Joanna Thompson

Joanna Thompson

Live Science Contributor

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.

Latest articles by Joanna Thompson

Earth's inner core is made primarily of iron

'New hidden world' discovered in Earth's inner core

By Joanna Thompson published

The inner core of our planet is actually a mishmash of hard, mushy and liquid metal.

Geology
Elaborate stone patterns created by ice needles

Thousands of tiny ‘ice needles’ may explain mysterious stone patterns on Earth … and Mars

By Joanna Thompson published

Tiny natural ice structures help arrange stones into spectacular landscapes.

Planet Earth
Abstract representation of cold atoms

Scientists just broke the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in a lab

By Joanna Thompson published

They did it by sending rubidium atoms into free fall

Physics & Mathematics
A phacopid trilobite with hyper-compound eyes

This trilobite was equipped with a 'hyper-eye' never seen before in the animal kingdom

By Joanna Thompson published

Trilobite with "hyper compound eyes" could see through hundreds of lenses, new X-ray study reveals.

Fossils
Southern cassowary is found in New Guinea as well as Queensland in northeastern Australia.

These giant birds could eviscerate you. People were raising them 18,000 years ago.

By Joanna Thompson published

People were raising cassowaries, the world's most dangerous bird, some 18,000 years ago, new research shows.

Archaeology
Short-faced bears were North America's largest predatory mammal.

What were the largest predators in North America?

By Joanna Thompson published

Here are the largest predators ever to have lived in North America.

Animals
A leafcutter ant (Atta cephalotes) uses its metal-laced mandibles to cut through a leaf.

These vegetarian ants have steak knives for teeth, new study finds

By Joanna Thompson published

Zinc and manganese atoms keep tiny arthropods' natural tools sharper for longer.

Insects
The dead white-sided dolphins were pulled from the water off the Faroe Islands on Sept. 12, 2021.

Slaughter of more than 1,400 dolphins in the Faroe Islands sparks condemnation worldwide

By Joanna Thompson published

Hunters in the Faroe Islands ambushed and slaughtered a super-pod of more than 1,400 white-sided dolphins on Sunday (Sept. 12), leading to worldwide outcry.

Dolphins
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