Joanna Thompson is a science journalist and runner based in New York. She holds a B.S. in Zoology and a B.A. in Creative Writing from North Carolina State University, as well as a Master's in Science Journalism from NYU's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. Find more of her work in Scientific American, The Daily Beast, Atlas Obscura or Audubon Magazine.
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Which came first: The chicken or the egg?Most biologists will answer confidently when asked "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" but the answer may depend on what type of egg you're talking about.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Who invented the toilet?Did Thomas Crapper actually create your commode?
By Joanna Thompson Published
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What is brain fog?Mental fuzziness can be frustrating and can be caused by lack of sleep or even an underlying illness.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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What is a runner's high?Here's what the strange euphoria that sets in after aerobic exercise really is.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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'Mars' interior is not behaving,' active mantle plume revealsIn a first, planetary geologists describe an active mantle plume on the surface of Mars.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Scientists finally discovered the snake clitoris, and they're 'very excited'For the first time, clitorises have been documented in nine different species of snakes from four families.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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How much does a cloud weigh?Clouds look light and fluffy, but they're surprisingly heavy.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Who owns the moon?Does anyone have sovereignty over the moon? And can anyone buy it?
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Ravenous meat-eating dinosaur's guts preserved in exceptionally rare fossilPaleontologists in China have examined the remarkable gut remnants of a birdlike dinosaur that lived more than 100 million years ago.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Who really wore togas?Who actually wore togas, and what were they for?
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Long-lost bird species, thought to be extinct, captured in images for 1st time in 140 yearsImages and footage of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon were recently captured by scientists. This is the first documented sighting of the elusive bird since 1882.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Scientists solved a 500 million-year-old mystery about strange Cambrian structures found in ChinaExtremely detailed Cambrian fossils show that enigmatic skeleton tubes belonged to ancient ancestors of modern jellyfish.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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The Devils Hole pupfish is so inbred that it shouldn’t be aliveNew research reveals exactly how inbred the Devils Hole pupfish is.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Missing woman’s body discovered in the stomach of 22-foot-long python in IndonesiaA 54-year-old woman in Indonesia was killed and eaten by a massive python
By Joanna Thompson Last updated
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What if humans had tails?If humans had tails, what would they be like, and how would we use them?
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Where did the idea of the 'wicked stepmother' come from?Many fairytales have an evil stepmother who is determined to ruin the lives of her stepchildren. But what are the roots of this age-old trope?
By Joanna Thompson Published
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What made billions of snow crabs disappear from the Bering Sea?The Bering Sea's snow crab population has been in decline over the last five years, but this season the population has collapsed.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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'Hell fish' likely killed by dinosaur-ending asteroid is preserved in stunning detailScientists recently unearthed stunning fossils of sturgeon from Hell's Creek that might have died on the day that the dinosaur-killing asteroid struck.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Mount Everest: The deadly history of the world's highest peakMount Everest towers more than 29,000 feet above sea level.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Why do cats 'play' with their prey?Here's why cats 'play' with their prey before dealing the death blow.
By Joanna Thompson Last updated
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Ginormous Jurassic fossil in Portugal may be the biggest dinosaur ever found in EuropeWhile researchers have not yet identified the species of an enormous newfound dinosaur, the sauropod is already breaking size records.
By Joanna Thompson Published
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Oldest African dinosaur ever found unearthed in ZimbabweMeet Mbiresaurus raathi, the oldest African dinosaur (and one of the world's earliest) whose neighbors lived in Brazil.
By Joanna Thompson Last updated
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Tiny 'immortal' crab entombed in amber discovered in a first of its kindA fossil crab was discovered perfectly preserved in Burmese amber.
By Joanna Thompson Last updated
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Rare 'triple-dip' La Niña could bring another year of intense hurricanes and drought to the USThe cooler climate pattern is predicted to persist for the third winter in a row, bringing an increased risk of powerful hurricanes to the eastern U.S. and flooding to Australia.
By Joanna Thompson Published

