Sarah Zielinski

Sarah Zielinski

Editor, Print at Science News Explores

Sarah Zielinski wanted to be a marine biologist when she was growing up, but after graduating from Cornell University with a B.A. in biology, and a stint at the National Science Foundation, she realized that she didn’t want to spend her life studying just one area of science — she wanted to learn about it all and share that knowledge with the public. In 2004, she received an M.A. in journalism from New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program and began a career in science journalism. She worked as a science writer and editor at the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the American Geophysical Union’s newspaper Eos and Smithsonian magazine before becoming a freelancer. During that time, she started her blog, Wild Things, and moved it to Science News magazine, and then became an editor for and frequent contributor to Science News Explores. Her work has also appeared in Slate, Science, Scientific American, Discover and National Geographic News. She is the winner of the DCSWA 2010 Science News Brief Award and editor of the winner of the Gold Award for Children’s Science News in the 2015 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards, “Where will lightning strike?” published in Science News Explores. In 2005, she was a Marine Biological Laboratory Science Journalism Fellow.

All Stories by Sarah Zielinski

  1. Animals

    Ivory listings found on Craigslist as elephant poaching continues

    Elephants are hunted by the thousands to meet demand for ivory products.

  2. Animals

    Lazy sunfish are actually active predators

    Ocean sunfish were once thought to be drifting eaters of jellyfish. But they’re not, new research shows.

  3. Plants

    A protein battle underlies the beauty of orchids

    The petal-and-lip shape that draws pollinators to orchids results from a competition between two protein complexes, a new study finds.

  4. Paleontology

    Your toy stegosaurus may be a girl

    Male and female stegosaurs may have looked different, a new study finds.

  5. Animals

    Growth of mining on land may promote invasions at sea

    Ballast water taken in to keep ships stable could, when discharged elsewhere, release species that become invasive in their new homes.

  6. Ecosystems

    Before you plant this spring, consider the birds

    A study of Chicago neighborhoods finds that the plants in private yards influence the variety of birds that live in the area.

  7. Animals

    How many manatees live in Florida?

    The most recent official count reports more than 6,000 manatees in Florida waters, but a new estimate may give a better picture of the population.

  8. Flight delayed: There’s a coyote on the runway

    A new study tallies up airport incidents involving carnivores and finds coyotes are the biggest threat.

  9. Animals

    Tiny sea turtles are swimmers, not drifters

    Young green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles moved in different directions than instruments set adrift in the sea, which shows the animals were swimming.

  10. Animals

    Eggs and other land foods won’t feed polar bears

    Polar bears will not be able to survive on land by eating birds, eggs and vegetation, a new review concludes.

  11. Animals

    How human activities may be creating coywolves

    Endangered red wolves will mate with coyotes when their partners are killed, which often happens because of human activities, a new study finds.

  12. Animals

    ‘If you build it they will come’ fails for turtle crossings

    Turtles and snakes barely used an ecopassage built to make their movements safer. Scientists blame poor fencing that failed to keep them off the roadway.