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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How to avoid bird fluThe vast majority of human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. have resulted from direct contact with animals, so a few simple precautions can keep most people's risk very low.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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China reveals secrets of 1st sample taken from the far side of the moon — and it contains a volcanic surpriseActive volcanoes were erupting on the far side of the moon 2.8 billion years ago, the first lunar samples returned from the far side reveal.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
the-moon -
Mathematicians devised novel problems to challenge advanced AIs' reasoning skills — and they failed almost every testCurrent AI models struggle to solve research-level math problems.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
artificial-intelligence -
1 gene may explain 30 mysterious medical conditionsWhile investigating a rare developmental disorder, researchers ended up discovering a spectrum of conditions that are all linked to one gene.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
genetics -
West Coast bracing for 'bomb' cycloneA low-pressure system headed for Northern California and Oregon is likely to bring extreme rain and strong winds.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
weather -
Meteorite found in a drawer at university contains 700-million-year-old evidence of water on MarsThe Lafayette meteorite was discovered in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931, with no clear indication of how it got there. A new analysis of the rock reveals evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
meteoroids -
Teen sickened with Canada's first human case of bird flu is in critical condition — and the source remains a mysteryA teenager in Canada is critically ill with the country's first human case of H5N1 bird flu. Health officials aren't sure how the youth was exposed.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
viruses-infections-disease -
Pando, the world's largest organism, may have been growing nonstop since the 1st humans left Africa, study suggestsThe clonal quaking aspen known as Pando is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
plants -
'Gravity waves' from Hurricane Helene seen rippling through the sky in new NASA imagesHurricane Helene sent gravity waves rippling through the atmosphere far above the southeastern United States, new NASA images reveal.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
cosmology -
We finally know why dogs shake when they're wetWe now know the nerve responsible for dogs shaking water all over your dry clothes.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
dogs -
Death of alien-hunting Arecibo Telescope traced to cable issues 3 years earlier, 'alarming' report findsA scathing new report points to unclear protocols and multiple failures to raise alarms at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico before the collapse of the site's radio telescope in 2020.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
space-exploration -
Indonesia volcano eruption kills at least 10An eruption of Indonesia's Lewotobi Laki-laki stratovolcano rained debris and ash on villages on the island of Flores.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
volcanoes -
When did plate tectonics begin?Earth surface is covered with rigid plates that move, crash into each other and dive into the planet's interior. But when did this process begin?
By Stephanie Pappas Published
geology -
A meteorite 100 times bigger than the dinosaur-killing space rock may have nourished early microbial lifeOn a young Earth, giant meteors might have been a harbinger of life, not death.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
planet-earth -
Father-daughter team decodes 'alien signal' from Mars that stumped the world for a yearA father and daughter team based in the U.S. have decoded a mock "alien signal" beamed from ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter a year ago — but the meaning of the extraterrestrial message remains a mystery.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
extraterrestrial-life -
Earth's mantle is split into two halves thanks to supercontinent PangaeaThe mantle is split up into two domains — the African and the Pacific — that emerged when supercontinent Pangaea broke apart.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
geology -
Astronauts to grow livers in space, where microgravity might help them thriveResearchers think that microgravity could help grow liver "organoids" that could be used in medical research and even in transplant surgeries, someday.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
anatomy -
Mysterious 'blobs' in Earth's mantle are not what we thought, study claimsLava that erupts from hotspots around the world seems to come from a similar ancestral magma, new research finds.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
volcanoes -
Earth's crust may be building mountains by dripping into the mantleAn odd phenomenon called lithospheric dripping might occur wherever mountains form.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
geology -
How strong can hurricanes get?There's a theoretical limit to the maximum sustained wind speeds of hurricanes, but climate change may increase that "speed limit."
By Stephanie Pappas Published
weather -
Scientists restore monkey's vision with a patch made from human stem cellsScientists were able to treat a "macular hole" in a monkey, helping to restore the animal's vision thanks to human stem cells.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
surgery -
Earth's outer core may hold a hidden 'doughnut'A newly discovered doughnut shape in Earth's outer core may reveal elements that help drive the formation of the planet's magnetic field.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
planet-earth -
21 of the best conspiracy theoriesConspiracy theories that have taken hold range from a faked moon landing to Barack Obama's birthplace to chemtrails.
By Stephanie Pappas Last updated
conspiracies-paranormal -
Ancient relative of 'living fossil' fish reveals that geological activity supercharges evolutionThe ancient coelacanth, which has existed for some 419 million years, never stopped evolving despite its reputation as a "living fossil." A new discovery reveals that it evolved faster when plate tectonics were most active.
By Stephanie Pappas Published
evolution

