Carolyn M. Wilke

I write news and features for curious readers on archaeology, chemistry, Earth science and the occasional animal oddity.

Here’s a selection of my writing.

Chemistry

• Taste and chemical tests reveal off-putting compounds in beer, Chemical & Engineering News, 5/7/26

• Mass spectrometry maps the chemistry of a 1690 painting, Chemical & Engineering News, 3/27/26

• The science of green hair care, Knowable Magazine, 12/18/25

• Inside the 20-year search for dinosaur proteins, Chemical & Engineering News, 9/17/25

• Molecular tools may help us locate mass graves, Chemical & Engineering News, 11/24/25

• One forensic scientist is scraping bones for clues to time of death, Science News, 2/28/22

• Police rely on radiocarbon dating to identify forged paintings, Nature News, 3/9/22

• Ancient recipes led scientists to a long-lost natural blue, Science News, 04/17/20

Archaeology

• The mysterious origin of Stonehenge’s altar stone might have been solved, National Geographic, 8/14/24

• Ancient make-up in Chinese tomb includes concealer and skin lightener, New Scientist, 7/28/23

• An archaeological look at modern refugees, Knowable Magazine, 7/13/22

• Roman-era millstone and mixer makers knew their rocks, Eos, 11/18/21

• The resistance and ingenuity of the cooks who lived in slavery, Sapiens, 8/26/21

• The ancient origins of glass, Knowable Magazine, 11/18/21

  • republished online at Smithsonian

• What did ancient people eat? Scientists find new clues in old pottery, Knowable Magazine, 07/21/21

  • republished online at Inverse and The Atlantic

Earth science

• What’s Below the Great Salt Lake? More Water, Eos, 4/21/26

• Volcanoes may have helped spread the Black Death, National Geographic, 12/4/25

• Swift Quakes Caused by Stomping Feet, Not Booming Beat Eos, 4/12/24

• Volcanic Lightning May Have Retooled the Nitrogen Needed for Life, Eos, 3/1/24

• Young Salmon in British Columbia Are Getting Bigger, Eos, 2/12/24

• Fire Histories May Be Written on Grains of Sand, Eos, 11/21/23

• Fiber optics take the pulse of the planet, Knowable Magazine, 11/22/22

• The plastic cradles of life, Hakai Magazine, 4/15/21

Writing for kids

• Analyze This: What are the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth? Science News Explores, 12/17/25

• Jupiter has a never-before-seen jet stream — and it’s speedy, Science News Explores, 11/28/23

• This new fabric can ‘hear’ sounds or broadcast them, Science News Explores, 4/22/22

• Analyze This: Bulky plesiosaurs may not have been bad swimmers after all, Science News Explores, 9/21/22

• Analyze This: Sharks aren’t as scary as what you see on TV, Science News Explores, 9/1/21

• Here’s what bats ‘see’ when they explore the world with sound, Science News Explores, 10/29/21

• Frozen’s ice queen commands ice and snow — maybe we can too, Science News Explores, 11/21/19

Animals

• Why these gigantic spiders love to be near traffic, National Geographic, 5/13/26

• Watch bees defend their nest by slapping ants with their wings, New Scientist, 7/18/24

• Parrots Use Their Beaks to Swing Like Monkeys, The New York Times, 1/30/24

• Ancient droppings may help save kakapo parrots from extinction, New Scientist, 4/6/23

• While Other Insects Played, This Species Evolved the Blade, The New York Times, 11/14/22

• Why these colorful fish engage in mouth-to-mouth showdowns, National Geographic, 10/14/22

• An Anaconda’s Play Date With Dolphins Took a Strange Turn, The New York Times, 5/2/22

• Tiny structures in dragonfish teeth turn them into invisible daggers, Science News, 06/05/19

• A 14-foot-tall arthritis patient receives treatment at the Sacramento Zoo, The Sacramento Bee, 08/18/17

Image by Felix Merler from Pixabay