photo of Ashley Yeager

Ashley Yeager

Associate News Editor

Ashley Yeager is the associate news editor at Science News. Previously, she worked at The Scientist, where she was an associate editor for nearly three years. She has also worked as a freelance editor and writer, and as a writer at the Simons Foundation, Duke University and the W.M. Keck Observatory. She was the web producer for Science News from 2013 to 2015, and was an intern at the magazine in the summer of 2008. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Her book, Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter and Beyond, on the life of astronomer Vera Rubin, will be published by MIT Press in August.

All Stories by Ashley Yeager

  1. Physics

    Precision measurement of antimatter made

    The charge of antihydrogen atoms is essentially neutral, even out to eight decimal places, a new precision measurement made at CERN shows.

  2. Microbes

    Irish potato famine microbe traced to Mexico

    The pathogen that triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s originated in central Mexico, not the Andes, as some studies had suggested.

  3. Materials Science

    Jets of salty water make cellulose strands stronger

    When blasted by jets of water, nanoscale fibers of cellulose align to form ultra-tough strands that rival the strength of steel, a new study shows.

  4. Astronomy

    Kepler space telescope finds first ‘mega-Earth’

    'Mega-Earth' has been added to the distinctions that describe exoplanets thanks to a newly announced Kepler space telescope discovery.

  5. Planetary Science

    Titan’s haze gives clues to clouds on exoplanets

    Titan’s hazy atmosphere may help astronomers better understand what’s going on in the clouds of exoplanets.

  6. Cosmology

    2014 Kavli Prize winners announced

    Cosmic inflation, nanoscale imaging and a better understanding of memory earn million-dollar honors with the Kavli Prize.

  7. Animals

    Toxic toad infiltrates Madagascar

    Asian common toads may have hopped a ride to Madagascar and could pose an ecological risk to the island's native species.

  8. Life

    Human use energy in brains, muscles differently than chimps do

    The way our brains and muscles use energy is strikingly distinct compared with chimpanzees' metabolism in these tissues, a finding that may explain the major differences between the two species.

  9. Science & Society

    Stem cell scientist reportedly agrees to retract controversial paper

    Japanese stem cell scientist Haruko Obokata has agreed to retract one of the Jan. 30 Nature papers on STAP cells.

  10. Animals

    Zebra finches can detect variations in human speech

    When humans vary the pitch or rhythm of their speech, zebra finches perceive the changes, suggesting that the ability to detect such variations is not linked to language.

  11. Paleontology

    Age and origin of Earth’s early fossils questioned

    Some of Earth's earliest trace fossils may not be fossils at all, a new study argues.

  12. Life

    Ebola vaccine shows promise for saving apes

    Results of a clinical trial suggest that vaccination of wild apes could protect them from infectious diseases.