Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson

Multimedia Editor

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.

All Stories by Helen Thompson

  1. Animals

    Coral reef crab named after Harry Potter characters

    Bizarre rubble-dwelling crab named after critter collector and Harry Potter characters.

  2. Animals

    How hydras know where to regrow their heads

    Regenerating pond animals called hydras inherit structural patterns from their original forms, researchers find.

  3. Animals

    How hydras know where to regrow their heads

    Regenerating pond animals called hydras inherit structural patterns from their original forms, researchers find.

  4. Genetics

    CRISPR used in cows to help fight tuberculosis

    Chinese researchers used a CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editor to make cows more resistant to tuberculosis.

  5. Genetics

    CRISPR used in cows to help fight tuberculosis

    Chinese researchers used a CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editor to make cows more resistant to tuberculosis.

  6. Life

    Why salmonella doesn’t want you to poop out

    Salmonella bacteria fight infection-driven losses in appetite to keep hosts just healthy enough for transmission.

  7. Paleontology

    Bony head ornaments signal some supersized dinosaurs

    Bony headwear, like bumps and horns, is tied to bigger bodies in the theropod dinosaur family tree.

  8. Animals

    Desert ants look to the sky, rely on memory to navigate backward

    Desert ants appear to use a combination of visual memory and celestial cues to make it back to the nest walking butt-first, researchers find.

  9. Animals

    How desert ants navigate walking backward

    Desert ants appear to use a combination of visual memory and celestial cues to make it back to the nest walking butt-first, researchers find.

  10. Animals

    In some ways, hawks hunt like humans

    Raptors may track their prey in similar patterns to primates.

  11. Animals

    Narwhals are really, really good at echolocation

    Audio recordings from the Arctic suggest that narwhals take directional sonar to the extreme.

  12. Animals

    Narwhals are really, really good at echolocation

    Audio recordings from the Arctic suggest that narwhals take directional sonar to the extreme.