Amy Nordrum

Amy Nordrum

 

Amy Nordrum is a science writer based in New York City. She has contributed to Scientific American, the Atlantic, Popular Mechanics, IEEE Spectrum and Psychology Today.

A new study shows that birds do not seem to recognize how fast a vehicle is approaching.

New Research

Planes Fly Too Fast for Birds to Dodge

New research shows that birds are not adept at avoiding obstacles at such high speeds

Space Fence, a radar system sponsored by the U.S. Air Force and built by Lockheed Martin, should help the U.S. detect and track more of the estimated 500,000 pieces of space debris.

Cool Finds

U.S. Air Force Builds New Radar for Space Junk

It’s called Space Fence and should help us track the estimated 500,000 pieces of debris that orbit Earth

This portrait features Dr. Edward Jenner inoculating James Phipps, the first person to receive the smallpox vaccine.

Trending Today

The Art of Vaccinations

The Art of Saving a Life is connected to a fundraising effort for an international group working to eradicate disease through vaccinations

An atomic clock at the Physical Technical Federal Institution in Braunschweig, Germany.

Trending Today

2015 Will Be One Second Longer Than 2014

Because the Earth is rotating more slowly than the tick of our atomic clocks, says the International Earth Rotation Service

An artist's rendition of Kepler, on the hunt for planets like our own.

Cool Finds

Visit Kepler's Exoplanets—And Don't Worry About the Natives (At Least for Now)

NASA has made a set of travel posters themed to exoplanets while a nonprofit searches for life among them

An albino bottlenose dolphin, like this one but without its melanin, was spotted off the coast of Florida in December.

Cool Finds

An Albino Dolphin Was Spotted Off the Coast of Florida

It is only the 15th albino dolphin sighting recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The BelAZ 75710 is the world's largest dump truck — note people in the bottom right for scale.

Cool Finds

This Is the World’s Largest Dump Truck

The mega Earth-mover is hard at work digging a coal mine in Russia

Nurses who work rotating shifts are at greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and lung cancer than workers who stick with a nine-to-five schedule.

New Research

Five Years of Night Shift Work Elevate a Person's Risk of Death

Working inconsistent hours is bad for your health, according to researchers who studied 75,000 U.S. nurses

Tuna are a hot commodity in Japan at this time of year — so hot that a sushi chef paid $37,500 for a single fish. Here, dogtooth tuna swim in the Indian Ocean.

Trending Today

The Same Guy Keeps Spending Insane Amounts of Money to Buy Japan’s First Tuna of the Season

This year, he bought it for $37,500—which he considered cheap

Black bears, like this one in Minnesota, which lick ants from leaves are providing an important benefit to the plant.

New Research

Bears Munching on Ants Indirectly Help Plants

A link uncovered by a graduate student shows that plants have bears to thank for trimming them of ants — and another pesky species

The rim of white light emanating from the disco clam's lips in this image seems to be its best defense against a predator.

Cool Finds

Disco Clams Are Flashy

Their orange lips twinkle in a particularly funky display

This image, created by a telescope called NuSTAR, is the most detailed of the sun using high-energy rays to date, according to NASA.

New Research

NASA Uses X-Rays to Find Out Why the Sun Is So Hot

The image will help scientists decide whether mini-flares make the sun's atmosphere hotter than the surface itself

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