Katherine J. Wu

Katherine J. Wu

 

Katherine J. Wu is a Boston-based science journalist and Story Collider senior producer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Undark magazine, Popular Science and more. She holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunobiology from Harvard University, and was Smithsonian magazine's 2018 AAAS Mass Media Fellow.

A wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) taking off for flight, carrying a GPS tracker that can detect radar emitted from ships.

Albatrosses Outfitted With GPS Trackers Detect Illegal Fishing Vessels

By utilizing the majestic birds to monitor huge swaths of the sea, law enforcement and conservationists could keep better tabs on illicit activities

An artist's illustration of Allosaurus jimmadseni, a newly described species of Jurassic carnivore

Newly Described Meat-Eating Dinosaur Dominated During the Jurassic Period

The new species is the oldest Allosaurus described yet and was a top predator of its time

A statue of Pliny the Elder at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Como, Italy

This 2,000-Year-Old Skull May Belong to Pliny the Elder

The Roman statesman launched a rescue mission when Vesuvius erupted but lost his life in the process

Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama painted by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively

The National Portrait Gallery's Obama Portraits Will Embark on a Five-City Tour

Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald's paintings of Barack and Michelle Obama are set to visit Chicago, Brooklyn, L.A., Atlanta and Houston

Researchers monitored the decay of feral pig carcasses to understand what happens to ecosystems where many animals have died at once

To Study Mass Die-Offs, Scientists Dumped 15 Tons of Feral Pig Carcasses Into a Field

The rotting, putrefying bodies flooded with insects, attracted scavengers and devastated local plants and microbes

A sculpture of two bulls, originally carved in the second century A.D., looted from Afghanistan's Kabul Museum almost 30 years ago

After 30 Years, Looted Kushan Bull Sculpture Will Return to Afghanistan's Kabul Museum

The artifact is one of thousands left destroyed, damaged or missing after civil war broke out in the 1990s

A mathematical model suggests coarser grinds might make for better, more consistent espresso with a lower price tag.

Mathematically Speaking, You’re Probably Grinding Your Espresso Too Finely

The secret to consistently tasty, cost-effective espresso is a coarser grind, according to mathematical models

Coronaviruses, like the newly identified Wuhan coronavirus, are so named for their halo- or crown-like appearance.

Officials Pinpoint First COVID-19 Case in United States

The mostly mysterious pathogen is known to pass from person to person, causing respiratory illness

Anarchist Emma Goldman, who dedicated her life to combatting inequality, repression and the exploitation of workers

At Long Last, an Exhibition Celebrates Centuries of Women at Work

A new show at New York's Grolier Club features the collection of Lisa Unger Baskin, who sought to share the untold stories of women in the workforce

An image of asteroid 2020 AV2, taken on January 8, 2020 by the Elena robotic unit part of the Virtual Telescope Project

Astronomers Spot First Asteroid Nearer to the Sun Than Venus

Such “intervenusian” rocks are both rare and difficult to detect

Coyotes are about to enter South America, a move that could soon make the species, native to North America, one of the most widespread carnivores in the western hemisphere.

Coyotes Poised to Infiltrate South America

The crab-eating fox and the coyote may soon swap territories, initiating the first American cross-continental exchange in more than three million years

The contested 1889 self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait, Painted During Bout of Psychosis, Confirmed as Authentic

A five-year research effort validates an 1889 painting completed during the artist's stay at an asylum

A wolf puppy named Flea, among 13 pups tested in a new study. Sadly, Flea does not fetch.

Watch Wolf Puppies Play Fetch

New research suggests canines' love for chasing and returning tossed balls wasn't purely a product of domestication

Ginkgo trees, which produce characteristic fan-shaped leaves, can live for thousands of years.

A Genetic Elixir of Life Helps Millennia-Old Ginkgo Trees Escape Death

These trees have developed an army of molecular weapons to stay healthy in old age

In 2019, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.95 degrees Celsius (1.71 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average.

The 2010s Were the Hottest Decade on Record. What Happens Next?

The news hasn’t come as a surprise to climate scientists, but all urge immediate action

A fossil of Parioscorpio venator, a 437-million-year-old scorpion that resembles modern species.

World’s Oldest Scorpions May Have Moved From Sea to Land 437 Million Years Ago

A pair of pristinely preserved fossils suggest scorpions have looked mostly the same since they first crawled onto land

The Pachacamac Idol, a 1200-year-old wooden carving that held spiritual significance to the Inca

This Inca Idol Survived the Spanish Conquest. 500 Years Later, Archaeologists Are Unveiling Its History

A new analysis suggests the Pachacamac Idol, once thought destroyed, is probably older—and less bloody—than once believed

For decades, researchers have known that mice infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii lose their fear of cats. But there may be more to the story.

Brain Parasite Strips Rodents of Fears of Felines—and So Much More

Toxoplasma gondii infections don’t just make mice afraid of cats. They get reckless with all sorts of other stuff, too

The front of one of the barb-spring padlocks recovered from the Pictish settlement at Lair in Glenshee, Scotland

Medieval Padlock Hints at Prosperity of Scotland's Pictish Farmers

Archaeologists uncovered a thriving farming community whose members wanted to keep their valuables safe

Even for grasshoppers, being upside-down can be a high (blood) pressure situation.

Like Humans, Grasshoppers Grapple With Gravity's Effects on Blood Pressure

After putting the insects into a linear accelerator, researchers got some surprisingly weighty results

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