Laura Geggel

As an editor for Live Science, Laura Geggel edits and writes pieces on general science, including the environment, archaeology and amazing animals. She has written for The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a site covering autism research. Laura grew up in Seattle and studied English literature and psychology at Washington University in St. Louis before completing her graduate degree in science writing at NYU. When not writing, you'll find Laura playing Ultimate Frisbee. 

Articles by: Laura Geggel

wolf howling at moon

Here's how to watch the full 'wolf moon' this week

By Laura Geggel

Here's how to see January's full moon, whether or not there is a clear night sky.

The burial pit holding the remains of the toddler, dog and grave goods measured about 3.2 feet (1 meter) by 6.5 feet (2 m).

Puppy and toddler found in 2,000-year-old burial

By Laura Geggel

A toddler was buried with meal offerings and a pet dog about 2,000 years ago in what is now central France.

The medieval hoard contained thousands of silver coins and ingots.

6,500 medieval coins and rare gold rings unearthed in Polish cornfield

By Laura Geggel

With the help of a priest, a medieval hoard containing silver coins and gold rings was found in Poland.

This illustration shows Xenodens calminechari, the "strange tooth" mosasaur that lived about 66 million years ago.

Mini sea monster had teeth as sharp as a saw blade

By Laura Geggel

An ancient reptilian sea monster had a shark-like bite.

A newly discovered Greek inscription dating to 1,500 years ago begins with the phrase, "Christ born of Mary."

1,500-year-old 'Christ, born of Mary' inscription discovered in Israel

By Laura Geggel

An excavation revealed a previously unknown church and inscription, possibly dating to Byzantine times.

This female springbok mantis sustained a (now healed) abdominal wound during a wrestling match with a male.

Scientists set up mantis 'gladiator matches' to see why some males keep their heads after sex

By Laura Geggel

Male springbok mantises that attack females can sometimes escape cannibalism.

This drawing shows how the dinosaur Psittacosaurus may have used its cloacal vent (aka butthole) for signaling during courtship.

1st preserved dinosaur butthole is 'perfect' and 'unique,' paleontologist says

By Laura Geggel

Here's what a dinosaur butthole looks like (you're welcome).

A digitally enhanced panorama of the warty pigs at Leang Tedongnge Cave, in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Warty pig is oldest animal cave art on record

By Laura Geggel

A 45,500-year-old warty pig drawing is the oldest known cave painting of an animal on record.

Farmers found the 500-year-old statue of mysterious woman (left), who has a headdress that looks like the head ornamentation of "Star Wars" former Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano (right), whose Hasbro action figure is shown here.

Statue of mysterious woman with 'Star Wars'-like headdress found in Mexico

By Laura Geggel

A 500-year-old limestone statue of an elite woman was found in central Mexico.

A model showing how warm (red) air may impact the cold (blue) polar vortex that swirls over the North Pole.

Wandering polar vortex may cause a wild, snowy winter

By Laura Geggel

A polar vortex disruption may cause snowy, cold weather in about two weeks.

National Guard troops clear a street from protestors outside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

10 times the US capital weathered political violence

By Laura Geggel

From violent attacks on politicians, to a raging fire, to explosions, to indiscriminate shooting, Washington D.C. has seen its share of darkness.

Kualoa Regional Park, Oahu, Hawaii

Blue UFO soars over Hawaii before crashing into the sea

By Laura Geggel

Multiple people saw a strange blue light whiz over Oahu, Hawaii.

The Roman engraving likely dates to the second century A.D.

Woman's garden 'stepping stone' turns out to be an ancient Roman artifact

By Laura Geggel

Nobody knows how this 1,800-year-old Roman carving ended up in an English garden.

Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser blows steam during a 2019 eruption.

Yellowstone's reawakened geyser won't spark a volcanic 'big one'

By Laura Geggel

Why a reawakened geyser isn't worrying geologists.

A boy sits in front of museum skeletons

10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2020

By Laura Geggel

Some human ancestors are known only as "ghost" populations.

The dead giant squid (Architeuthis dux) found on Golden Mile Beach in Britannia Bay, South Africa.

10 strange animals that washed ashore in 2020

By Laura Geggel

Here are 10 gnarly animals from our ocean's depths.

The 10 barbed points from Doggerland and the places they were discovered in the Netherlands.

Weapons carved from human bone come from drowned land bridge between UK and Europe

By Laura Geggel

It's a mystery why hunter-gatherers from the Stone Age crafted weapons from human bone.

The newly described "reaper of death" is a cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex.

The 10 coolest dinosaur findings of 2020

By Laura Geggel

Here's what we've learned about dinosaurs in 2020.

Archaeologists found an infant jar burial about 10 feet (3 meters) under street level in Jaffa, which dated to the middle Bronze Age II.

3,800-year-old baby in a jar unearthed in Israel

By Laura Geggel

Jaffa's 4,000-year-old history is buried beneath its streets.

People look toward the sun at Stonehenge, as they take part in a winter solstice ceremony at the ancient neolithic monument in England.

Here's the science of the winter solstice

By Laura Geggel

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

The 48 million-year-old fossil python discovered in Germany.

World's oldest python fossil unearthed

By Laura Geggel

The discovery of the world's oldest python fossils on record suggests that these snakes originated in Europe and probably lived alongside boas.

Skulls discovered at the Aztec 'trophy' excavation site in 2015.

Giant Aztec skull 'tower' unearthed in Mexico

By Laura Geggel

More than 500 years ago, the Aztecs created a "trophy tower" out of hundreds of human skulls.

Whoever inscribed this altar went outside the rectangular box and shrank the letters, too.

1,800-year-old altar to pagan god Pan hidden in a Byzantine church

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists in Israel have found an ancient altar to Pan that was repurposed as a brick in a church wall.

A newfound stash of 63 gold and one silver coin dates from the time of Edward IV to Henry VIII.

Gold coin stash from time of Henry VIII found in English garden

By Laura Geggel

A family pulling weeds in the garden discovered a hoard of gold coins featuring various British monarchs dating back to the 1400s.

Lagerpetids, including the species Ixalerpeton (illustrated here), may be close relatives of pterosaurs.

Missing link in pterosaur origins discovered

By Laura Geggel

An enigmatic group of Triassic reptiles might be a close relative of pterosaurs.