Portfolio
Here is a selection of my bylines. The articles are chronologically ordered, from latest to oldest. A longer list is on my MuckRack profile.
The brain after blindness: How newly-sighted people build a visual world
When people born blind gain sight, the hardest part isn’t opening their eyes — it’s teaching the brain how to see. Read more on Big Think.
Ocean sentinels
Autonomous floats in the world’s oceans provide new insight on marine nutrient cycles and, ultimately, our changing climate. Read more on Photonics Focus.
A shocking explanation for tape’s distinctive screech
Fast-moving cracks in tape’s adhesive layer produce shock waves that make the stuff sing as it unrolls. Read more on Science Magazine.
Easy on the eyes is also easy on the brain
Aesthetic preferences may have evolved as a brain energy–saving mechanism. Read more on Science News.
Recreating iceberg flips in a lab
Experiments with small, floating slabs of ice have revealed melting-induced shape changes that may explain why icebergs sometimes flip over. Read more on Physics Magazine.
Bats may mistake wind turbines for open sky, causing deadly collisions
Moonlight reflecting off wind turbine blades may attract bats. Read more on Science Magazine.
The secret disorder of squids
A structural phenomenon traditionally confined to inanimate systems has now been observed in biology. Read more on Physics Magazine.
Your mind shapes how food tastes before the first bite
Scientists are now uncovering how expectations influence our subjective experience of food. Read more on Big Think.
Flexible semiconductor made from hydrogel
A new recipe for making hydrogels delivers a material that is both flexible and semiconducting—desired properties for interfaces in implantable medical devices. Read more on Physics Magazine.
Decoding bird flu: New research reveals potential route for human infection
Human cases of bird flu remain rare. But mutations in the virus's genome could change that. Read more on Big Think.
Diverse genomes make medicine more equitable
Genomic datasets are not representative of global diversity. This is not only inequitable but also leads to missed opportunities. Read more on Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.
How sleep deprivation helps some animals outperform the competition
Many animals can function just as well on less sleep. What explains this? Read more on Big Think.
The oceans are running a fever
Increasing marine heatwaves are breaking the resilience of aquatic life with long-term consequences for coastal communities. Read more on Asian Scientist.
Rethinking clinical trials for rare diseases
Clinical trials traditionally test new treatments on large cohorts of patients. But what if the treatment is for a condition which affects a very small number of people? Read more on The Biologist.
How the “powerhouse of the cell” could be cancer’s Achilles heel
A new discovery shows how to put cancer cells on the immune system’s radar. Read more on Freethink.
Spatialomics: Life in 3D
Spatial omics is allowing biologists to reveal the finer details of human development, particularly in the developing embryo. Read more on The Biologist.
How an animal rescue tool helped control rabies in an Indian city
The monitoring tool might still be underestimating the disease’s true prevalence. Read more on Asian Scientist.
Stress in the city
The new field of urban endocrinology is exploring how animals use hormones to adapt to life in city environments. Read more on The Biologist.
BacCam: capturing images In DNA
How to store images directly in living bacteria using optogenetics and DNA barcodes? Read about this study on Asian Scientist.
Can we burn metal for heat, instead of fossil fuels?
Experiments on suborbital rockets are revealing how to make a better iron furnace. Read more on Freethink.
Gravitational waves reveal universe’s expansion
Gravitational wave cosmology is opening a new window into the universe’s past. Read more on Asian Scientist.
Saving tigers helped reduce India’s carbon emissions
Research shows that tiger conservation interventions prevented forest loss, leading to reduced emissions and ecosystem benefits. Read more on Asian Scientist.
How generative AI language models are unlocking the secrets of DNA
From gene expression to protein design, large language models are creating a suite of powerful genomic tools. Read more on Big Think.
A banana that doesn’t go bad so fast approved by the Philippines
A new kind of biotech could save billions of bananas every year — and maybe even prevent them from going extinct. Read more on Freethink.
Why did humans evolve curly scalp hair?
Human hair is unique: Members of no other species have hairy heads on relatively hairless bodies. Read more on Big Think.
Greening the city: pockets of hope for urban biodiversity
Cities are adopting green infrastructure to become more climate-resilient. These measures are reviving all kinds of urban biodiversity as well. Read more on The Progress Network.
A psychopath, a narcissist, and a Machiavellian walk into a bar
A study examined how dark triad personality traits correlated with comic styles. Read more on Big Think.
Transhumanism: savior of humanity or false prophecy?
Proponents of transhumanism make big promises, such as a future in which we upload our minds into a supercomputer. But there is a fatal flaw in this argument. Read more on Big Think.
Why evolution repeatedly selects symmetrical structures
Symmetrical objects are less complex than non-symmetrical ones. Perhaps evolution acts as an algorithm with a bias toward simplicity. Read more on Big Think.
From drugs to chemical weapons with a flip of an AI switch
With some tweaks, drug discovery AI can discover weapons. Read more on Freethink.
Feed additives put the brakes on cattle methane emissions
Research into how feed additives interact with the cattle gut microbiome is paving the way towards a new strategy to tackle one of the main contributors to global warming. Read more on Labiotech.eu.