Laura Geggel

Laura Geggel

Laura is an editor at Live Science. She edits Life's Little Mysteries and reports on general science, including archaeology and animals. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a site on autism research. She has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly newspaper near Seattle. Laura holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in science writing from NYU.

Articles by: Laura Geggel

Sand sculptures decorate the shore by Lake Michigan at Tiscornia Park, with the North Pier Lighthouse in the background in St. Joseph, Michigan.

Weird sand 'chess pieces' dot Lake Michigan shore. Here's how they formed.

By Laura Geggel published

Here's the science behind the bizarre sand pillars that formed on the shores of Lake Michigan.

A selection of the 41 Celtic coins discovered in Brandenburg, Germany.

2,000-year-old Celtic hoard of gold 'rainbow cups' discovered in Germany

By Laura Geggel published

A volunteer archaeologist discovered a stash of 41 "rainbow cup" Celtic coins dating to 2,000 years ago in Germany.

The Yanghai burial in northwest China, with the leather scale armor circled in red.

Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial

By Laura Geggel published

Archaeologists in China have discovered a rare 2,500-year-old piece of military equipment; an intricately-fashioned leather-scale armor that resembles the scales of a fish.

This illustration, depicting an active predatory encounter between two requiem sharks off what is now the coast of Maryland, shows one possible way the shark vertebra could have been bitten.

'Truly remarkable' fossils are rare evidence of ancient shark-on-shark attacks

By Laura Geggel published

The discovery of four shark fossils with bite marks shows that ancient sharks attacked or scavenged each other.

A recreation of human ancestors.

10 fascinating findings about our human ancestors from 2021

By Laura Geggel published

Here's 10 discoveries we made about human evolution over the last year.

Tyrannosaurs may have fought each other for mates, territory or higher status, a new study finds.

10 extraordinary dinosaur discoveries from 2021

By Laura Geggel published

Here's what we've learned about dinosaurs in 2021.

An illustration of Cymbospondylus youngorum in a Triassic ocean teeming with life. Ammonites and squid were abundant in this open ocean environment.

55-foot-long Triassic sea monster discovered in Nevada

By Laura Geggel published

The discovery of a semitrailer-size ichthyosaur from the early Triassic shows that these reptiles got big really fast, evolutionarily speaking.

The dump of rubble and artifacts in the Middle Kingdom tomb.

'Garbage dump' discovered in ancient Egyptian tomb dedicated to fertility goddess

By Laura Geggel published

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a massive "garbage dump" at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor that is brimming with ancient offerings to a fertility goddess.

A reconstruction of oviraptorid embryo.

Impeccably preserved dinosaur embryo looks as if it 'died yesterday'

By Laura Geggel published

A dinosaur egg laid 70 million years ago reveals that embryos got "into position" before hatching, just like modern bird do.

The Karnak Temple during the winter solstice on Dec. 17, 2015 in Luxor, Egypt.

Here's the science of the winter solstice

By Laura Geggel published

Today's winter solstice will boast the year's fewest hours of daylight for the Northern Hemisphere. Here's why.

Excavators lift a mammoth tusk.

200,000-year-old 'mammoth graveyard' found in UK

By Laura Geggel published

During the last ice age, five mammoths — a baby, two juveniles and two adults — died at a "graveyard" in what is now the United Kingdom.

A full moon shines over a snowy mountain.

How to see the Cold Moon, the longest full moon of the year, this Saturday

By Laura Geggel published

Here's why December's Cold Moon is the longest full moon of the year.

Paddleboarder Matt Wheaton stands on a paddleboard over a giant mola at Laguna Beach, California.

Enormous sunfish surprises paddleboarders off Laguna Beach

By Laura Geggel published

Two paddleboarders encountered a colossal sunfish in Laguna Beach, California.

The ancient Egyptian man's skull and jawbone still contained the gold-foil tongue.

Mummy with gold-foil 'tongue' found in sealed Egyptian tomb

By Laura Geggel published

Three gold tongues, belonging to a man, woman and child who lived in Egypt about 2,500 years ago, were found in two tombs.

An ancient Egyptian lotus pendant with inlaid stones, dating to about 1350 B.C. Most of the objects found in the tombs, including this one, are from the time of Queen Nefertiti, who wore similar jewelry.

Gold 'lotus flower' pendant from Queen Nefertiti's time discovered in Cyprus

By Laura Geggel published

Archaeologists in Cyprus found two tombs dating to the Bronze Age that contained 500 grave goods.

During totality, which lasted about 1 minute and 54 seconds, moon's shadow blocked the sun's rays.

Dazzling photos of the solar eclipse from Antarctica

By Laura Geggel published

Photos from the solar eclipse on Dec. 4, 2021 as seen from Antarctica.

A medieval man who lived in Scotland, dubbed Blair Atholl Man, wasn't a local to the central Scottish Highlands, chemical analyses reveal.

Medieval Scot with strong jawbone wasn't a local

By Laura Geggel published

A chemical analysis of a medieval man's remains from the Scottish Highlands reveals he wasn't a local.

The newly described ankylosaur Stegouros elengassen displays its weaponized tail.

'Very weird' ankylosaur's tail looked like an Aztec war club

By Laura Geggel published

Paleontologists in Chile have found the remains of an ankylosaur that represents a new dinosaur lineage.

The digital facial reconstruction of the Bronze Age woman wearing the diadem.

Facial reconstruction shows powerful Bronze Age woman's serene expression and huge earrings

By Laura Geggel published

A scientific illustrator has made a facial reconstruction of a powerful woman who lived during the Bronze Age in what is now Spain.

The ancient snake-like dolichosaur (Tetrapodophis amplectus) swims by a tangle of branches from the conifer Duartenia araripensis that have fallen into the water, as well as a water bug in the family Belostomatidae and small fish (Dastilbe).

4-legged 'snake' fossil is actually a different ancient animal, new study claims

By Laura Geggel published

A new study claims that a fossil previously believed to be the first known four-legged snake is actually more lizard-like than serpentine.

Partial lunar eclipse from China

Stunning photos of the longest partial lunar eclipse of the century

By Laura Geggel published

Photographers worldwide snapped shots as Earth's shadow took a bite out of the moon.

A girl with a telescope watches a lunar eclipse.

Here's how to watch the longest partial lunar eclipse of the century live or online

By Laura Geggel published

Here's how to see the partial lunar eclipse early Friday morning (Nov. 19) in person or online.

An illustration of Supersaurus shows what a giant it was, reaching at least 128 feet in length.

Supersaurus might be the longest dinosaur that ever lived

By Laura Geggel published

If two Supersauruses bopped noses, they'd be longer than an American football field.

An illustration of the newly named dinosaur Issi saaneq, which lived in Greenland 214 million years ago, back when the supercontinent Pangaea was splitting apart.

Triassic skulls unearthed in Greenland reveal 'cold bone' dinosaur

By Laura Geggel published

A new analysis of two Triassic skulls found in Greenland reveals a new species of long-necked dinosaur.

Illustration showing one gorgonopsian biting the other on the face.

Ancient saber-toothed 'gorgons' bit each other in ritualized combat

By Laura Geggel published

"Gorgons" that lived during the Permian period bit each other on the face, the discovery of a bite mark on a skull reveals.