McKenzie Prillaman

Science Writing Intern, Spring 2023

McKenzie Prillaman was the Spring 2023 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with a minor in bioethics from the University of Virginia. She also studied adolescent nicotine dependence as a postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. After figuring out she’d rather explain scientific research than conduct it, she worked at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and then earned a master’s degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has appeared in Nature, Scientific American, Mongabay, Eos and the Mercury News, among other publications.

All Stories by McKenzie Prillaman

  1. Science & Society

    The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky

    The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.

  2. Animals

    Invasive yellow crazy ants create male ‘chimeras’ to reproduce

    Yellow crazy ants are first known species where chimerism is required in males: Each of their cells holds DNA from just one of two genetic lineages.

  3. Animals

    These transparent fish turn rainbow with white light. Now, we know why

    Repeated structures in the ghost catfish’s muscles separate white light that passes through their bodies into different wavelengths.

  4. Anthropology

    Two scientists’ trek showed how people of Chaco Canyon may have hauled logs

    By carrying a log with the aid of head straps called tumplines, the duo demoed how people may have hauled timbers to Chaco about 1,000 years ago.

  5. Neuroscience

    Scientists have mapped an insect brain in greater detail than ever before

    Researchers have built a nerve cell “connectivity map” of a larval fruit fly brain. It’s the most complex whole brain wiring diagram yet made.

  6. Archaeology

    The Yamnaya may have been the world’s earliest known horseback riders

    5,000-year-old Yamnaya skeletons show physical signs of horseback riding, hinting that they may be the earliest known humans to do so.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Medicated eye drops may delay nearsightedness in children

    Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a growing global health threat. But a Hong Kong study found that medicated eye drops may delay its onset in children.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Psychedelics may improve mental health by getting inside nerve cells

    Psychedelics can get inside neurons, causing them to grow. This might underlie the drugs’ potential in combatting mental health disorders.

  9. Health & Medicine

    3-D maps of a protein show how it helps organs filter out toxic substances

    Images of LRP2 in simulated cell environments reveal the structural changes that let it catch molecules outside a cell and release them inside.

  10. Health & Medicine

    How fingerprints form was a mystery — until now

    A theory proposed by British mathematician Alan Turing in the 1950s helps explain how fingerprint patterns such as arches and whorls arise.

  11. Animals

    A newfound ‘croakless’ frog may communicate via touch

    A newly discovered frog species in Tanzania joins a rare group of frogs that don’t croak or ribbit.

  12. Animals

    Are your cats having fun or fighting? Here are some ways to tell

    Certain behaviors indicate if your cats’ interaction is friendly, aggressive or something in between, a new study finds.