Physics writer Emily Conover joined Science News in 2016. She has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago, where she studied the weird ways of neutrinos, tiny elementary particles that can zip straight through the Earth. She got her first taste of science writing as a AAAS Mass Media Fellow for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She has previously written for Science Magazine and the American Physical Society. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award.
Trustworthy journalism comes at a price.
Scientists and journalists share a core belief in questioning, observing and verifying to reach the truth. Science News reports on crucial research and discovery across science disciplines. We need your financial support to make it happen – every contribution makes a difference.
All Stories by Emily Conover
-
Physics
Radioactive beams give a real-time view of cancer treatment in mice
This first successful treatment of tumors with radioactive ion beams could one day lead to treating human patients’ tumors with millimeter precision.
-
Artificial Intelligence
The discovery of tools key to machine learning wins the 2024 physics Nobel
John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton used tools from physics to develop data analysis methods that underlie machine learning.
-
Physics
Thunderstorms churn up a ‘boiling pot’ of gamma rays
A thunderstorm seen in gamma-ray vision is a complex, frenetic lightshow when viewed from above the clouds.
-
Particle Physics
Physicists just discovered the rarest particle decay ever
The “golden channel” decay of subatomic particles called kaons could break or confirm the standard model of particle physics.
-
Quantum Physics
Why this physicist is bringing thermodynamics to the quantum age
Like a steampunk fantasy-world, which pairs high-tech with an old-timey setting, Nicole Yunger Halpern melds old and new science.
-
Particle Physics
A neutrino mass mismatch could shake cosmology’s foundations
Cosmological data suggest unexpected masses for neutrinos, including the possibility of zero or negative mass.
-
Particle Physics
The Large Hadron Collider exposes quarks’ quantum entanglement
Top quarks and antiquarks produced in the Large Hadron Collider are entangled, a study shows.
-
Physics
How to spot tiny black holes that might pass through the solar system
Flybys of primordial black holes may occur once a decade. Tweaks to the orbits of planets and GPS satellites could give away their presence.
-
Quantum Physics
A quantum computer corrected its own errors, improving its calculations
The corrected calculation had an error rate about a tenth of one done without quantum error correction.
-
Cosmology
In an epic cosmology clash, rival scientists begin to find common ground
Different measurements of the cosmic expansion rate disagree. The James Webb telescope could determine whether that disagreement is real.
-
Physics
A nuclear clock prototype hints at ultraprecise timekeeping
Nuclear clocks could rival atomic clocks and allow for new tests of fundamental physics. A new experiment demonstrates all the ingredients needed.
-
Physics
Mayo is weirdly great for understanding nuclear fusion experiments
Mayonnaise’s texture is perfect for mimicking what a fusion fuel capsule goes through after it’s blasted with lasers.