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. Animals

    A mink in Utah is the first known case of the coronavirus in a wild animal

    A U.S. mink is so far the only known free-ranging animal to have contracted the coronavirus and likely got infected from a nearby mink farm.

  2. Health & Medicine

    How some ticks protect themselves from deadly bacteria on human skin

    A gene that ticks acquired from bacteria 40 million years ago may help the arachnids keep potential pathogens at bay while feeding on blood.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Immunity to COVID-19 may persist six months or more

    Even after recovery, the body continues to improve its antibody response to the coronavirus — perhaps thanks to viral bits hiding in the intestine.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is nearly 95 percent effective

    Another coronavirus vaccine appears to be very effective in preventing people from developing COVID-19 symptoms.

  5. Chemistry

    A new portable device can reveal a chili pepper’s heat

    The “Chilica-pod” measures levels of the fiery capsaicin compound in peppers.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective, preliminary trial data show

    An analysis of 94 COVID-19 cases shows that the mRNA-based vaccine can protect people from getting sick, though the trial is ongoing.

  7. Health & Medicine

    How COVID-19 may trigger dangerous blood clots

    Clots may stem from net-casting immune cells that, instead of fighting a coronavirus infection, capture red blood cells and platelets.

  8. Microbes

    How malaria parasites hide from the human immune system

    By turning genes on or off, the parasite keeps blood levels low but persistent, so infection doesn’t set off alarm bells for the immune system.

  9. Humans

    We still don’t know what COVID-19 immunity means or how long it lasts

    Without knowing how long immunity lasts, it may be impossible to reach herd immunity without a vaccine or an extremely high death toll.

  10. Life

    A glowing zebrafish wins the 2020 Nikon Small World photography contest

    The annual competition features snapshots that use microscopy to reveal some of Earth’s smallest hidden marvels.

  11. Science & Society

    ‘Great Adaptations’ unravels mysteries of amazing animal abilities

    Kenneth Catania has resorted to some unusual experiments to understand the lives of star-nosed moles, electric eels and other remarkable animals.

  12. Health & Medicine

    How will Trump’s COVID-19 treatments work together?

    Remdesivir, dexamethasone and monoclonal antibodies have individually shown success in clinical trials, but combining them is untested.