Articles by: Stephanie Pappas

Stephanie Pappas

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science. She covers the world of human and animal behavior, as well as paleontology and other science topics. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has ducked under a glacier in Switzerland and poked hot lava with a stick in Hawaii. Stephanie hails from East Tennessee, the global center for salamander diversity. Follow Stephanie on Google+.

Articles by: Stephanie Pappas

Scientists in Mexico have identified the wreck of La Union, a Mayan slave ship.

Mysterious Mexican wreck was an illegal slave ship

By Stephanie Pappas

Archaeologists have identified the wreck of a Mexican steamer as La Union, an illegal slave ship that smuggled the Maya as cargo to Cuba.

This artist's reconstruction shows the Cretaceous ostracod crustacean Myanmarcypris hui male (right) and female (left) during mating.

100 million-year-old sperm is the oldest ever found. And it's giant.

By Stephanie Pappas

Scientists have discovered the oldest known sperm, dating back 100 million years, crammed in the body of a tiny crustacean.

Striking images show multiple wildfires burning along the US West Coast

Stark new imagery reveals the scary extent of West Coast wildfires

By Stephanie Pappas

Smoke blankets the West Coast in the new images.

the stone pinnacles of Mulu National Park in Malaysia

'Candyland' stone forests form using deceptively simple physics

By Stephanie Pappas

Stark "stone forest" formations found in China, Madagascar and other places can form in surprisingly simple conditions.

Ultradeep melting rocks drive invisible quakes beneath San Andreas Fault

By Stephanie Pappas

The quakes can't be felt, but they may be linked to the regular magnitude-6 temblors on the fault.

Zombie wildfires are blazing through the Arctic, causing record burning

By Stephanie Pappas

Arctic wildfires are releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

400-year-old mummified goat found frozen in Alps by champion skier

By Stephanie Pappas

This goat could help researchers practice how to conserve and analyze ancient DNA.

If diamonds can burn, are they really "forever"?

Can diamonds burn?

By Stephanie Pappas

With enough heat and oxygen, diamonds will burn.

Earth's layers shown in this modified NASA image.

Earth's core is a billion years old

By Stephanie Pappas

The solidification of the inner core may have strengthened Earth's magnetic field.

Do STEM toys actually teach kids science and math?

By Stephanie Pappas

Toys advertised as teaching STEM aren't always proven, but these recommendations have science to back them up.

Is honey really a miracle cure for coughs and colds?

By Stephanie Pappas

Honey probably works about as well as or better than over-the-counter cough syrups. The bad news is, those don't work that well.

Election worker Erick Moss sorts vote-by-mail ballots for the presidential primary at King County Elections in Renton, Washington, on March 10, 2020.

Will the 2020 election be a 'fraudulent mess'? The science says no.

By Stephanie Pappas

Mail-in voting does not seem to promote one political party over another, nor does it seem subject to rampant fraud, as President Trump has claimed.

An illustration of Earth's magnetic field.

How NASA is dealing with the 'dent' in Earth's magnetic field

By Stephanie Pappas

NASA scientists are watching the evolution of a hiccup in Earth's magnetic field called the South Atlantic Anomaly, which can affect satellite operations.

a view of the Romanche ridge in the Mid-Atlantic

Weird 'boomerang' earthquake recorded for the first time

By Stephanie Pappas

Icebergs near Greenland form from ice that has broken off--or calved--from glaciers on the island.

Nothing will stop Greenland's ice sheet from shrinking now

By Stephanie Pappas

If humans stopped heating up the climate instantly, Greenland's ice sheet would keep shrinking.

Mom and child playing with wooden blocks.

The best STEM toys 2020

By Stephanie Pappas

Which STEM toys actually help your child develop? We answer this question and offer advice on the best STEM toys to buy in 2020.

What is brain death? New guidelines offer answers.

By Stephanie Pappas

Different states and different countries have never fully agreed on the procedure for determining brain death.

woman working from home while kid messes with her glasses

Pandemic childcare is way more stressful for moms than dads

By Stephanie Pappas

Staying at home has mixed effects on gender equality.

Mystery ancestor mated with ancient humans. And its 'nested' DNA was just found.

By Stephanie Pappas

Today's humans carry the genes of an ancient, unknown ancestor, left there by hominin species intermingling perhaps a million years ago.

Sperm don't swim anything like we thought they did, new study finds

By Stephanie Pappas

New high-speed video reveals human sperm don't swim like we thought.

Great white fatally attacks woman in Maine. How common is this?

By Stephanie Pappas

A woman swimming in Maine was fatally attacked by a white shark.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover launched atop an Atlas V rocket at 7:50 a.m. EDT (4:50 PDT) on July 30.

Liftoff! NASA's Perseverance rover is headed to Mars

By Stephanie Pappas

In February 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (shown in an artist's concept) will be the two newest explorers on Mars.

Mars Perseverance launches on Thursday. Here's how to watch.

By Stephanie Pappas

NASA's Mars Perseverance launch, set for Thursday, July 30, will send a new rover to the Red Planet to search for ancient habitable environments and microbial life.