Stephen Ornes has been writing for Science News Explores since 2008, and his 2014 story "Where Will Lightning Strike?" won an AAAS/Kavli Gold Award. He lives in Nashville, Tenn., and he has three children, who are inventing their own language. His family has a cat, six chickens, and two rabbits, but he secretly thinks hagfish are the most fascinating animals. Stephen has written two books. One is a biography of mathematician Sophie Germain, who was born during the French Revolution. The other, which was published in 2019, features art inspired by math. Visit him online at stephenornes.com.
All Stories by Stephen Ornes
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Fossils
Have shell, will travel
Fossilized tracks left by early land-dwelling animals reveal they brought shells ashore.
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Space
The Earth-bound asteroid scientists saw coming
History-making asteroid tracked from space to its fiery demise in an African desert.
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Animals
A grim future for some killer whales
An oil spill off the U.S. coast 20 years ago still threatens marine life.
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Fossils
Meet the new dinos
Fossil finds reveal a tiny, meat-eating species and another with featherlike features.
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Health & Medicine
Treating peanut allergy bit by bit
New study offers a little hope in reducing an allergy to peanuts, but don't try this at home.
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Brain
Reading a mind’s memories
By looking at patterns on brain scans, scientists can "see" where a person has been.
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Animals
Bringing fish back up to size
Changing the way we fish may help rescue a population's shrinking fish.
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Animals
Fish needs see-through head
Barreleye peers out at the world like a fighter pilot does through a windshield.
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Health & Medicine
The metal detector in your mouth
The taste of metal is sweet, spicy, bitter, delicious and perhaps other, mystery tastes.