Sofie Bates

Science Writing Intern, Fall 2019

Sofie Bates is the Fall 2019 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a degree in genetics from the University of California, Davis, as well as a master’s in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her writing has appeared in Science, Mongabay, Inside Science, and The Mercury News. As a science videographer, she has filmed and edited videos for Inside Science and The Mercury News.

All Stories by Sofie Bates

  1. Mesophithirus engeli

    Licelike insects munched on dinosaur feathers around 100 million years ago

    Fossils in amber push the origin of feather-feeding insects back over 50 million years, a study finds.

  2. ocean glider

    Stealthy robots with microphones could improve maps of ocean noise

    Recordings from underwater microphones on stealthy robotic gliders could create a better “soundscape” of noises throughout the ocean, researchers say.

  3. Rembrandt self-portrait
    Science & Society

    Why Rembrandt and da Vinci may have painted themselves with skewed eyes

    A strongly dominant eye, not an eye disorder, may explain why some great artists painted themselves with one eye turned outward.

  4. devil worm

    Devil worm genes hold clues for how some animals survive extreme heat

    Devil worms have many extra copies of genes tied to heat stress and cell death, which may help the critters survive deep underground, a study finds.

  5. brain lesions
    Health & Medicine

    A protein helps disease-causing immune cells invade MS patients’ brains

    Blocking the protein may hinder B cells invading the brain in multiple sclerosis, a study in mice and ‘stand-in’ human brain barriers finds.

  6. Caribou herd

    Caribou migrate farther than any other known land animal

    Caribou in Alaska and Canada migrate up to 1,350 kilometers round trip each year, a study reports.

  7. baking smells

    People who lack olfactory bulbs shouldn’t be able to smell. But some women can

    Some women who appear to lack the brain structures that relay scent messages still have an average sense of smell, and scientists have no idea how.

  8. SunBOT

    The first artificial material that follows sunlight may upgrade solar panels


  9. scandium molecule diagram

    Molecular jiggling may explain why some solids shrink when heated

    Scientists may have figured out how scandium fluoride crystals shrink as temperature rises, possibly leading to new insights into superconductors.

  10. Climate

    A new estimate triples the number of people in the path of rising seas

    Sea level rise could flood coastal areas now home to 340 million to 480 million people by 2100, with Asia most affected, a study finds.

  11. aye-aye


    Aye-ayes have a sixth “finger,” or pseudothumb, that may compensate for other, overspecialized fingers by helping the lemurs grip things.

  12. white bellbird

    White bellbirds have the loudest known mating call of any bird

    White bellbirds have the loudest mating call, according to scientists who compared the songs of bellbirds and screaming pihas in the Brazilian Amazon.