Sara Hashemi

Sara Hashemi

Sara Hashemi is a science writer and fact-checker currently based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Body, Maisonneuve magazine and more. 

Ice calves off the Breidamerkurjokull, a glacier in Iceland. Some scientists suggest prehistoric glaciers hold the answers to how life evolved on Earth.

How Enormous Glaciers on the Frozen 'Snowball Earth' Might Have Bulldozed the Path to Complex Life on Our Planet

A new study suggests glaciers carved metals out from the Earth’s surface 700 million years ago, leading to chemical reactions in the oceans that set the stage for early animal evolution

The Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles experiences slow-moving landslides that accelerated last fall, according to recent research.

Parts of California Are Sinking, and It Could Worsen the Effects of Sea-Level Rise, NASA Study Finds

The ground in many parts of the state—including Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Central Valley—is subsiding due to groundwater withdrawal, landslides and compacting of sediment

The iceberg A23a, seen in the South Atlantic Ocean near South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in November 2024

The World's Largest Iceberg Runs Aground, Potentially Averting a Collision With Penguin and Seal Breeding Areas

After months of floating, the "megaberg" known as A23a has finally come to a halt roughly 50 miles from South Georgia Island

A broadclub cuttlefish, the second largest cuttlefish species, blends into the ocean floor.

Watch Cuttlefish Use Camouflage to Confuse Crabs, Taking on the Appearance of Coral and Leaves

Scientists have captured footage of the sea creatures using four distinct color-shifting techniques to trick their prey

Blue Ghost captured its first lunar sunrise, marking the beginning of its operations.

See the Striking New Images From the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander, Now the Second Private Spacecraft to Touch Down on the Moon

Firefly Aerospace's lander reached lunar soil early Sunday morning, after a 2.8-million-mile journey lasting 45 days

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide uses a vacuum cleaner aboard the ISS. A new study suggests the space station's sterility may be harmful to astronauts' health.

Is the ISS Too Clean for Astronauts’ Health? New Study Finds the Space Station Lacks Microbial Diversity

Humans have evolved alongside microbes in Earth's environment that help strengthen our immune systems. But sterile living conditions can reduce that beneficial exposure

Nutria have voracious appetites for vegetation, leading them to destroy wetland ecosystems.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wants You to Eat These Giant, Invasive Rodents

As part of National Invasive Species Week, the agency is calling on Americans to “eat the invaders,” including swamp-dwelling nutria

A crocodile wears a satellite tracker in Queensland, Australia. Scientists monitored the reptiles for 15 years and recorded their body temperatures.

Crocodiles in Australia Are Shifting Their Behavior Because of Climate Change, and It Might Harm Their Ability to Hunt

A new study finds that as temperatures rise, the animals are getting hotter, spending less time diving and putting more effort into cooling off

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on November 18, 2024. Debris that recently landed in Europe came from a Falcon 9 launch this month.

SpaceX Rocket Stage Burns Up Over Europe and Crashes in Poland, While Blue Origin Debris Washes Ashore in the Bahamas

The SpaceX rocket failed to deorbit properly, and the Blue Origin debris had already landed as planned in the ocean

A new study suggests lab mice will open the mouths and pull on the tongues of their unconscious companions.

Lab Mice Appear to Offer 'First Aid' Care to Their Unconscious Companions, Even Pulling on Their Tongues

A new study finds that mice will sniff, lick and pull the tongue of other mice that are under anesthesia, serving to open their airways

A pod of 157 false killer whales washed up on a beach in Tasmania.

Pod of 157 False Killer Whales Stranded on a Tasmania Beach Could Not Be Rescued, Wildlife Officials Say

In the area's largest stranding event for the species since the 1970s, experts decided euthanasia was the most humane course of action

Scientists suggest finding extraterrestial intelligence is more likely than thought, arguing that complex life is not a cosmic fluke.

Intelligent Life May Be More Likely to Exist on Other Planets Than Previously Thought, Scientists Say

Researchers present an alternative to the long-held “hard steps” theory to explain the evolution of complex life, suggesting it’s the natural outcome of a habitable environment rather than a lucky break

One of the study authors, Maëlan Tomasek, with a fish. The scientists found that wild fish will start to follow humans for food and can recognize individual divers based on what they're wearing.

Wild Fish Can Tell Human Divers Apart Based on Their Outfits, Study Suggests

Using visual cues, including colors on wetsuits, seabream in the Mediterranean learned to identify researchers that would feed them

A digital optical module of the K3MNeT collaboration telescope, which identified the high-energy neutrino.

A Record-Breaking 'Ghost Particle' From Outer Space Made a Splash of Light in the Mediterranean

The neutrino was 30 times more energetic than any other previously observed particle of its kind. Scientists still don’t know exactly where it came from

Scientists tested how the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) delivers its destructive blows without damaging its own body.

Mantis Shrimp Pack a Punch With the Force of a Bullet—and They Don't Get Hurt. Here's How

In a new study, scientists tested the complex layers in the animal's clubs that serve as mighty shields to absorb the shock of the impact

Scientists found biofluorescence in most species of birds-of-paradise, including the emperor bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea guilielmi), shown here from the American Museum of Natural History's collection.

Birds-of-Paradise Glow to Attract Mates, Adding a Flashy Element to Their Impressive Courtship Displays

Scientists find that 82 percent of birds-of-paradise species show biofluorescence, often on their feathers, throat or inner mouth

By studying seismic waves, researchers are revealing more about the mysterious nature of our planet's inner core.

Earth's Inner Core Is Changing Shape, Study Finds, Indicating Even More Dynamic Shifts Deep Within Our Planet

Seismic wave data previously suggested the Earth’s hot inner core is slowing its spin. Now, researchers say it’s also deforming around the edges

Mice have an instinctive reaction to hide when the shadow of a bird passes over. In a new study, scientists taught the rodents to overcome that fear.

How Can the Brain Overcome Fear? New Study of Mice Offers Clues to PTSD and Anxiety Treatment

Researchers identified two brain areas in mice that helped the animals learn to suppress their instinctive fears of predators

The Schrödinger impact crater near the lunar south pole features two long canyons close by: Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck.

Two of the Moon's Grand Canyons Were Formed in Just Ten Violent Minutes, New Study Suggests

Scientists say Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck—dramatic trenches near the lunar south pole—were carved in a blast that unleashed 130 times the amount of energy in Earth's global nuclear weapons inventory

Eastern gray kangaroo genetic material was used for the study, which produced embryos via IVF.

Scientists Produced the First Kangaroo Embryos Through IVF. They Could Be Key to Marsupial Conservation in Australia

With continued work in the future, the team hopes to promote live births of endangered marsupial species, including Tasmanian devils, koalas and northern hairy-nosed wombats

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