Kathryn Hulick | Science News for Students

BIO

  • Guest Writer

Kathryn Hulick

Kathryn Hulick

Kathryn Hulick is a freelance writer, editor and former Peace Corps volunteer. After returning home from two years of teaching English in Kyrgyzstan, Hulick decided to pursue writing for kids. She now writes regularly for Science News for Students and Muse magazine. She has also published numerous nonfiction books on topics such as video games, artificial intelligence, energy technology and dinosaurs.

Hulick’s favorite part of writing about science is getting to speak with researchers in many different fields. Once, she spoke with an expert on parallel universes while he was shoveling snow from his driveway. Another time, she called a biologist who was out in the field in Africa, watching a herd of elephants.

In addition to writing, she enjoys hiking, gardening, painting and reading. Hulick lives in Massachusetts with her husband, son and dog.

Kathryn's Content

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a long exposure of a meteor shower at night

Space dust rains down on Earth all the time. Most of these specks are too small to see. But when one the size of a sand grain hits the atmosphere, it blazes with visible light, becoming a micrometeor, or “shooting star.”

x-reflexnaja/istockphoto

 Space
On the lookout for micro-missiles from space
These smallest of “shooting stars” can damage satellites — or deliver big benefits for science
pulsar dot

This young pulsar — or spinning, ultradense star (large white dot in center right) — is not far outside our Milky Way. Some details of such celestial bodies are not visible. They come only from radio transmissions, which can be masked by Wi-Fi signals on Earth.

NASA/CXC/Univ. of Potsdam/L. Oskinova et al.

 Light & Radiation
Wireless devices crowd out cosmic radio signals and more
Cell phones and other Wi-Fi devices can interfere with interstellar — and Earth-based — research
library readers
Lots of people love a good book. But for some, written words can be a perplexing puzzle. People with dyslexia and some stroke victims struggle to read. Researchers are working to discover why.
monkeybusinessimages/iStockphoto
 Brain
Cool Jobs: Decoding how your brain ‘reads’
Researchers are looking for answers that will help people who struggle to read
cold teeth pain
Ice cold water can taste delicious — unless you have sensitive teeth. Then it may hurt to consume anything very hot or very cold.
Srisakorn/iStockphoto
 Health
New treatment could calm temperature-sensitive teeth
Sand-like grains and a green tea extract help plug holes that leave tooth nerves vulnerable
jackal robot

As this robot rolls along, it detects people and predicts where they might move next. It knows that people prefer to walk on the right side and pass on the left. The robot chooses its path based on such information.  

MIT Aerospace Controls Lab

 Robotics
This robot won’t trip people up
The machine learned to navigate using human social rules
microbes on skin

Among the microbes found on people’s skin (artist’s illustration) are single-celled organisms called archaea.

man_at_mouse/iStockphoto

 Microbes
Sweat-slurping ‘aliens’ live on your skin
Kids and the elderly seem to host more of these archaea than do teens and adults