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

'Oumuamua is shaped less like a cigar, as was originally proposed, and more like a pancake, according to recent research.

New Theory Suggests 'Oumuamua Is a Nitrogen Ice Pancake

When the interstellar visitor swept around the sun, it got a speed boost, probably because some of the ice vaporized

The eagle shark's long, slender side fins are one of its "most striking features," says first author Romain Vullo.

Discovery of a 95-Million-Year-Old 'Eagle Shark' Fossil Makes Waves

The ancient creature likely used its six-foot-wide wingspan to move with 'underwater flight'

Life on Earth began to appear at least 3.5 billion years ago; by then, Mars had already lost much of its water into the crust or outer space.

Mars' Missing Water Might Be Hiding in Its Minerals

New research estimates how much water was absorbed into the mineral makeup of Mars' crust

Aedes scapularis are aggressive biters and frequently find ways indoors

For the First Time in 75 Years, a New Invasive Species of Mosquito Was Found in Florida

Last year, entomologists in the state found 121 Aedes scapularis mosquitoes, which can carry yellow fever

Exoplanet GJ 1132 b was discovered in 2015 and is about 41 light years away from Earth

Unusual Exoplanet Might Be Regrowing Its Atmosphere

Remnants of the first atmosphere trapped under the planet’s thin crust might escape through volcanic eruptions

Shallow-water imperial cone snails collected for the study were generally larger than the snails collected in deeper water, suggesting they may be separate species.

This Snail's Venom Mimics Pheromones to Lure Prey With Sex

The mini mollusk may use a 'siren call' strategy to entice marine worms out of hiding

On March 11, 2021, lanterns are released in remembrance of earthquake and tsunami victims in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture.

Remembering the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Ten Years Later

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake in 2011 remains the largest in Japan's recorded history

Pine siskins make up over 40 percent of the birds seen by the Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County in recent weeks.

Songbirds Are Spreading a Deadly Disease at Birdfeeders

Pine siskins, a type of finch, can spread salmonella bacteria when they poop on the high-traffic platforms

The meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite. There are only 51 similar samples out of 65,000 meteorites in collections around the world.

Rare Meteorite Found in U.K. Driveway Could Hold Secrets of the Early Solar System

Thousands of people spotted the fireball on February 28, and more fragments may still be scattered in Gloucestershire

About 31 million people had been fully vaccinated in the U.S. as of Monday, March 8.

CDC Releases Guidelines for People Vaccinated Against Covid-19

The rules allow small gatherings with other vaccinated people or visits to a single household of unvaccinated people

A satellite image captured in September of 2020 shows how wildfire smoke blanketed the West Coast.

Wildfire Smoke Is More Damaging to Respiratory Health Than Other Sources of Air Pollution

Smoke exposure was associated with more hospital admissions than equivalent amounts of non-wildfire emissions

C. elegans are roundworms that are about one millimeter long and commonly used in scientific experiments as model organisms.

These Worms Have No Eyes, but They Avoid the Color Blue

When a scientist noticed that blind nematodes avoid bacteria that make blue toxin, he wondered if they took color into account

Cephalopods like cuttlefish have donut-shaped brains with dozens of lobes

Cuttlefish Show Impressive Ability to Exert Self-Control

The clever cephalopods ignored so-so food for up to 130 seconds in order to get their favorite snack, live grass shrimp

Muhammad Suranto and Muhammad Rizky Fauzan captured a black-browed babbler in October 2020, took photos of it for identification, and released it safely.

Long-Lost Babbler Bird Documented in Borneo for the First Time in Over 170 Years

The animal was last recorded between 1843 and 1848, when a scientist collected the first and only museum specimen

The authorization is the third Covid-19 vaccine—following Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA vaccines—approved for use in the United States.

FDA Approves Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Another Valuable Tool Against Covid-19

New vaccines increase the total supply and meet the needs of different communities

Wisconsin was home to about 1,195 wolves in 256 packs at the end of 2020, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources.

Hunters Killed 82% More Wolves Than Quota Allowed in Wisconsin

The state’s Department of Natural Resources granted permits to about 1,500 hunters to kill 119 wolves, but 216 were shot

Now that several Covid-19 vaccines have been shown safe and effective in adults, the producers can begin clinical trials in adolescents.

Why the Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Will Be Different for Kids

Pfizer expects to release the first data about vaccine efficacy and safety in adolescents by this summer

Perseverance landed on Mars using a sky crane, which hovers above the planet's surface and drops the rover on ropes.

Perseverance Rover Shares Its First Video and Audio of Mars

The Curiosity rover landed the same way in 2012 but the engineers who designed the system hadn’t seen it in action until now

The study begins with fossilized kauri trees (pictured) that died over 41,000 years ago.

Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago?

The study links new, detailed data about Earth’s atmosphere to a series of unfortunate events that occurred around the same time

NASA's Perseverance rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the surface of Mars.

Perseverance Kicks Off Elaborate Effort to Bring Mars Rocks to Earth

The decade-long mission requires dozens of glass tubes, two rovers and three more rocket launches, including the first from another planet

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