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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Aliens: Facts about extraterrestrial life and how scientists are looking for itDiscover interesting facts about where alien life forms are likely to exist, and what they look like.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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See the best Milky Way photos of the yearMind-boggling beauty abounds in photographs from around the globe submitted to this year's Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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150,000-year history of Earth's magnetic field reveals clues about the climate when early humans were spreading out of AfricaThe record sheds light on the climate early humans experienced when they were spreading out of Africa.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Gigantic 'mud waves' buried deep beneath the ocean floor reveal dramatic formation of Atlantic when Africa and South America finally splitEnormous "mud waves" buried under the Atlantic seabed formed 117 million years ago as the Atlantic Ocean opened up.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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First-of-its-kind video captures the terrifying moment the ground tore apart during major Myanmar earthquakeA security camera near Thazi, Myanmar, captured the earth cracking during a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in March.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Yosemite's ultra-deep canyon may have been carved in part by a ghost volcano and river, provocative research suggestsA river that drained the slopes of a now-vanished volcano may have carved Yosemite Valley's depths during the last 10 million years.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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What does the Pope do, anyway?New pope's schedule will be 'exhausting.'
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People really can communicate with just their eyes, study findsNew research reveals how humans communicate through their gaze.
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'The Big One' could rock the Pacific Northwest and fuel sea-level rise and massive floodingThe geology of the Cascadia subduction zone has largely staved off climate-related sea-level rise in the Pacific Northwest, but that could reverse in an instant.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Simple blood test could help reveal whether melanoma will come backA new study finds that fragments of tumor DNA in a patient's bloodstream could show that they are at high risk of a melanoma recurrence.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Measles has long-term health consequencesMeasles can erase the immune system's "memory" and cause a rare but fatal health condition. The MMR vaccine prevents these repercussions, evidence shows.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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An ocean of magma formed early in Earth's history and it may still influence our planet today, study findsRemnants of a liquid layer of magma near Earth's core, formed in the first few hundred million years of the planet's history, may still persist today as odd anomalies in the mantle.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Study reveals 'flawed argument' in debate over when plate tectonics beganYou don't need plate tectonics to get continental crust that looks modern, a new study finds.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Massive magma eruptions may have ripped Africa and South America apartHuge outpourings of magma accompanied the split between South America and Africa 135 million years ago.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Jaw-dropping NASA image reveals a dying star at the heart of the Helix Nebula — and it may have just murdered a planetA new view of the Helix Nebula reveals a dying white dwarf star at the nebula's center. This star's violent eating habits could be responsible for strange X-ray emissions in the region.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Cats: Facts about our feline friendsDiscover interesting facts about cat intelligence, how they see the world, and why we keep them around.
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Chickens sprouted dino-like feathers when scientists messed with the Sonic Hedgehog geneScientists uncovered a key genetic pathway in the origin of feathers, but they found that evolution is stubborn in turning back the clock.
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Biological secrets of world's oldest woman, Maria Branyas Morera, revealed after deathA study of a woman who died in 2024 as the oldest person on Earth attempts to untangle the factors that enable some people to ward off disease in old age.
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'Love hormone' oxytocin can pause pregnancy, animal study findsOxytocin, a hormone linked to bonding behaviors, might also help mice modulate their pregnancies. Someday, this line of research could improve our understanding of human fertility.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Alaskan volcano Mount Spurr showing activity that will 'most likely end in an explosive eruption,' scientist saysMount Spurr near Anchorage has been showing signs of unrest for a year. Now scientists think it's creeping closer to an eruption.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Refuge from the worst mass extinction in Earth's history discovered fossilized in ChinaThe End-Permian mass extinction killed an estimated 80% of life on Earth, but new research suggests that plants might have done okay.
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Scientists discover giant blobs deep inside Earth are 'evolving by themselves' — and we may finally know where they come fromGiant regions of the mantle where seismic waves slow down may have formed from subducted ocean crust, a new study finds.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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What counts as a phobia?Specific phobias are out-of-proportion fears to objects, animals or situations, and fortunately, they can be treated.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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'Primordial' helium from the birth of the solar system may be stuck in Earth's coreThe discovery that helium and iron can mix at the temperatures and pressures found at the center of Earth could settle a long-standing debate over how our planet formed.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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