Erin Garcia de Jesús

Staff Writer

Erin Garcia de Jesús is a staff writer at Science News. She holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Washington, where she studied virus/host co-evolution. After deciding science as a whole was too fascinating to spend a career studying one topic, she went on to earn a master’s in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her writing has appeared in Nature News, Science, Eos, Smithsonian Voices and more, and she was the winter 2019 science writing intern at Science News.

All Stories by Erin Garcia de Jesús

  1. Three Halteria ciliates shown on a blue background
    Microbes

    Scientists have found the first known microbes that can eat only viruses

    Lab experiments show that Halteria ciliates can chow down solely on viruses. Whether these “virovores” do the same in the wild is unclear.

  2. A line of people wearing masks wait in line behind a sign for free COVID-19 vaccines.
    Health & Medicine

    Here’s what you need to know about COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ variant

    XBB.1.5, an offshoot of the coronavirus’s omicron variant, can hide from parts of the immune system, but vaccines and some treatments still work.

  3. A close up photo of a fossilized male katydid
    Paleontology

    Katydids had the earliest known insect ears 160 million years ago

    Fossils from the Jurassic Period show katydid ears looked identical to those of modern katydids and could pick up short-range calls.

  4. illustration of mpox virions
    Health & Medicine

    Viruses other than the coronavirus made headlines in 2022

    Here’s the latest on monkeypox, Ebola, bird flu and other outbreaks that hit this year.

  5. Several people hold up glasses of beer in a cheers motion
    Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, a ‘cure’ for intoxication showed promise

    In 1972, vitamin and chemical injections reduced the amount of time that rats fed alcohol spent drunk. The science has yet to pan out for people.

  6. A photo of 16 month old Ayla Bashir sitting in her mothers lap
    Health & Medicine

    This child was treated for a rare genetic disease while still in the womb

    Babies born with infantile-onset Pompe disease typically have enlarged hearts and weak muscles. But 1-year-old Ayla has a normal heart and walks.

  7. An illustration of a large green coronavirus, with a purple and red coronavirus breaking through the right half of the larger virus. The backdrop is multicolored scan lines on the left half and plain gray on the right
    Health & Medicine

    A swarm of sneaky omicron variants could cause a COVID-19 surge this fall

    Scientists are tracking similar mutations showing up in many variants that help the coronavirus evade some of our immune defenses and treatments.

  8. a microscopic image of a Madagascar giant day gecko hand, showing cyan-colored nerve cells amidst yellow and orange collagen, against a black backdrop
    Life

    A glimpse inside a gecko’s hand won the 2022 Nikon Small World photo contest

    The annual competition highlights microscopic images that bring the smallest details from science and nature to life.

  9. Microscope image of a cell infected with SARS-CoV-2
    Health & Medicine

    ‘Breathless’ explores COVID-19’s origins and other pandemic science

    In his new book, David Quammen examines what we’ve learned about SARS-CoV-2 and puts the pandemic in the context of previous coronavirus scares.

  10. Image of Pangaea
    Earth

    50 years ago, scientists dug into Pangaea’s past lives

    In 1972, scientists wondered whether Pangaea was Earth’s only supercontinent. Fifty years later, we know it wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last.

  11. illustration of a blue immune cell gobbling up rainbow-colored immune proteins
    Health & Medicine

    5 people with lupus are in remission after CAR-T cell treatment

    More than six months after CAR-T cell treatment, five patients are in remission and have functional immune systems.

  12. Photo of a child receiving an oral dose of a polio vaccine
    Health & Medicine

    Poliovirus is spreading in New York. Here’s what you need to know

    With signs of poliovirus spreading in a handful of counties in New York, unvaccinated people could be at risk of paralytic polio.