Sarah Zielinski

Sarah Zielinski

 

Sarah Zielinski is an award-winning science writer and editor. She is a contributing writer in science for Smithsonian.com and blogs at Wild Things, which appears on Science News.

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How To Study A Volcano

Getting this close to a bubbling cauldron of lava is not just dangerous; it's stupid enough that even other volcanologists will yell at you

What do you hate most about mosquitoes?

14 Not-So-Fun Facts About Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide, lactic acid and octenol found in our breath and sweat. They may have a preference for beer drinkers

In these two images from the Hubble Space Telescope, Pluto's new moon, P4, can be seen to move around the dwarf planet.

What To Name Pluto’s New Moon

Disney characters aside, what would you choose to join this dark and dreary mythological circle? Styx, Erberus, Cerberus, Hypnos?

A hexagonal grain of iron sulfide in a diamond may be a flaw for jewelers, but it's useful data for scientists

Diamonds Hold Secret About Plate Tectonics

When it comes to diamonds in jewelry, perfection is everything. But imperfections are a clue to the past

Several crocodile species are known to attack humans

What Preys on Humans?

Most of us never come in contact with a deadly predator, but there are still enough encounters to remind us that humans are not the top of the food web

A leatherback turtle is just one of many predators in the ocean

Where the Pacific’s Predators Go

Scientists have found that predator species trade off between prey availability and water temperature in their travels

A snow leopard caught in a camera trap in Afghanistan

The Vanishing Cats

In a recent bit of good news, snow leopards have been spotted at 16 camera traps in northeastern Afghanistan

The loss of wolves in the American West set off a cascade of changes to the region's food web.

What Happens When Predators Disappear

It's Predator Week here at the blog. What's your favorite predator, either existing or extinct?

Great White Egret, by Antonio Soto, photographed March 2009, South Florida

How the Great White Egret Spurred Bird Conservation

I was certain that the bird's plumage had to have been faked, but all the photographer did was darken the background. Those feathers were real

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There’s a Drought—Is It Climate Change?

Despite the heat waves across the country, no one is screaming "climate change is real" because of them. Why?

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The Cambrian Explosion in Song

What does a music teacher do when he ends up teaching science?

A pig-nosed turtle at the Shedd Aquarium

The Decline of the Pig-Nosed Turtle

Saving the turtle from extinction could be complicated, scientists find

Naked mole rats from the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo

14 Fun Facts About Naked Mole Rats

Number 11: A mole rat's incisors can be moved independently and can even work together like a pair of chopsticks

Amber Firefly

The Insect That Creates Its Own Lightshow

There are about 2,000 species of fireflies, a type of beetle that lights up its abdomen with a chemical reaction to attract a mate

Tropical Storm Arlene is predicted to make landfall in Mexico early Thursday morning

Hurricane Season Starts With Arlene

The first tropical storm of 2011 is a reminder to prepare for potential disasters

If you call someone a piranha, first make sure you've got the right fish

Find Your Fishy Metaphor

We've all used a fishy metaphor in the past, but use the wrong one and you can look pretty stupid

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Earth From Space

Which of these images from the European Space Agency's Flickr stream would you consider hanging as art in your home?

The April 6, 2009 earthquake in Italy destroyed many buildings, new and old.

Should We Blame Scientists for Not Predicting Earthquakes?

A group of Italian scientists may go to trial for allegedly playing down the risk of the quake that struck the Abruzzo region of Italy in April 2009

Wood models of human heads in the NIST Museum collection

Why Did the Standards Bureau Need These Heads?

The NIST Museum has placed images of several items on the website of its Digital Archives and is asking the public for help

In NASA’s new view of the heliosphere, the magnetic field lines (in red and blue) create a foamy layer of magnetic bubbles at the far edge

Bubbles of Magnetism at the End of the Solar System

NASA's Voyager spacecraft have found a foamy layer at the edge of the heliosphere

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