Saima S. Iqbal

Science Writing Intern, Fall 2023

Saima Iqbal was the fall 2023 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, where she studied the history of medicine, conducted research on cancer immunotherapies, and fell in love with narrative science writing.

All Stories by Saima S. Iqbal

  1. Health & Medicine

    Aimee Grant investigates the needs of autistic people

    The public health researcher focuses on what kinds of support people with autism need rather than on treating the condition as a disease to cure.

  2. Animals

    A new exhibit invites you into the ‘Secret World of Elephants’

    As elephants face survival threats, the American Museum of Natural History highlights their pivotal role in shaping landscapes — and their resilience.

  3. Science & Society

    History buffs will dig these 5 science stories from 2023

    This year, new science threw the lives (and deaths) of Beethoven and other historical figures into sharp relief.

  4. Animals

    Here are 5 questions about the mystery dog illness making news

    Experts suspect a perfect storm of conditions, rather than a new bug, is what’s driving “atypical kennel cough” cases in dogs across the United States.

  5. Animals

    Fish beware: Bottlenosed dolphins may be able to pick up your heartbeat

    Fish, sharks and platypuses are adept at sensing electrical signals living things give off. Bottlenosed dolphins make that list too, studies suggests.

  6. Animals

    The first embryos from a mammal have now been grown in space

    Mouse embryos in space can develop into clusters of cells called blastocysts. The result is a step toward understanding how human embryos will fare.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Why a popular breast cancer drug may be less effective for some Africans

    A genetic variant commonly found in certain African populations appears to impair tamoxifen’s ability to tackle breast cancer.

  8. Animals

    At the foot of a melting glacier in Peru, llamas helped revitalize the land

    A partnership between scientists and farmers suggests how llama herding can mitigate some of the impacts of climate change.

  9. Paleontology

    Dinosaur feathers may have been more birdlike than previously thought

    Feather proteins can change during fossilization, raising questions about what dinosaur feathers really can tell us about feather evolution.

  10. Animals

    In a first, genetically modified silkworms produced pure spider silk

    An effort to engineer silkworms to produce spider silk brings us closer than ever to exploiting the extraordinary properties of this arachnid fiber.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Here’s how much coronavirus people infected with COVID-19 may exhale

    Just breathing naturally can lead people with COVID-19 to emit dozens of copies of viral RNA a minute and that can persist for eight days, a study finds.