Erin Garcia de Jesús is a staff writer at Science News. She holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Washington, where she studied virus/host co-evolution. After deciding science as a whole was too fascinating to spend a career studying one topic, she went on to earn a master’s in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her writing has appeared in Nature News, Science, Eos, Smithsonian Voices and more, and she was the winter 2019 science writing intern at Science News.

All Stories by Erin Garcia de Jesús

  1. Health & Medicine

    New delta variant studies show the pandemic is far from over

    The coronavirus’s delta variant is different from earlier strains of the virus in worrying ways, health officials are discovering.

  2. Animals

    Viruses can kill wasp larvae that grow inside infected caterpillars

    Proteins found in viruses and some moths can protect caterpillars from parasitoid wasps seeking a living nursery for their eggs.

  3. Life

    Near-invincible tardigrades may see only in black and white

    A genetic analysis suggests that water bears don’t have light-sensing proteins to detect ultraviolet light or color.

  4. Health & Medicine

    What experts know so far about COVID-19 boosters for immunocompromised people

    Some immunocompromised people remain at risk for severe COVID-19 despite being vaccinated. Studies hint that an additional vaccine dose might help.

  5. Health & Medicine

    The coronavirus cuts cells’ hairlike cilia, which may help it invade the lungs

    Images show that the coronavirus clears the respiratory tract of hairlike structures called cilia, which keep foreign objects out of the lungs.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Millions of kids have missed routine vaccines thanks to COVID-19

    Missed shots due to the pandemic may have cut vaccination rates for measles, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis to their lowest levels in over a decade.

  7. Health & Medicine

    One mutation may have set the coronavirus up to become a global menace

    A study pinpoints a key mutation that may have put a bat coronavirus on the path to becoming a human pathogen, helping it better infect human cells.

  8. Health & Medicine

    How antibodies may cause rare blood clots after some COVID-19 vaccines

    Vaccine-induced antibodies attach to a specific spot on a protein involved in clot formation, a study suggests.

  9. Health & Medicine

    What experts know so far about the delta variant

    The variant, which first emerged in India, is outcompeting other highly transmissible forms of the coronavirus as it spreads around the world.

  10. Health & Medicine

    A malaria vaccine with live parasites shows promise in a small trial

    After taking anti-malarial drugs after each vaccine dose to clear the parasite from the body, volunteers appeared well-protected from infection.

  11. Genetics

    Embryos appear to reverse their biological clock early in development

    A new study suggests that the biological age of both mouse and human embryos resets during development.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Here’s what you should know about COVID-19 vaccine booster shots

    No one knows if coronavirus booster shots will be necessary. But researchers are working on figuring that out.