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 an advanced certificate in science writing from NYU.

Articles by: Laura Geggel

Archaeologist Lucia Castagna recovers the 5,600-year-old human skull at the top of a vertical shaft in the Marcel Loubens cave, in the Bologna area of northern Italy.

Decapitated Stone Age woman's head rolled into a cave in Italy

By Laura Geggel

After a woman died and was likely dismembered, her skull went on a "long and bumpy ride."

The new facial reconstructions, made from pigmented silicon casts, of Lucy (left) and the Taung child (right).

Human ancestor 'Lucy' gets a new face in stunning reconstruction

By Laura Geggel

New depictions of Lucy and the Taung child are shedding light on the tricky task of facial reconstruction.

This alligator 'popsicle' is making sure it can breathe in its frozen lake.

Alligators in Oklahoma turn into 'popsicles' sticking out of the frozen water

By Laura Geggel

Alligators often 'snorkel' during cold snaps, so they don't become trapped underwater without access to air.

An illustration of a tyrannosaurus Rex

Medium-size dinos are missing from the fossil record. Here's why.

By Laura Geggel

Here's why there aren't more medium-size carnivorous dinosaurs.

silhouette of a person thinking

Atheists and believers have different moral compasses

By Laura Geggel

The moral compass of believers and atheists is calibrated differently.

Archaeologists in the U.K. found a phallic carving dating to the Roman era.

Rare Roman-era phallus carving found in UK

By Laura Geggel

An excavation in the UK unearthed the Roman-era stone carving of a phallus.

This double-sided pancake map is the most accurate flat map of Earth ever created.

Astrophysicists create the most accurate 'flat map' of Earth ever

By Laura Geggel

Cartographers have struggled to map Earth accurately in 2D for centuries.

An illustration of the steppe mammoths that preceded the woolly mammoth, based on the genetic knowledge from the Adycha mammoth.

Oldest sequenced DNA belonged to 1 million-year-old mystery mammoth

By Laura Geggel

The oldest sequenced DNA on record belongs to a 1.2 million-year-old mammoth.

After unearthing its skeleton, researchers initially thought this horse dated to the last ice age. New analyses showed otherwise.

'Ice age' horse skeleton found in Utah backyard isn't what we thought

By Laura Geggel

The skeletal remains of a horse unearthed in Utah thought to date to the last ice age are actually much younger.

Archaeologists in Arctic Alaska have found blue beads (top left) from Europe, possibly Venice, that might predate Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World.

European beads found in Alaska predate Columbus, controversial study claims

By Laura Geggel

Blueberry-size beads might have traveled more than 10,000 miles from Venice to Alaska in the 1400s.

Archaeologists in Turkey discovered 651 silver coins in a jug.

Stash of more than 600 Roman-era silver coins discovered in Turkey

By Laura Geggel

A newly discovered coin hoard features Roman emperors engraved on the sides.

a cascade of diamonds

Diamonds need an electric zap to crystallize deep inside Earth

By Laura Geggel

A lab experiment mimicking mantle conditions revealed how diamonds need an electric field to grow.

This beautifully decorated coffin (right) doesn't belong to the unusual mud-wrapped mummy (left) that was found inside it.

Never-before-seen 'mud mummy' from Egypt discovered in wrong coffin

By Laura Geggel

An ancient Egyptian mummy was damaged and then wrapped in an unusual mud carapace.

A reconstruction of the latest phase of the mosque, which collapsed during a 1068 earthquake.

Mosque built decades after death of Prophet Muhammad found near Sea of Galilee

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists have discovered one of the oldest known mosques on record.

The two oak capricorn beetles found in the bog.

Perfectly-preserved 'bog beetles' nearly as old as Egypt's pyramids

By Laura Geggel

Beetles that lived during the late Bronze Age in a bog look as though they died yesterday.

The remains of the Roman Fort, which held the remnants of the early Coptic church.

Ruins of ancient church and temple discovered in Egypt

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists have found the ancient ruins of a Roman fort, early Coptic church and Ptolemaic temple in Egypt.

wombat poop

Why do wombats have cube-shaped poop?

By Laura Geggel

Wombats have cubed dropping because of this internal organ.

An illustration of a Spinosaurus wading in the water and hunting for fish.

Debate heats up over swimming ability of bizarre-looking Spinosaurus

By Laura Geggel

Spinosaurus probably hunted more like a stork than a crocodile.

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).