Katherine Kornei

Portland

Freelance Science Journalist at Freelance

Award-winning science writer; bylines in Science, NYT, others. Astrophysicist in a previous life. katherine [dot] kornei [at] gmail [dot] com

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Articles

Scientists Spot Sputtering on Mars

4 days ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

Mars’s current atmosphere is downright tenuous—conferring less than 1% the pressure of Earth’s—but there’s good evidence that it was substantially thicker in the past. Researchers have now directly observed atoms escaping in a hitherto unobserved way. That process, known as atmospheric sputtering, may have facilitated Mars’s transition from a watery planet to the arid world it is today, the team reported in Science Advances.
Algunos árboles tropicales se benefician de los rayos

2 weeks ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

This is an authorized translation of an Eos article. Esta es una traducción al español autorizada de un artículo de Eos. De vez en cuando, algunos árboles parecen necesitar una sacudida. Cuando es alcanzado por un rayo, el frondoso Dipteryx oleifera sufre daños mínimos, mientras que los árboles y enredaderas parásitas de las inmediaciones suelen marchitarse o morir por completo.
Cheese in the Time of Industrial Farming and Climate Change

1 month ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

On a summer day not long ago, 10 people gathered to eat cheese in the name of science. They nibbled on small rounds of Cantal, a firm cow’s milk cheese historically produced in south central France, and evaluated more than 25 attributes spanning color, odor, taste, aroma, and texture. The tasting was just one component of a larger study on the effects of shifting cows’ diets from grass to corn because of industrialization and climate change.
The Wildest Ride on a Hurricane Hunter Aircraft

1 month ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

Frank Marks remembers the Diet Coke can floating in front of his face as the plane pitched violently. After several attempts to grab it, he gave up and focused on avoiding the other debris ricocheting around the cabin. Then an engine flamed out, and the pilots dumped 15,000 pounds (6,800 kilograms) of fuel in a last-ditch effort to climb to relative safety without overheating the three working engines. The flight miraculously landed safely in Barbados a few hours later.
A map of Africa's strontium sheds light on the origins of enslaved people

1 month ago | snexplores.org | Katherine Kornei

bioarchaeology: The study of human history through research on the remains of ancient people or of animals closely associated with those people. People who work in this field are known as bioarchaeologists. biological anthropology: The study of variations among humans and how our species has evolved. Biological anthropologists investigate how human behaviors and other traits may trace to genetics and changes in human physiology.
Seafloor amber may hold hints of a tsunami 115 million years ago

1 month ago | sciencenews.org | Katherine Kornei

Wavelike patterns in 115-million-year-old amber suggest that a long-ago tsunami inundated what is now northern Japan, researchers report May 15 in Scientific Reports. Tsunamis can be destructive and, to anything alive nearby, often terrifying. But the physical damage wrought by these giant waves eventually erodes away, typically leaving behind little evidence of their passage.
Some Tropical Trees Benefit from Lightning Strikes

1 month ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

Every now and then, some trees apparently just need a jolt. When struck by lightning, the large-crowned Dipteryx oleifera sustains minimal damage, whereas the trees and parasitic vines in its immediate vicinity often wither away or die altogether. That clearing out of competing vegetation results in a nearly fifteenfold boost in lifetime seed production for D. oleifera, researchers estimated.
See how the Hubble Space Telescope is still revolutionizing astronomy

2 months ago | sciencenews.org | Katherine Kornei

After 35 years, the Hubble Space Telescope is still churning out hits. In just the last year or so, scientists have used the school bus–sized observatory to confirm the first lone black hole, reveal new space rocks created by a NASA asteroid-impact mission and pinpoint the origin of a particularly intense, mysterious burst of radio waves. These findings are a testament to the fact that there’s still plenty of science for the telescope to do.
Large Outdoor Gatherings Expose Event-Goers to Severe Weather

2 months ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

In 2004, the Indianapolis 500 turned into the Indianapolis 450. Organizers shortened the famous automobile race by 20 laps (50 miles) after a tornado touched down near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where more than 200,000 spectators were in attendance. Large outdoor gatherings such as this expose event-goers to the elements, and in some parts of the United States, severe weather can make that pairing deadly.
Cracks on Planetary Surfaces Hint at Water

2 months ago | eos.org | Katherine Kornei

From cracking mud to thawing permafrost, fractured terrain is common on Earth and many planetary surfaces. And the geometry of those fractures is influenced by both the presence of water and how long it’s been around, according to researchers. A team has now proposed a model to predict the evolution of fractured terrain through time. These new findings could be used to unravel the history of water on other worlds.