients. But questions about the practice remain.

  9. Animals

    In a ‘perfect comeback,’ some birds use antibird spikes to build their nests

    The spikes were meant to keep birds away. But five corvid nests in Europe use the bird-deterrents as structural support and to ward off predators.

  10. Archaeology

    Indigenous input revealed early hints of fiber making in the tropics

    To decipher marks on nearly 40,000-year-old stone tools and figure out what they were used for, researchers turned to the Philippines’ Pala’wan people.