Carolyn Gramling

Earth & Climate Writer, Science News

Carolyn is the Earth & Climate writer at Science News. Previously she worked at Science magazine for six years, both as a reporter covering paleontology and polar science and as the editor of the news in brief section. Before that she was a reporter and editor at EARTH magazine. She has bachelor’s degrees in Geology and European History and a Ph.D. in marine geochemistry from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She’s also a former Science News intern.

All Stories by Carolyn Gramling

  1. Materials Science

    This house is partly made of recycled diapers

    After being washed, dried, sanitized and shredded, used diapers were mixed with other materials to make a strong concrete.

  2. Climate

    Explainer: What is an atmospheric river?

    These long-traveling storm systems bring moisture to many parts of the world. Here’s what scientists are learning about them.

  3. Environment

    Rare-earth mining is dirty but key to a climate-friendlier future

    That’s spurring new research to find a steady but safer supply of these precious metals, including in the United States.

  4. Chemistry

    Chemists have unlocked the secrets of long-lasting Roman concrete

    By searching ancient texts and ruins, scientists found a concrete recipe that could make buildings stronger — and help address climate change.

  5. Fossils

    An ancient ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground

    Some 230 million years ago, huge dolphin-like reptiles appear to have gathered to breed in safe waters, just as many whales do today.

  6. Fossils

    Sprinting reptiles may have been forerunners of soaring pterosaurs

    A new analysis of an old fossil supports the idea that winged pterosaurs evolved from swift and tiny two-legged ancestors.

  7. Climate

    Heat waves appear more life-threatening than scientists once thought

    This is bad news as a warming planet leads to growing numbers of excessive heat waves — and millions more people facing potentially deadly temperatures.

  8. Fossils

    Warm feathers may have helped dinos survive mass Triassic die-off

    Dinosaurs may have weathered freezing conditions about 202 million years ago, thanks to warm feathery coats.

  9. Fossils

    This big dino had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool

    A predecessor to Tyrannosaurus rex, Meraxes gigas had a giant head. But the muscularity of its puny arms suggests those limbs served some purpose.

  10. Fossils

    Great white sharks may be partly to blame for the end of megalodons

    Zinc levels in shark teeth hint that megalodons and great whites competed for food — and great whites won.

  11. Fossils

    Bright-colored feathers may have topped pterosaurs’ heads

    Fossil remains of a flying reptile hint that their vibrant crests may have originated 250 million years ago in a common ancestor with dinosaurs.

  12. Oceans

    Night lights make even the seas bright

    Light from coastal cities and offshore development may shine deep enough to disrupt tiny critters living dozens of meters (yards) below the surface.