Helen Thompson is the multimedia editor at Science News. She makes videos, creates data visuals, helps manage the website, wrangles cats and occasionally writes about things like dandelion flight and whale evolution. She has undergraduate degrees in biology and English from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, a master’s degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and strong opinions about tacos. Before Science News, she wrote for Smithsonian, NPR.org, National Geographic, Nature and others.
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All Stories by Helen Thompson
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Animals
Big slimy lips are the secret to this fish’s coral diet
A new imaging study reveals how tubelip wrasses manage to munch on stinging corals.
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Genetics
Mummy DNA unveils the history of ancient Egyptian hookups
A study of DNA extracted from Egyptian mummies untangles ancient ancestry and attempts to resolve quality issues.
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Paleontology
Sea scorpions slashed victims with swordlike tails
Ancient sea scorpion used a flexible, swordlike tail to hack at prey and defend against predators.
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Animals
Petite parrots provide insight into early flight
High-speed video shows that tiny parrots direct their hops to use the least amount of energy necessary.
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Climate
Higher temperatures could trigger an uptick in damselfly cannibalism
Experiments in the lab suggest that increases in temperature could indirectly lead to an increase in cannibalistic damselfly nymphs.
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Animals
Watch male cuttlefish fight over a female in the wild
For the first time, researchers have observed the competitive mating behaviors of the European cuttlefish in the field.
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Tech
New pelvic exoskeleton stops people from taking tumbles
A new exoskeleton helps people prone to falling stay on their feet.
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Animals
Trackers may tip a warbler’s odds of returning to its nest
Geolocator devices that help track migrating birds could also hamper migration survival or timing.
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Animals
Big dads carry weight among wandering albatrosses
For male albatrosses, bulking up impacts survival and reproduction.
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Animals
Dog DNA study maps breeds across the world
Here are five findings from a massive study of dog breed genomes.
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Health & Medicine
Frog slime protein fights off the flu
Urumin, a protein found in Indian frog mucus secretions, has a knack for taking down H1 flu viruses, a new study finds.
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Health & Medicine
Frog slime protein fights off the flu
Urumin, a protein found in Indian frog mucus secretions, has a knack for taking down H1 flu viruses, a new study finds.