Laura Baisas
Laura Baisas is a science news writer with a Master's degree in science journalism from Columbia Journalism School. She has experience as both a producer/writer at NBC News and as a freelance writer for Inside Climate News and Hell Gate. Laura is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. As a former resident of the New Jersey shore, competitive swimmer, and defender of the Oxford comma, she brings a unique perspective to her work. In her articles for Popular Science since joining in 2022, Laura has covered topics such as offshore wind farms in the northeastern United States, climate epidemiology, space weather and more. She has also reported on fascinating scientific discoveries like the James Webb Space Telescope images of spiral galaxies and how the Hawaiian blue rice coral produces a protein that acts as a natural sunscreen.
Biography:
https://www.popsci.com/authors/laura-baisas/
90%
The Daily's Verdict
This author has a mixed reputation for journalistic standards. It is advisable to fact-check, scrutinize for bias, and check for conflicts of interest before relying on the author's reporting.
Bias
95%
Examples:
- The author has a strong focus on presenting factual information without any signs of favoritism or slant.
Conflicts of Interest
100%
Examples:
- There are no instances of conflicts of interest detected in the articles provided.
Contradictions
88%
Examples:
- In one article, it is mentioned that carpenter ants perform wound cleaning or amputations on their nestmates and this is the only case in which a sophisticated and systematic amputation of an individual by another member of its species occurs in the animal Kingdom. In another article, it is stated that previous assumptions about brain size in dinosaurs and the number of neurons their brains contained were unreliable.
- In yet another article, it is mentioned that Io has a surface that is smoother compared to Jupiter’s other Galilean moons but has poles colder than their middle latitudes.
Deceptions
75%
Examples:
- In one article, it is mentioned that despite being very similar to big birds, dinosaurs were reptiles. As reptiles, they have very different brains than birds or mammals, but brain tissue does not fossilize. This statement could be considered slightly deceptive as it might lead readers to believe that dinosaurs had bird-like brains.
Recent Articles
Carpenter Ants' Unique Healing Method: Amputation to Save Lives
Broke On: Tuesday, 02 July 2024In a Florida carpenter ant colony, injured ants undergo amputation by nest mates to prevent infection and save their lives, marking the first known case of an ant species using this method for injury treatment. 
Discovering the Past of Grapes: Fossilized Seeds Shed Light on Their Evolution After Dinosaurs' Extinction
Broke On: Monday, 01 July 2024Scientists discovered fossilized grape seeds dating from 60 to 19 million years ago in Colombia, Panama, and Peru. These findings reveal how grapes evolved following the extinction of dinosaurs, with dense forests allowing their growth. Oldest known seeds from the grape family were found in India around the Cretaceous-Paleogene event. Researchers from The Field Museum and University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology published their findings in Nature Plants, suggesting grapes adapted to vines post-dinosaur extinction. 
July 2024: Celestial Events to Watch - Buck Moon, Aphelion Day, and Met shower Peaks
Broke On: Monday, 01 July 2024Experience July's celestial events: Crescent Moon with Mars (July 1), Aphelion Day (July 5), Full Buck Moon and meteor showers (July 21). Observe Mars, planets, and star clusters with a telescope or binoculars. Southern Delta Aquarids, Alpha Capricornids peak late July with around 20 shooting stars per hour. Perseids peak Aug. 11-12 with up to 100 meteors. 
New Study Provides More Accurate Age Estimate for Ancient Kyrenia Shipwreck, Revealing Insights into Mediterranean Trade during Greek and Late Antique Times
Broke On: Wednesday, 26 June 2024Researchers have revised the sinking date of the ancient Kyrenia shipwreck, discovered off Cyprus in 1965, to around 280 BCE using updated radiocarbon dating and a new PEG cleaning method. This discovery offers valuable insights into maritime trade during Greek and Late Antique times. 
Discovering the First Merging Quasars During Cosmic Dawn: A Groundbreaking Observation of Galactic Cores 900 Million Years After the Big Bang
Broke On: Monday, 17 June 2024Scientists have discovered the first confirmed pair of merging quasars during the Cosmic Dawn, just 900 million years after the Big Bang. Each roughly 100 million times heavier than the Sun, these galactic cores are undergoing a mega merger, with gas and dust falling into central supermassive black holes and emitting massive amounts of light. The findings offer insights into early universe formation and quasar host galaxy evolution during Cosmic Dawn. Mystery Planet Larger Than Jupiter but as Light as Cotton Candy: Introducing WASP-193b
Broke On: Tuesday, 14 May 2024Astronomers discovered an exoplanet, WASP-193b, larger than Jupiter but surprisingly light and fluffy, with a density comparable to cotton candy. Located 1,200 light-years away, it consists mostly of hydrogen and helium gases. Scientists are intrigued by this anomaly in planetary formation and evolution processes. 
May Sky Phenomena: Witnessing the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower and More
Broke On: Wednesday, 01 May 2024Discover the Wonders of May's Night Sky: Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower, Messier 5, Lahaina Noon and a Full Moon. New Research Challenges Previous Notions of T. rex Intelligence: Cognitive Abilities More Similar to Reptiles Than Primates
Broke On: Monday, 29 April 2024New research challenges the notion that T. rex, previously thought to have had intelligence on par with primates or monkeys based on neuron count, actually had cognitive abilities more similar to those of lizards or crocodiles due to inflated brain-size estimates and the need to consider other factors beyond neuron count when assessing intelligence. 
Io's Unyielding Volcanic Activity: 4.5 Billion Years of Eruptions on Jupiter's Moon
Broke On: Thursday, 18 April 2024Io, a moon of Jupiter, has been the most volcanically active body in the solar system for 4.5 billion years due to its gravitational relationship with Jupiter and neighboring moons. Io's constant volcanic activity challenges previous assumptions about its geological history and offers new insights into planetary formation processes. 
March's Celestial Events: Northern Lights, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks and More!
Broke On: Saturday, 02 March 2024March is a stargazing delight with the northern lights at their peak, Venus and Jupiter gracing the skies, comet 12P/Pons-Brooks visible in mid-month, and increased geomagnetic activity leading to aurora sightings. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs on March 2-3 with a full worm moon rising in Virgo around sunset on March 24-25. Daylight Saving Time begins on March 10 offering opportunities for ISS viewing.
