Rachel Ehrenberg

Previously the interdisciplinary sciences and chemistry reporter and author of the Culture Beaker blog, Rachel has written about new explosives, the perils and promise of 3-D printing and how to detect corruption in networks of email correspondence. Rachel was a 2013-2014 Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT. She has degrees in botany and political science from the University of Vermont and a master’s in evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan. She graduated from the science writing program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

All Stories by Rachel Ehrenberg

  1. Humans

    Jumping on the bandwagon brings rewards

    A study of day traders finds that being in the crowd can lead to better performance.

  2. Better by Design

    Avoiding undesirable traits from the start could help chemists make molecules less meddlesome.

  3. Chemistry

    Light-sensor pulls perplexing double duty

    A long-studied eye pigment appears to also detect temperature, a study in fruit flies shows.

  4. Humans

    Smelling a rat in a bag of chips

    A forensic scientist shares tales from a very special victims unit.

  5. Humans

    Mafia informants fail acid test

    Tests of sulfuric acid on pig carcasses cast doubts on Mafia claims of dissolving murder victims in a matter of minutes.

  6. Tech

    Model copes with chaos to deliver relief

    A computer program can get supplies to disaster areas efficiently even when the transportation system is part of the problem.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Brain cells start sending signals early

    Fetal neurons show firing patterns similar to those seen in sleeping adults.

  8. Tech

    The numbers prove it: This is a data age

    An assessment of the world’s computing capacity documents a staggering rise in power and storage since 1986.

  9. Physics

    X-raying life’s microscopic machinery

    A powerful new laser technique promises to reveal the cell’s molecular components in detailed, 3-D images.

  10. Math

    Unnatural selection

    Inflicting damage on targeted species can help preserve perturbed ecosystems.

  11. Chemistry

    Wee work-around lets microbes thrive

    Some crafty, salt-loving cells use stolen equipment for processing a key cellular building block.

  12. Chemistry

    Bitter flavors boost hunger hormone

    Experiments in mice may help explain the allure of the aperitif.