Freda Kreier

Science writing intern, Fall 2021

Freda Kreier was an intern at Science News in the fall of 2021. She holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Colorado College and a master’s in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

All Stories by Freda Kreier

  1. barren landscape with chunks that look like rocks
    Space

    An ancient exploding comet may explain why glass litters part of Chile

    A 75-kilometer-long corridor of chunks of glass in the Atacama Desert probably formed when a comet exploded 12,000 years ago, a study finds.

  2. A landscape shot of the Last Ice Area, with the sun setting or rising over ice
    Earth

    Scientists are racing to save the Last Ice Area, an Arctic Noah’s Ark

    The Last Ice Area may be the final refuge for summer sea ice and the creatures that depend on it. Saving it is an ambitious goal with many hurdles.

  3. image of Earth's atmosphere with the troposphere visible in orange
    Earth

    Earth’s lower atmosphere is rising due to climate change

    In the Northern Hemisphere, the upper boundary of the troposphere, the slice of sky closest to the ground, rose 50 to 60 meters a decade from 1980 to 2020.

  4. Mourning gecko
    Life

    Gene-edited stem cells help geckos regrow more perfect tails

    Regenerated gecko tails are a far cry from perfect. Now experiments have coaxed geckos to regrow better ones with nerve tissue and bonelike cartilage.

  5. image of Perseverance rover from above, landing on Mars
    Planetary Science

    What the Perseverance rover’s quiet landing reveals about meteor strikes on Mars

    InSight tried to detect seismic waves created by the arrival of its sister mission, helping scientists uncover how Mars absorbs energy from impacts.

  6. two Siberian sled dogs
    Archaeology

    Dog DNA reveals ancient trade network connecting the Arctic to the outside world

    People in Siberia were exchanging canines and probably other goods as early as 7,000 years ago with cultures as far off as Europe and the Near East.

  7. A capsule containing moon rocks next to a Chinese flag with vehicles in the background
    Astronomy

    China’s lunar rock samples show lava flowed on the moon 2 billion years ago

    The first lunar rocks returned to Earth in more than 40 years show that the moon was volcanically active later than scientists thought.

  8. a person holding a small red chili pepper with their fingertips
    Health & Medicine

    Discovering how we sense temperature and touch wins the 2021 medicine Nobel Prize

    Finding sensors on nerve cells that detect temperature and pressure nets California scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian a Nobel Prize.

  9. An ancient female spider and her egg sac trapped in amber
    Paleontology

    This is the oldest fossil evidence of spider moms taking care of their young

    A spider trapped in amber 99 million years ago guarded her eggs and may have helped raise her young.

  10. rock with fossilized human footprints
    Anthropology

    ‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought

    Prehistoric people’s footprints show that humans were in North America during the height of the last ice age, researchers say.