Sarah Zielinski

Sarah Zielinski

 

Sarah Zielinski is an award-winning science writer and editor. She is a contributing writer in science for Smithsonian.com and blogs at Wild Things, which appears on Science News.

A great white shark off the coast of South Africa

The Secrets of a Shark Attack

In an attack against a Cape fur seal, a great white shark's advantage comes down to physics

A map of extreme weather events in the United States, January to October 2011

Visualizing a Year of Extreme Weather

The United States has seen thousands of weather records broken this year

A lunar eclipse turns the moon reddish brown

How to Measure the Moon this Weekend

The people of Byzantium viewed a lunar eclipse as a bad omen, but today it's just another time to do science

A northern cardinal

The City Bird and the Country Bird

As in Aesop's fable, there are advantages and disadvantages for birds living in the city

A woolly mammoth sinks into the tar at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.

Annalee Newitz of io9: Why I Like Science

Best of all, science is a story with an open ending. Every discovery ends with more questions

In this image from Science on Ice, graduate student Maria Tausendfreund collects a water sample from an Arctic melt pond during a brief period of 'ice liberty.'

A Holiday Gift List for Science Lovers

Some books, toys, art and clothing for the scientist or geek in your life

Hawkmoths prefer columbines with long, slender spurs.

The Columbines and Their Pollinators: An Evolutionary Tale

New research provides insight into an evolutionary concept introduced by Charles Darwin

Bottlenose dolphins are good swimmers

For Dolphins, Pregnancy Comes With a Price

A bigger body means increased drag, slower speeds and greater vulnerability to predators

Water crystallizes into ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time, but not always.

At What Temperature Does Water Freeze?

The answer is far more complicated than it first appears—water doesn't always turn to ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit

A pigeon's turn is very different from that of an airplane

How A Pigeon Is Like A Helicopter

The bird changes direction with its whole body

Pond Walk, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Ten Great Science Books For Kids

From dinosaurs at the Smithsonian to a walk around a pond, here are some of our favorites from 2011

Yellow saddle goatfish

The Fish That Hunt Like Lions

Yellow saddle goatfish collaborate when one finds prey to chase

A marine sea slug

Ocean Creatures In A Warmer World

A new study finds that some marine organisms may have to move fast if they want to survive climate change

"Somewhere along the way, I came to the startling realization that all those equations actually mean something."

Why I Like Science: School Edition

Science is about unlocking the world around us and laying it out to be admired

Nursery web spiders

Lying For Sex, Spider Style

Male nursery web spiders aren't necessarily punished for giving false gifts

A nearly dry horseshoe lake at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas

Scene From A Drought

A trip to Texas shows the unexpected consequences of a severe drought

Many of us long to leave the cubicle farm, even for a day or two each week

Examining Telecommuting the Scientific Way

A trial at a company in China finds telecommuting workers are more productive than their counterparts in the office

The best place to find "aliens" might be Comic-Con (2008, credit

No Evidence Yet of ET, White House Says

If there's an alien conspiracy, the President doesn't know about it

Ecologists warn that New England's maples could be at risk

Ecology Explains How the World Works

This is not a glamorous science; no one will ever accuse an ecologist of being in it for the money

Do you freeze your jeans?

The Myth of the Frozen Jeans

Cold temperatures aren't enough to kill off any bacteria on your clothing

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