Sierra Bouchér

Sierra Bouchér

Staff Writer

Sierra Bouchér is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist whose work has been featured in Science, Scientific American, Mongabay and more. They have a master's degree in science communication from U.C. Santa Cruz, and a research background in animal behavior and historical ecology. 

Articles by: Sierra Bouchér

an illustration of a compass in outer space

Where would a compass point in outer space?

By Sierra Bouchér published

On Earth, the magnetic field of our planet points a compass north, but in space, things are a bit more complicated.

Satellite images from 1974 of Iraq, later found as the location of the al-Qadisiyyah battle site

Declassified spy satellite images reveal 1,400-year-old battle site in Iraq that set off the Muslim conquest

By Sierra Bouchér published

Historical texts that mentioned details about the battle site helped researchers match the images to the lost town of al-Qadisiyyah.

metal pan containing stone tools and artifacts from Tajikistan, 150,000 to 20,000 years old.

150,000-year-old rock-shelter in Tajikistan found on 'key route for human expansion' used by Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans

By Sierra Bouchér published

A newfound rock-shelter in Tajikistan has artifacts created by ancient humans spanning 130,000 years.

An illustration of Borealopelta on a gradient background.

Armored dinosaur could withstand the impact of a high-speed car crash, thanks to the 'bulletproof vest' over its plate armor

By Sierra Bouchér published

The new research suggests that this dinosaur's armor was adapted for fighting between members of Borealopelta markmitchelli.

A terror bird with a large beak and small, flightless wings stands on a savannah

A giant crocodilian killed the largest 'terror bird' ever found, 12 million years ago

By Sierra Bouchér published

The fossilized leg bone of the terror bird went unidentified for almost 20 years.

Over a dozen skeletons in graves, all victims of ritual sacrifice

'An offering to energize the fields': 76 child sacrifice victims, all with their chests cut open, unearthed at burial site in Peru

By Sierra Bouchér published

An analysis of previous sacrifices at the same site suggests the victims were conquered people brought to work on the land.

Two tadpoles swim in a Jurassic pond

Oldest tadpole on record was a Jurassic giant

By Sierra Bouchér published

The fossilization of the tadpole's "delicate structures," like its eyes and gills, allowed for a detailed analysis of the rare find.

blue-red lidar map of newly discovered maya city

Lasers reveal Maya city, including thousands of structures, hidden in Mexico

By Sierra Bouchér published

The new city, dubbed Valeriana, was a dense urban settlement with temple pyramids and a ball court.

A large mushroom cloud in a blue and orange sky. Operation Ivy Hydrogen Bomb Test in Marshall Islands.

How many nuclear bombs have been used?

By Sierra Bouchér published

The first nuclear bomb test, conducted in 1945, set off an international arms race that included nuclear testing. But how many nuclear bombs have been detonated during tests and in active war?

An illustration of a bird flying after a giant cicada

Predatory birds from the Jurassic may have driven cicada evolution for millions of years

By Sierra Bouchér published

Researchers calculated the flight ability of more than 80 ancient cicada species to analyze their evolution over time.

A top-down 3D scan of the Endurance shipwreck as discovered in 2022.

New 3D scans reveal stunning details of Shackleton's doomed Endurance expedition to Antarctica

By Sierra Bouchér published

The Endurance shipwreck spent 107 years submerged in Antarctic waters before being rediscovered and later scanned in 3D.

An illustration of a shallow pool with a flat, purple, pancake-shaped animal. A protruding backward question-mark shape can be seen on its back.

Half-a-billion-year-old 'marine Roomba' is earliest known asymmetrical animal

By Sierra Bouchér published

A backward question mark shape on the creature's back reveals early animal evolutionary history.

An illustration shows a top and underside view of Arthropleura, and a reconstruction of its head seen from the front.

Never-before-seen head of prehistoric, car-size 'millipede' solves evolutionary mystery

By Sierra Bouchér published

The fossil showed unique stalked eyes and centipede-like characteristics.

An arial shot of a round divot in a grassy plan, surrounded by excavation quadrants.

2,800-year-old burial mound with sacrifices unearthed in Siberia is eerily similar to Scythian graves

By Sierra Bouchér published

The sacrifices could be an early form of a Scythian burial tradition that lasted for hundreds of years.

A recreation of a medieval era Norse ship sails on dark waters, with mountains in the background.

Medieval walrus ivory may reveal trade between Norse and Indigenous Americans hundreds of years before Columbus, study finds

By Sierra Bouchér published

The Thule Inuit people and Norse both hunted walrus in the High Arctic in the 13th century, according to a new study.

Illustration of Kepler 186-f, a habitable earth-like planet

Alien civilizations are probably killing themselves from climate change, bleak study suggests

By Sierra Bouchér published

Astrophysicists estimate that any exponentially growing technological civilization has only 1,000 years until its planet will be too hot to support life.

An aerial view of Morocco's hilly and reddish landscape that is spotted with trees by a river.

Remains of 5,000-year-old farming society as large as ancient Troy discovered in Morocco

By Sierra Bouchér published

The society "bridged the gap" between Africa and Europe over 5,000 years ago.

A woman in front of a desk holds her stomach in discomfort.

What happens when you hold in a fart?

By Sierra Bouchér published

We all hold in farts from time to time, but where does the gas go?

An illustration of a duck-billed dinosaur with a huge snout on a purple background.

Duck-billed dino with absolutely enormous honker unearthed in Mexico

By Sierra Bouchér published

The newly named dinosaur is unique to Mexico, and it's helping change scientists' understanding of dinosaur ranges across the Americas.

An illustration of a thylacine eating another marsupial species

Fossils of bone-crushing and meat-slashing Tasmanian tiger ancestors discovered in Australia

By Sierra Bouchér published

Three newfound thylacine relatives recently unearthed in Australia suggest that marsupial predators were more widespread in ancient Australia than previously thought.