Erin Garcia de Jesús

Staff Writer

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. Life

    European fire ant chemicals may send spiders scurrying away

    Black widows and some other common spider species avoid spaces where fire ants once roamed, suggesting the insects could inspire a spider repellent.

  2. Health & Medicine

    As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we answer 7 lingering vaccine questions

    As U.S. vaccination efforts shift to get shots to the hard-to-reach, we take a look at some big questions about vaccines that still remain.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Here’s what breakthrough infections reveal about COVID-19 vaccines

    Studies analyzing vaccinated people in the real world show that COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective, but experts are keeping an eye on variants.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Here’s what we know about B.1.1.7, the U.S.’s dominant coronavirus strain

    Studies show the variant is more contagious and may cause more severe COVID-19 overall. But vaccines still work against B.1.1.7.

  5. Health & Medicine

    People with rare blood clots after a COVID-19 jab share an uncommon immune response

    AstraZeneca’s and J&J’s shots are linked to antibodies that spark clots. Knowing that lets doctors ID cases and get patients the right treatment.

  6. Health & Medicine

    U.S. pauses J&J vaccine rollout after 6 people of 6.8 million get rare blood clots

    The COVID-19 vaccine’s pause is out of abundance of caution, experts say. The potentially deadly clots appear to be “extremely rare.”

  7. Health & Medicine

    AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is tied to uncommon blood clots in rare cases

    Blood clots should be listed as a possible side effect of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, but its benefits still outweigh the risks, experts say.

  8. Health & Medicine

    4 takeaways from the WHO’s report on the origins of the coronavirus

    The leading hypothesis is that the coronavirus spread to people from bats via a yet-to-be-identified animal, but no animals have tested positive so far.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine has 100 percent efficacy in young people

    Vaccinated 12- to 15-year-olds developed higher levels of coronavirus antibodies compared with vaccinated 16- to 25-year-olds from a previous trial.

  10. Animals

    A gene defect may make rabbits do handstands instead of hop

    Mutations in a gene typically found throughout the nervous system rob rabbits of their ability to hop. Instead, the animals walk on their front paws.

  11. Health & Medicine

    AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine holds up in an updated analysis of trial data

    The redo dropped the overall efficacy of AstraZeneca’s vaccine from 79 percent to 76 percent. But a slight fluctuation is not unexpected, experts say.

  12. Health & Medicine

    AstraZeneca says its COVID-19 vaccine is 79 percent effective in a U.S. trial

    The shot was 80 percent effective at preventing illness in people 65 and older and prevented severe disease and hospitalization.