Rachel Nuwer

Rachel Nuwer

 

Rachel Nuwer is a freelance science writer based in Brooklyn.

This New Burial Technique Turns a Corpse Into a Tiny Pile of Freeze-Dried Fertilizer

In the future wills may include specifications for the type of flower or bush we'd like to fertilize rather than the make of coffin or urn

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Hibernating Turtles Are Still Aware of What’s Going on Around Them

Researchers assumed they entered a coma-like condition during winter hibernation, but turtles are paying attention to the things that matter most

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Astronaut Scott Carpenter, the Second American to Orbit the Planet, Dies at 88

John Glenn, who was a close friend to Carpenter, is now the last surviving astronaut from NASA's Project Mercury, the original space program

China’s 3,000 Cemeteries Will Run Out of Space in Just Six Years

China may have the world's largest population, but the country is not alone in its burial woes

“Please don’t hurt my baby!” this mother meerkat may say to her murderous female superiors.

Baby-Murdering Meerkat Alpha Females Enslave Subordinates As Wet Nurses

After killing lower-level females' pups, ruthless dominant meerkats force the childless moms to nanny the alpha's brood--those that resist are exiled

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Times of Famine Linked to Disproportionate Number of Female Births

Cultural factors like selective abortions de not explain the trend, rather it seems evolutionary biology does

Ancient Women Artists May Be Responsible for Most Cave Art

Previously, most researchers assumed that the people behind these mysterious artworks must have been men, but they were wrong

Cockroaches Stick to Different Neighborhoods Just Like New Yorkers Do

Cockroaches from the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side and nearby Roosevelt Island all have a distinctly different genetic makeup from one another

These Male Marsupials Put So Much Energy Into Mating, It Kills Them

Males with the largest testes, most fit sperm and longest endurance in the sack tended sired more offspring with promiscuous females

This Artists Recreates Great Works of Art Using Plastic Trinkets

Jane Perkins creates works of art using small plastic objects, most of which she recovered from junk shops, garage sales or friends

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Government-Issued Guidelines Warn Chinese Tourists Not to Spit, Shout Or Overeat at Buffets

Last year, mainland Chinese became the top tourism spenders, dropping $102 billion in destinations around the world

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Secret Cameras Caught an Endangered Sumatran Rhino Happily Hanging Around on Borneo

Only an estimated 220 to 275 Sumatran rhinos - the smallest species of rhino in the world at just 3.3 to 5 feet tall - still exist

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2013 Nobel Prizes

Love them or hate them, here we provide you with the sound bytes you'll need to at least discuss them

Read a Great Work of Literature, And You Could Understand Real People Better

Literary fiction presents a myriad of characters and leaves it up to the reader to piece together all of those takes on reality

Pufferfish Create Underwater Crop Circles When They Mate

There is a chance that it's only the fine sand the females are after, not the formations' intricate patterns or symmetry

This Japanese Shrine Has Been Torn Down And Rebuilt Every 20 Years for the Past Millennium

In addition to reinvigorating spiritual and community bonds, the tradition keeps Japanese artisan skills alive

Centipede Venom Is a More Potent Pain Killer Than Morphine

Of the nine possible sodium ion channels the centipede venom could have affected, it happened to correspond with just the right one for numbing pain

When rains come, this curcurbit beetle is most definitely not looking for love.

Insects Are Less Randy in the Rain

Beetles, moths and aphids are markedly turned off by the hint of impending rain, likely an evolutionary adaptation to prevent them from getting washed away

People Are Just As Superficial About Robots’ Looks As They Are About Humans’

Depending on a person's age and the robot's job, people feel differently about what the robot should look like

257,000 Years Ago, a Hyena Ate Some Human Hair (And Probably the Rest of the Person, Too)

The brown hyena who originally planted the evidence most likely ate the person, though it could have scavenged on a dead body

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