Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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California's wildfire season is shifting, with more blazes after the traditional high-risk window, study findsNew research finds that climate-driven shifts in wildfire seasons in North America are different depending on the ecosystem.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
climate-change -
Inherited diseases don't work like we thought they did"Monogenic" diseases, triggered by mutations in just one gene, may actually be more complex than scientists thought.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
5 Commentshealth -
Obesity is linked to 1 in 10 deaths from infection worldwide — and scientists are still learning whyA new study finds that people with obesity are more likely to be hospitalized with or die from severe infections.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
viruses-infections-disease -
Hidden slippery clay on seafloor may have worsened devastating 2011 tsunami in JapanA thick layer of slippery clay on the ocean floor may have formed the weak spot that enabled a magnitude 9.1 quake to make such a devastating tsunami.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
earthquakes -
'Impossible' mantle earthquakes actually occur all over the world, study findsResearchers were once unsure whether mantle earthquakes existed. Now they have a global map of this mysterious phenomenon.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
earthquakes -
Upgrade to Antarctica 'ghost particle' observatory could pave the way to physics breakthroughsThe National Science Foundation's massive IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole just got a major new upgrade, which promises to take the search for "ghost particles" to a new level.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
particle-physics -
Scientist accidentally stumbles across bizarre ancient ‘wrinkle structures’ in Morocco that shouldn't be thereAncient fossil structures imprinted on rocks that were once deep beneath the ocean suggest the search for the first life on Earth needs to be broadened.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
3 Commentsgeology -
The 'mono' virus raises the risk of MS and cancer in some. 22 genes hint at why.An infection with Epstein-Barr virus is a nonevent for most people. But for a subset, the virus can contribute to chronic conditions and cancer, and genes may play a role in that risk.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
viruses-infections-disease -
Enormous 'mega-blob' under Hawaii is solid rock and iron, not gooey — and it may fuel a hotspotA new study reveals a detailed look at what lies beneath the Hawaiian hotspot.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
geology -
'Doomsday Clock' ticks 4 seconds closer to midnightThe Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists now says humanity is a metaphorical 85 seconds to global disaster.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
5 Commentsplanet-earth -
A drying climate is making East Africa pull apart fasterA switch from a humid to a dry climate has led the Eastern African Rift Zone to pull apart more freely, new research finds.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
6 Commentsplanet-earth -
Lab mice that 'touch grass' are less anxious — and that highlights a big problem in rodent researchMice that experience the real world may be better models for human mental health conditions, compared with lab mice that never leave their cages, a study hints.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
health -
Scars from ancient 'megaquakes' at Cascadia subduction zone discovered in deep-sea landslidesLarge subduction-zone earthquakes leave scars on the continental slope in the deep sea.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
earthquakes -
Fragment of lost tectonic plate discovered where San Andreas and Cascadia faults meetA hidden chunk of an ancient tectonic plate is stuck to the Pacific Ocean floor and sliding under North America, complicating earthquake risk at the Cascadia subduction zone.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
10 Commentsearthquakes -
These genes were thought to lead to blindness 100% of the time. They don't.New research finds that retinal diseases thought to map one-to-one to genetic mutations are more complicated than that.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
genetics -
Massive Myanmar earthquake was super smooth and efficient — and it holds lessons for the 'Big One'The fault that ruptured in the March quake was simple and mature, which allowed the quake's energy to shoot right to the surface.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
planet-earth -
A fentanyl vaccine enters human trials in 2026 — here's how it worksA vaccine in development would be the first proactive treatment for overdose and fentanyl addiction, if approved.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
health -
Giant structure discovered deep beneath Bermuda is unlike anything else on EarthA thick layer of more than 12 miles of rock may explain why Bermuda seems to float above the surrounding ocean.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
24 Commentsgeology -
Russia's Bezymianny volcano blew itself apart 69 years ago. It's now almost completely regrown.A 1956 eruption collapsed much of the Bezymianny volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, but frequent eruptions since — including a large event in November — means it has now almost completely regrown.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
volcanoes -
Has America's obesity rate plateaued?Some recent national numbers suggest the obesity rate has plateaued or even declined. Experts are skeptical.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
health -
US could lose its measles elimination status within months, experts sayWith 45 outbreaks of measles over the past year, the United States is at risk of endemic spread within months, experts told Live Science.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
6 Commentsviruses-infections-disease -
A gulf separating Africa and Asia is still pulling apart — 5 million years after scientists thought it had stoppedThe Arabian and African tectonic plates failed to pull apart 28 million years ago at the Gulf of Suez, but the area hasn't stopped rifting.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
2 Commentsgeology -
Eruptions of ocean volcanoes may be the echoes of ancient continental breakupsWaves in Earth's mantle created by the rifting of continents may peel the planet's crust from below, feeding volcanoes in the middle of the ocean.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
volcanoes -
What are the signs that nature is telling us?' Scientists are triggering earthquakes in the Alps to find out what happens before one hitsResearchers are deliberately setting off real (small) earthquakes to understand how to gauge the danger of a fault line before it breaks.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
2 Commentsearthquakes

