Theresa Machemer

Theresa Machemer is a freelance writer based in Washington DC. Her work has also appeared in National Geographic and SciShow. Website: tkmach.com

Astronaut Luca Parmitano uses a sample-spinning centrifuge on the I.S.S. to expose the bacteria to the equivalent of Mars' gravity.

Space Station Experiments Show How Microbes Could Be Used for Mining on Mars

Researchers sent bacteria and basalt rock to the ISS to figure out which microscopic organisms can extract useful metals in reduced gravity

BearID uses characteristics like the distance between a bear's eyes, nose and forehead to match a face to a name.

New A.I. Offers Facial Recognition for Grizzly Bears

The open-source software could help conservation scientists keep track of individual animals over years

Tropical Storm Theta may hit the Madeira Islands, an autonomous region of Portugal, this weekend.

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season Officially Has the Most Named Storms on Record

This season’s 29th named storm, Theta, formed in the eastern Atlantic early on Tuesday

Laboratory tests reveal that ice blocks containing different salts glow differently after being exposed to radiation.

Radiation Might Make Jupiter's Salty, Icy Moon Europa Glow

Europa is one of Jupiter's four largest moons and a prime candidate for finding life beyond Earth

“When you’re up in space looking down at the round blue ball we call Earth, it becomes pretty clear that we’re all in this together," said Mark Kelly on Twitter.

A Brief History of Astronauts in Congress

This year, Arizona elected Mark Kelly to the Senate, making him the fourth astronaut elected to Congress

The first gray wolves reintroduced to the United States were brought in from Canada in the 1990s.

Colorado Votes to Reintroduce Wolves to the Southern Rocky Mountains

In a historic decision, Colorado voters led the way to bring back the apex predator

Initial lockdowns successfully slowed the spread of Covid-19 and saved lives, studies showed in June. But as countries reopened and people let their guard down, cases—particularly in Western countries—began to rise again.

European Countries Enact New Lockdowns Amid Surge in Covid-19 Cases

Unlike the first round of indefinite lockdowns, most restrictions are planned to last about one month

Buriolestes schultzi was about the size of a fox and had a pea-sized brain.

Scientists Reconstructed a Dinosaur’s Pea-Sized Brain

The brain is larger relative to the dinosaur’s body size than brontosaurus’ tennis ball-sized brain

Platypuses' nocturnal nature made researchers suspect they might glow under ultraviolet light.

Platypuses Glow Green Under Ultraviolet Light

The web-footed monotremes join a small cast of fluorescent, nocturnal mammals

Search and rescue teams search for survivors in the debris of fallen buildings in Izmir, Turkey.

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Hits Turkey and Greece

The region has experienced 29 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher in the last 100 years

This visualization shows the merging of two black holes, which emit gravitational waves.

Scientists Are Detecting More Gravitational Waves Than Ever Before

The LIGO and Virgo teams have spotted 50 total cosmic signals since 2015

Tongass National Forest is home to stands of old growth trees that are between 300 and 1,000 years old.

Tongass National Forest Loses Restrictions on Logging and Road Development

Located in Alaska, the United States’ largest National Forest provides temperate rainforest habitat for bald eagles, wolves and bears

Invasive species, like the zebra mussels seen here, have been on scientists' radar for decades. But intensifying storm surges and flooding caused by hurricanes are moving these, and other non-native species, to new locations.

'Storm Tracker' Maps Shows How Hurricanes Spread Invasive Species

The U.S. Geological Survey launched the program in 2018 after hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate scrambled coastal ecosystems

Two-headed snakes struggle more when their heads are joined close together.

In Florida, Pet Cat Brings Home a Rare Two-Headed Snake

The snake is now in the care of Florida Wildlife Conservation's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Halloween features a full moon every 19 years, and it's always a blue moon.

This Halloween, Look for the Hunter’s Blue Moon

The second full moon of the month gives Halloween an extra spooky atmosphere

The Gollum snakehead is unusual among subterranean critters because it has both eyes and a colorful complexion.

Subterranean Fish Named 'Gollum' Belongs to a New Family

The freshwater fish belongs to a never-before-described taxonomic family, making it one of the biggest finds of the last decade

A diabolical ironclad beetle can withstand the crushing force of 39,000 times its own body weight.

The Secrets of the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle's Almost Unsquishable Strength

Researchers hopped in a Toyota Camry and drove over the beetle twice...for science—and it survived

“When you have sound, the dingoes will flinch. They’re a bit nervous but they don’t run away. But the wavy man, boy, they bolted," animal behavior researcher Bradley Smith tells Science magazine.

In Australia, Inflatable Tube Dancers Scare Dingoes Away From Livestock

At car dealerships, the 13-foot-tall flailing contraptions are meant to attract buyers. But on ranches, they scare off predators and protect the herd

The meteor shower is named for the Orion constellation because that’s where the meteors seem to emerge from.

How to See the Orionids Meteor Shower Peak Tonight

The meteor shower reaches peak visibility just before dawn on Wednesday morning but will last until November 7

This illustration depicts a star (in the foreground) experiencing spaghettification as it's sucked in by a supermassive black hole (in the background) during a 'tidal disruption event'.

Astronomers Capture Best View Yet of a Black Hole Spaghettifying a Star

The star was compressed and stretched out like a long noodle and when the ends collided, half of its mass ejected into space

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