When it comes to vaccination, bad news is contagious
And on Twitter, good information apparently does not bear repeating.
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Kate Shaw Yoshida
Associate Writer
kate.shaw@meincmagazine.com
Kate is a freelance contributor to Ars Technica. She recently received a dual Ph.D. in Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior from Michigan State University, spending much of her graduate career following the daily trials and tribulations of a motley crew of spotted hyenas in Kenya. Finally retired from chasing carnivores, she has settled down in Southern Nevada and is pursuing a career in science writing.
Recent stories by
Kate Shaw Yoshida
By building “fairy circles,” termites engineer their own ecosystem
These barren circles allow water to collect in the desert.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Action-packed video games may help dyslexic kids learn to read
Nine days on the Wii equalled a year of traditional therapy.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Mass whale strandings aren’t all in the family
Study: Beached whales aren’t caused by failed family rescues.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Plants make bees remember them fondly with a jolt of caffeine
Foraging bees get a morning buzz through plant nectar that enhances memory.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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In new bodies, brain cells find longer lives
Transplanted mouse neurons survive for twice the lifespan of a mouse.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Bees can sense—and learn from—the electric fields of flowers
Can zero in on flowers with specific electrical field shapes.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Anti-anxiety drugs in wastewater impact fish behavior
Benzodiazepines make fish bold, aggressive eaters.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Most Read
Moth pilots robot to a (faux) booty call
A trackball lets a moth drive a mech towards some mating pheromones.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Is scientific genius a thing of the past?
A psychologist argues structural changes have eliminated the space for genius.
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Did antibiotics spur the sexual revolution?
A cure for syphilis lowered the “cost” of sex, says one economist.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Mini penguincam catches birds’ hunting success
One Adélie penguin nabbed 14 fish in 20 seconds.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Fire ant “supergene” controls social behavior
Cluster of genes acts like a sex chromosome, but modifies ant interactions.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Parasitic wasp larvae clean house by sanitizing cockroaches
Make sure they don’t pick up germs while eating the roach from inside out.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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BMJ‘s Christmas issue, where scientists show off a sense of humor
Red nosed reindeer, the tooth fairy, and diagnostic dogs all feature.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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What we know—and don’t know—about the biology of homosexuality
New epigentics hypothesis gets a lot of press—and is misreported.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Prickly porcupine quills may hold clues for medical technology
Nature has a history of inspiring man-made materials: look to Velcro and swimsuits.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Wormholes: not just for physicists anymore
A biologist investigates old illustrations to find new data about bugs.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Shifting sexes and sequential hermaphrodites: How sex is determined
Deciding sex in the animal kingdom isn’t always straightforward.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Humans may have company when it comes to midlife crises
Do middle-aged chimps get the urge to buy an expensive European roadster?
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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99 problems but fMRI ain’t one: Rappers help scientists study creativity
Top down control takes some time off as words start to flow.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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38
Stone tools hint at the origins of the modern human mind
Study suggests complex behaviors were handed down for tens of thousands of years.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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45
For redheads, skin cancer may be in the genes
Even without exposure to the sun, redheads may be more at-risk for melanoma.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Playing tricks on invasive rats may help keep birds from vanishing
Decoupling the scent of birds from a tasty meal may get the rats to ignore it.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Following malaria through Kenya using cell phones
Cell phone records and malaria incidence combined to track the disease’s spread.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Scientists ask for legal safeguards to keep their work out of court
Oil spill researchers have their preliminary data subpoenaed by BP.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Cooperation comes easily but thinking makes us selfish
Stopping to think makes research subjects less generous.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Scientists, what will your career look like in ten years?
Study attempts to predict future success—in terms of h-indices—through 5 factors.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Birds of a feather flock together, even in death
Scrub jays gather at the bodies of their peers and make a racket.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Pregnant males and pseudopenises: complex sex in the animal kingdom
Think sex and gender are simple? Nature says otherwise.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Federal report condemns animal cognition researcher for misconduct
Ex-Harvard professor did not do all the research he claimed to have done.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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34
Tigers take to the night in order to thrive among humans
A new study suggests that endangered carnivores and humans can share habitats.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Crime and punishment, chimpanzee-style
Chimps won’t punish transgressions unless they were the victim.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Citizen scientists may beat the pros in identifying at-risk species
Endangered species listed through lawsuits and petitions at greater risk.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Male sandpipers do better by choosing sex over sleep
Researchers test a surprising hypothesis to explain why animals sleep.
Kate Shaw Yoshida
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Nest-making orangutans build for comfort and strength
Many great apes build nests to sleep in at night, and these structures are an …
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