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Sara Hashemi

Daily Correspondent

Sara Hashemi

Sara Hashemi is a science journalist and fact-checker who covers space, wildlife, climate and technology for Smithsonian magazine’s Smart News section. Her work covers environmental justice, climate and the intersection between science and society.

Highlights

  • Bylines in the Guardian, Sierra, Sentient Media, Live Science, Retraction Watch and more

Education

Master’s degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University
Bachelor’s degree in environment and development from McGill University

Stories from Sara Hashemi

MRI scanners create detailed images of the inside of the body using a powerful magnet and radio waves.

MRI Scans Might Reveal Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease Seven Years Before a Telltale Marker Appears in the Brain

Not all researchers are convinced that the brain changes detected via MRI are robust enough to become a diagnostic tool. But the findings could help researchers better understand the mechanisms that drive the neurodegenerative disease

A giant isopod plucked from the ocean near China

This Massive, Deep-Sea Roly Poly Can Go Years Without Food Thanks to a Huge Stomach and a Stolen Gene, Study Suggests

The ancestors of the giant isopod Bathynomus jamesi—a seafloor-dwelling creature that resembles a huge pill bug—acquired the snippet of DNA from bacteria more than 16 million years ago, according to a new study. The gene helps the animal slow its metabolism

Researchers tested the battery in an RFID tag that can be rolled up in a capsule and swallowed. It can then transmit information about the digestive tract to a reader outside the body.

Scientists Invent a Digestible, Paper-Based Battery That Can Power Swallowed or Implanted Medical Devices

So far, the technology has been tested only in pigs. If it’s successful in humans, it could one day power tools that monitor your health or deliver drugs or electrical currents inside the body

Participants in Germany liked the Eurasian blackbird's call the most out of a list of vocalizations made by more than 100 birds.

Some Birdsongs Are More Pleasing to Human Ears Than Others. Higher-Pitched, Complex Calls Tend to Sound More Beautiful to Us

In a new study, more than 80 participants rated the pleasantness of vocalizations made by 123 European bird species. Researchers then looked at the acoustic qualities of the most—and least—liked songs

The "super" El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean has been brewing since June and will extend through February.

Scientists Say Scorching Temperatures Brought on by the ‘Super’ El Niño Could Kill Nearly Half a Million People by February

The predicted number, which includes deaths since June, likely represents an underestimate of total deaths. The heat could linger beyond February, and the climate swing could bring about other life-threatening conditions, including flooding, wildfire and infectious diseases

Mercury as seen by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft during a flyby in 2008, before it began orbiting the planet.

Mercury Has Wrinkles That Show It’s Shrinking. Now, Scientists Say the Planet Has Shriveled Far More Than Previously Thought

A new study suggests that our solar system’s smallest planet has shrunk by up to 30 percent since its birth roughly 4.5 billion years ago

Researchers looked at changes in the volume of gray matter, which is made mostly of nerve cell bodies and located in the brain's wrinkly outer layer.

The Brain Shrinks as We Age and During Major Transitions. But Surprisingly, It Seems to Take a Break From Rewiring During Menopause

Puberty, pregnancy and menopause are the three major hormonal transitions for the female brain. Researchers already knew that during the first two, the organ fine-tunes itself in response to hormonal shifts, but they haven’t been sure about the third

Men ages 55 and older were disproportionately affected, the researchers found.

Alcohol-Related Cancer Deaths Have More Than Doubled in the United States Over the Past 30 Years, Study Suggests

While scientists say their findings don’t necessarily mean you need to cut alcohol from your life entirely, knowing the potential risks—especially if you’re already at an elevated risk of developing cancer—can help guide your decisions

A side view of a "xenocortical" mouse brain, with the grafted human tissue seen in green and red.

Scientists Created Mice With Half-Human Brains. The Hybrid Animals Could Revolutionize Our Understanding of Neurological Disorders

Our brains and their associated diseases are notoriously hard to study. So researchers developed an animal model with a cortex—the brain’s outer layer—grown from human-derived cells

A pack of wild dogs in South Africa

Three Wild Dogs Made a Record-Breaking Trek Across Zambia, Traveling More Than 2,500 Miles in Search of Mates

The canines achieved the longest recorded movement by any African mammal. Their journey highlights the importance of having protected corridors for wildlife

This photo of an adult male seahorse with two juveniles earned Julien Anton the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year award and first place in the wildlife category.

See Nine Stunning Images from This Year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year Contest That Show the Majesty of Marine Life

From seahorse farewells to saving a stranded whale, the photos capture the diversity and beauty of sea creatures—but also the perils they face

Western Europe experienced back-to-back heatwaves this summer.

Did You Suffer a Sweltering August? You Weren’t Alone. It Tied for the Month With the Hottest Global Temperatures on Record

Last month, the air temperature averaged 62.53 degrees Fahrenheit, tying with July 2023 as the toastiest month ever documented by the European Union’s climate service

Miracinonyx trumani that lived in modern-day Wyoming hunted mainly herbivores, such as the Saiga antelope illustrated here, according to the study.

For Decades, Scientists Thought an ‘American Cheetah’ Once Roamed North America. Turns Out the Extinct Cat Wasn’t a Cheetah

Ancient DNA from fossils found in Wyoming and Canada’s Yukon Territory suggests the wild cat more closely resembled modern pumas than modern cheetahs

No effective treatments currently exist for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

A Psychedelic Compound Found in ‘Magic’ Mushrooms Might Prevent Debilitating Nerve Damage and Pain Caused by Chemotherapy

A study in mice and human tissue suggests psilocybin protects against peripheral neuropathy, a common side effect of chemotherapy. The findings are so promising that researchers are starting a mid-stage clinical trial this year

An artist's rendition of a titanosaur nest. 

To Researchers’ Surprise, This Giant Dinosaur Laid Eggs in a Cold Climate

A new study suggests that titanosaurs used rotting vegetation to keep their eggs warm much like crocodiles do today

Between 5 and 10 percent of personality differences can be explained by the identified genetic variants, according to the study.

Part of Your Personality Is Encoded in Your Genes. Huge Analysis Links Characteristics to More Than 1,200 Common Genetic Variants

A new meta-analysis pooled data from more than one million people to look at the crossover between DNA and the “Big Five” personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism

Williston Lake is the seventh-largest reservoir by volume in the world. 

A Lake in Canada Got a Mysterious New Island. Then, It Disappeared—and Now It’s Back

The floating forest appeared in a well-mapped reservoir in British Columbia. Its presence and vanishing act have puzzled locals and officials at the power utility that operates the lake, but other similar islands exist elsewhere

The researchers have collected thousands of coral samples since 2006.

Corals Reveal El Niño Events Have Become Stronger in Recent Decades, Probably Because Humans Have Been Heating Up the Planet

Researchers used elements trapped within Galápagos corals to understand natural swings in the climate over the past millennium. They hint that variability has gone up over the past 40 years compared to preindustrial times

Streets affected by the catastrophic floods are now covered in mud.

What Triggered the Devastating Floods in Nepal and Tibet, and Are We Due for More in the Future? Here’s What Scientists Know So Far

Natural hazards researchers suspect that a landslide involving a glacier triggered the event, and they say more could happen because of human-caused climate change

A photo of Solenostomus snuffleupagus taken in 2003

Meet the Newly Discovered Fuzzy Fish Species Named After Mr. Snuffleupagus From ‘Sesame Street’

The ghost pipefish’s scruffy appearance probably helps it look like floating algae, allowing it to blend in with its environment. Researchers had been on the hunt for this strange creature for years after first spotting one more than two decades ago

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