Rachel Nuwer

Rachel Nuwer

 

Rachel Nuwer is a freelance science writer based in Brooklyn.

Plastic trash collected from the world's oceans.

The Ocean Contains Over Five Trillion Pieces of Plastic Weighing More than 250,000 Tons

These frightening figures represent the most robust estimate of marine plastic pollution calculated to date

You've Never Seen Nerve Endings Like These

Scientists produce the most detailed images of nerve endings ever made

Typhoons Saved 13th Century Japan From Invasion

Geologic evidence supports historic accounts of the great "Kamikaze" of 1274 and 1281

Online Students Give Better Reviews to Professors They Think Are Male

Even if the teachers were actually women, if the students thought they were men, the bias stuck

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TGI Fridays Has Dispatched Mistletoe-Carrying Drones in Restaurants

There's already been one collision between drone and human

Enthusiasts examining the patch for NROL-35 think the trident, fire and breeze through the character’s hair might represent the elements—water, fire and wind. “What that has to do with the actual payload, however, is anyone’s guess,” says space historian Robert Pearlman.

The Creepy, Kitschy and Geeky Patches of US Spy Satellite Launches

There may be method to the madness behind the outlandish designs of the National Reconnaissance Office mission patches

Dreams Are Slow-Motion

Lucid dreamers are offering insight into the sleeping mind

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Norwegian Nobel Winners Release Their Inner Avant-Garde Musicians

Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine repurposed a Norse folk tune for a science lecture

The Science of the Red Sea's Parting

It is physically and scientifically possible for a body of water to part

Like Underwater Jedi, Electric Eels Can Remotely Control Other Fish

Electric eels can shock prey into both revealing their positions and freezing in place

A bleached coral reef

Listen to the Sounds of a Dying Coral Reef

Healthy coral reefs produce a medley of sounds that ocean creatures use as homing beacons

A humpback whale in waters off southern Oman.

Humpback Whales in the Arabian Sea Have Been Isolated for 70,000 Years

Conservationists want this particular population of humpbacks to be classified as critically endangered

A Worm’s Gut Could Help Dispose of Plastic Trash

Microbes found in the guts of waxworms like to feast on polyethylene

The Largest Manmade Block Ever Was Just Discovered in Lebanon

The block was never used, likely because it was too big to transport

Public Bathroom Bacteria: Not as Gross as You'd Think

Public restrooms are of no more of a health risk than your own home

MIT Is Giving Its Students Bitcoin

Researchers interested in studying how people use Bitcoin are handing out $100 worth of the currency to whoever wants it

Thanks to millions of microscopic hair-like structures, a gecko's foot can resist pulling forces up to 20 times the lizard's own weight.

Geckos Have a Surprisingly Strong Death Grip

Gecko toes remain firmly stuck in place even after the animal dies, implying that the lizards do not actively control their clinginess

Manhattan Insects Eat the Equivalent of 60,000 Hot Dogs Each Year

Millions of urban insects act as efficient, largely unnoticed garbage disposals

James Watson Will Be the First Nobel Laureate to Sell His Medallion

But his racist comments have created a surge of pushback

The White House Is Going Digital With Its Holiday Decorations

Robot dogs, an interactive holiday card and crowd-sourced light shows are a few of the new additions

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