Erin Garcia de Jesús

Staff writer, Science News

Erin I. Garcia de Jesús is a staff writer at Science News. She holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Washington, where she studied virus/host co-evolution. After deciding science as a whole was too fascinating to spend a career studying one topic, she went on to earn a master’s in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her writing has appeared in Nature News, Science, Eos, Smithsonian Voices and more, and she was the winter 2019 science writing intern at Science News.

All Stories by Erin Garcia de Jesús

  1. Animals

    At last: How poison dart frogs ship defense toxins to their skin

    A liver protein appears to help the amphibians collect and move toxins from their food to their skin. Those toxins can defend the frogs from predators.

  2. Physics

    Here’s why blueberries aren’t blue — but appear to be

    Blueberries actually have dark red pigments — no blue ones — in their skin. Tiny structures in the fruits’ waxy coat are what make them seem blue.

  3. Animals

    Which way is up? Insects may lose track near artificial lights

    Flying insects may use light to figure out where the sky is. But artificial lights can send them veering off course, high-speed video suggests.

  4. Health & Medicine

    RNA work that led to COVID-19 vaccines wins 2023 Nobel in medicine

    Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman overcame hurdles to using mRNA for medicine. This led to COVID vaccines — and maybe, one day, some for other infections.

  5. Animals

    A new technique creates glowing whole-body maps of mice

    Removing cholesterol from mouse bodies lets fluorescent proteins seep into every tissue. That has helped researchers map entire body parts.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Stem cells can help build lab-grown organs that mimic real life

    Making such organoids with 3-D printing and other tech can help researchers learn more about many troubling and potentially deadly disorders.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Toddler now thrives after prenatal treatment for a genetic disease

    Ayla was treated before birth for the rare, life-threatening Pompe disease. Now a thriving 16-month-old toddler, her treatments will still need to continue.

  8. Microbes

    This giant bacterium lives up to its name

    The newly discovered Thiomargarita magnifica is about the size of your eyelash and is surprisingly complex.

  9. Animals

    The scent of queen ‘murder hornets’ can lure males into traps

    Traps baited with compounds found in the mating pheromone of hornet queens attracted thousands of males.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Sickle-cell gene therapies offer hope — and challenges

    Doctor Erica Esrick discusses existing treatments and an ongoing clinical trial for a gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is sickle cell disease?

    Gene mutations can alter an individual’s hemoglobin in ways that curl their blood cells. This can cause painful sickle cell disease.

  12. Health & Medicine

    What to know as Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine rolls out for kids under 12

    After a trial in which no unusual side effects were reported, and approval by the FDA and CDC, kids ages 5 to 11 will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.