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. Neuroscience

    Pain promoter also acts as pain reliever

    A pain-sensing protein also regulates activity of pain-relieving opioids.

  2. Life

    Force-detecting protein senses when lungs fill with air

    A study in mice pinpoints a force-detecting protein that regulates breathing, previously implicated in touch.

  3. Life

    Year in review: ‘Minimal genome’ makes its debut

    A synthetic cell reported this year jettisons unnecessary genes and embraces human design principles.

  4. Life

    Public, doctors alike confused about food allergies

    Gaps in understanding food allergies cause confusion and make it difficult to prevent, diagnose and treat them.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Low social status leads to off-kilter immune system

    Low social status tips immune system toward inflammation seen in chronic diseases, a monkey study shows.

  6. Genetics

    Cancer mutation patterns differ in smokers, nonsmokers

    The DNA of smokers shows more damage than the DNA of nonsmokers who have the same kind of cancer.

  7. Climate

    Warmer waters bring earlier plankton blooms

    As oceans warm, phytoplankton grow quickly.

  8. Life

    Placenta protectors no match for toxic Strep B pigment

    Strep B uses a toxic pigment made of fat to kill immune system cells, spurring preterm labor and dangerous infections, a monkey study shows.

  9. Neuroscience

    Sleep deprivation hits some brain areas hard

    Brain scan study reveals hodgepodge effects of sleep deprivation.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Anesthesia steals consciousness in stages

    Brains regions that are synchronized when awake stop communicating as monkeys drift off.

  11. Neuroscience

    Post-stroke shifts in gut bacteria could cause additional brain injury

    The gut’s microbial population influences how mice fare after a stroke, suggesting that poop pills might one day prove therapeutic following brain injury.

  12. Tech

    High-fashion goes high-tech in ‘#techstyle’

    ‘#techstyle,’ an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, considers how technological innovations such as 3-D printing are influencing fashion.