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Silke Schmidt

Freelance Writer

Silke Schmidt is a freelance science writer with degrees in biostatistics and journalism. She enjoys covering the environment, engineering and medicine. Silke has been writing for Science News for Students since 2018. She has covered the benefits of fever, clothing that keeps mosquitoes from biting, electric surgery and new uses of ultrasound. Before she became a science writer, she was a human genetics researcher at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Originally from Germany, she now lives in Madison, Wis., where she enjoys biking, kayaking and spending time with her husband and two children.

All Stories by Silke Schmidt

  1. Science & Society

    Science isn’t just for scientists

    It doesn’t take an advanced degree or a lab to do science. All you need is curiosity and an interest in learning something new every day.

  2. Tech

    Viewing virtual reality of icy landscapes may relieve pain

    Traveling to polar vistas via virtual reality eased a temporary burning in the viewers’ skin. The same VR also lessened simulated chronic pain.

  3. Tech

    Graphene fabric keeps mosquitoes from biting

    Graphene is a super-thin material with many cool uses. The latest: protection against mosquito bites by embedding it in your clothing.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Ultrasound might become a new way to manage diabetes

    Ultrasound turns on production of the hormone insulin in mice. Someday, it might help maintain healthy blood-sugar levels in people who were recently diagnosed with diabetes.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is ultrasound?

    These sound waves, which fall above the range of human hearing, are important in medicine, medical imaging and more.

  6. Tech

    A new electric surgery tool may someday fix nose, ear and eye problems

    A new surgery tool uses electricity to reshape ear and nose tissue in minutes, without pain. Someday, it might even work on eyes to restore normal vision.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Fevers can have some cool benefits

    Fever boosts the immune system by zipping germ-busting cells to the site of an infection, new data show.

  8. Genetics

    Explainer: What are genes?

    Genes are DNA regions that tell cells how to build proteins. But we have many more proteins than genes. And much of our DNA controls when genes turn on and off.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Later school starts linked to better teen grades

    A Seattle study confirms that later high school start times improve teens’ sleep and grades. Fitbit-like activity trackers provided the evidence.