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Writing Samples

Examining the Growing Safety Risks of NASA's Aging Spacesuits
Examining the Growing Safety Risks of NASA's Aging Spacesuits

The spacesuits that astronauts wear during spacewalks were designed more than 50 years ago.

NASA
NASA Cybercrime Sleuths Expose North Korean Ransomware Scheme
NASA Cybercrime Sleuths Expose North Korean Ransomware Scheme

The Agency's digital detectives pursue cybercriminals and bring them to justice.

NASA
Assessing NASA’s Planetary Defense Strategy
Assessing NASA’s Planetary Defense Strategy

NASA is working to identify 90 percent of asteroids and comets that could threaten Earth.

NASA
Revitalizing the Deep Space Network to Support Space Exploration
Revitalizing the Deep Space Network to Support Space Exploration

NASA's telecommunications infrastructure requires upgrades as it faces ever-increasing demands.

NASA
A graduate student’s research is stopping the spread of invasive seaweed
A graduate student’s research is stopping the spread of invasive seaweed

For the first time, using cryopreservation to freeze sea urchin embryos may help restore coral reefs in Hawai’i

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Analysis of Mars audio reveals different rules for sound on the Red Planet
Analysis of Mars audio reveals different rules for sound on the Red Planet

The Perseverance rover recorded sounds on Mars, revealing surprising findings about the soundscape

DISCOVER MAGAZINE
The past, present and future of using ketamine to treat depression
The past, present and future of using ketamine to treat depression

The drug’s initial successes have upended what many neuroscientists know about the brain and mental illness

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Inside the effort to expand virtual reality treatments for mental health
Inside the effort to expand virtual reality treatments for mental health

Medical professionals are embracing the technology to help patients deal with PTSD, anxiety disorders and more

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Scientists are using ancient rat remains to retrace human history
Scientists are using ancient rat remains to retrace human history

Ancient rat genomes offer clues about the fall of the Roman Empire and other aspects of our collective past

DISCOVER MAGAZINE
Coral crime scene investigation
Coral crime scene investigation

A new forensic technique can help investigators tell real precious corals from fake and protect vulnerable species

HAKAI MAGAZINE
Inside the innovative lab growing mammal tissue using plants as scaffolds
Inside the innovative lab growing mammal tissue using plants as scaffolds

Researchers are using apple flesh to create ear-shaped human tissue and asparagus to regenerate spinal cords

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
The brain has a special kind of memory for past infections
The brain has a special kind of memory for past infections

This form of recall may control immune responses beyond the central nervous system

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
The meaning of colors
The meaning of colors

What colors and color vocabulary can tell us about the evolving needs of language

DISCOVER MAGAZINE
Cellular environments shape molecular architecture
Cellular environments shape molecular architecture

Researchers glean a more complete picture of the nuclear pore complex by studying it directly inside cells

MIT NEWS
Harvard scientist uses astrochemistry to understand the birth of planets
Harvard scientist uses astrochemistry to understand the birth of planets

Karin Öberg investigates the chemical reactions that give rise to solar systems

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Frog foam may help deliver drugs to human skin
Frog foam may help deliver drugs to human skin

The concoction created by mating amphibians may help dispense medicine slowly over time

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Widespread road salt use could affect wintertime air quality
Widespread road salt use could affect wintertime air quality

Aerosolized road salt releases chloride that contributes to air pollution

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Microbes are siphoning massive amounts of carbon from Earth's tectonic plates
Microbes are siphoning massive amounts of carbon from Earth's tectonic plates

Underground bacteria may be an overlooked factor in the deep carbon cycle

SCIENCE MAGAZINE
Mapping the cellular circuits behind spitting
Mapping the cellular circuits behind spitting

The way roundworms eject material from their mouths reveals a new way for neurons to control muscle cells

MIT NEWS
Animals around the world follow the ‘island rule’ to a curious fate
Animals around the world follow the ‘island rule’ to a curious fate

Small animals that move to islands tend to evolve into giants, but big animals that do the same shrink

NATURE MAGAZINE
This egglike gadget may hold the secrets behind future sea-level rise
This egglike gadget may hold the secrets behind future sea-level rise

Researchers have developed a novel wireless device called Cryoegg to peek into melting glaciers. 

DISCOVER MAGAZINE
Eyeless roundworms sense color
Eyeless roundworms sense color

Worms compare the ratio of wavelengths to avoid dangerous bacteria that secrete colorful toxins

MIT NEWS
Hands speak: how casual gestures shape what we hear
Hands speak: how casual gestures shape what we hear

Emphatic movements called beat gestures play an important part in communicating a speaker’s meaning

NATURE MAGAZINE
The secrets of bat echolocation could help robots navigate with sound
The secrets of bat echolocation could help robots navigate with sound

Robots can use echoes to navigate, but the cacophony of sound is tough to sift through

DISCOVER MAGAZINE
Creepy sea spiders have evolved to be tough
Creepy sea spiders have evolved to be tough

First comprehensive genetic analysis reveals hundreds of millions of years of adaptation

SCIENCE MAGAZINE
Is the road to sustainable asphalt paved with tires?
Is the road to sustainable asphalt paved with tires?

Mixing waste rubber from scrap tires into asphalt binder is one way to make pavement environmentally friendly

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Protective gear could expose firefighters to PFAS
Protective gear could expose firefighters to PFAS

Fluorinated compounds in water-resistant textiles break down over time

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Finding comets’ hidden nitrogen
Finding comets’ hidden nitrogen

Ammonium salts serve as nitrogen reservoirs on the icy bodies

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
Changes in baseball chemistry could contribute to rise in home runs
Changes in baseball chemistry could contribute to rise in home runs

The cores of newer balls are less dense, which could help them fly farther

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
3 Questions: Nancy Hopkins on improving gender equality in academia
3 Questions: Nancy Hopkins on improving gender equality in academia

Molecular biologist and professor emerita advocates for more inclusive science and advises how to get there.

MIT NEWS
Jurassic Ark
Jurassic Ark

For millions of years, ancient life hitched a ride across the seas on gigantic Jurassic crinoids

HAKAI MAGAZINE
Newly found organic mineral could influence landscape evolution on Titan
Newly found organic mineral could influence landscape evolution on Titan

Co-crystals of acetylene and butane may help sculpt the surface of Saturn’s largest moon

CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS
How the brain links gestures, perception and meaning
How the brain links gestures, perception and meaning

Gestures are not merely tools of expression but also guides of cognition and perception

QUANTA MAGAZINE
Detangling DNA replication
Detangling DNA replication

An essential protein helps enzymes relax overtwisted DNA so each strand can be copied during cell division

MIT NEWS
To the moon and back
To the moon and back

For the last Apollo missions, Gene Simmons helped the public go along for the ride

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
‘Functional fingerprint’ may identify brains over a lifetime
‘Functional fingerprint’ may identify brains over a lifetime

Neurological “fingerprints” reveal the influence of genetics, environment, and aging on brain connectivity

QUANTA MAGAZINE
Fusion reactor breaks record on the day it's shut down by budget cuts
Fusion reactor breaks record on the day it's shut down by budget cuts

At MIT, there is a device that confines the power of the stars, generating energy at over 180 million degrees

PBS NOVA
Galaxy's disk of dark matter could trigger mass extinctions on Earth
Galaxy's disk of dark matter could trigger mass extinctions on Earth

New model accurately predicts the date of the Chicxulub crater impact that annihilated the dinosaurs

PBS NOVA
Restricting a key cellular nutrient could slow tumor growth
Restricting a key cellular nutrient could slow tumor growth

Researchers identify the amino acid aspartate as a metabolic limitation in certain cancers

MIT NEWS
Students invent simple device to make printed text accessible to the blind
Students invent simple device to make printed text accessible to the blind

A team of undergrads is developing a low-cost handheld device that translates printed text to Braille

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
Ice moon seismology could accelerate search for life beyond Earth
Ice moon seismology could accelerate search for life beyond Earth

NASA scientists propose landing seismology experiments to explore distant icy moons

PBS NOVA
Cyber security AI can find threats hiding in plain sight
Cyber security AI can find threats hiding in plain sight

Researchers outlined a simple, automated method to sift through internet content and pinpoint cyber threats

PBS NOVA

© 2022 by Raleigh McElvery

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