About Allison Loudermilk

Allison Loudermilk

Allison Loudermilk just wants more people to give science a chance. As the science editor, Allison edits most of the stories on things that blow up and otherwise keep researchers busy in the lab and moldy old basements. She has a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Barnard College in New York City. When she’s not contemplating the mysteries of the universe, Allison dabbles in motherhood, running and reading. Be sure to leave a comment on the blog with your favorite sci-fi book and film picks so she will never, ever confuse "Star Trek" with "Star Wars." Not that she does.

Most Recent: Allison Loudermilk Postings

Saving Santa from Swine Flu

by Allison Loudermilk

November 20, 2009
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I still haven’t gotten my hands on an H1N1 vaccine yet. And it looks a bunch of jolly men in red suits just stepped in line before me, too. According to Santa-America, a U.S. nonprofit organization that sends Santa across the United States to visit families dealing with various physical and emotional issues, the bearded giver of gifts wants protection from swine flu. I can’t blame him.

by Allison Loudermilk

November 10, 2009
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As you busy yourself this fall raking leaves, sipping cider and experiencing the Great Outdoors, you may want to consider ditching all that outside stuff, plopping down in your La-Z-Boy and flipping on “Gearing Up.” The new one-hour documentary premiering right now on public television takes you behind the scenes of the 2008 FIRST robotics competition, serving up a healthy dose of suspense, teenagers and, of course, robots.

The FIRST Robotics competition, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is an annual event held in Atlanta in which teams of students are all given an identical kit and challenged to build a robot that can rock some task, such as, say, slam-dunking balls into some nets.

“Gearing Up” trails four teams as they’re readying their bots for the 2008 regional competitions. The documentary follows Miss Daisy, a bunch of old hands at robot building from Ambler, Pa.; the RoboDoves, a rookie all-girl troupe from Baltimore; the Ratchet Rockers from Wentzville, Mo., and, potentially my favorite, the Rambotics, an all-boys team from a Colorado correctional facility.

by Allison Loudermilk

November 6, 2009
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Invasive species are gotten tired of all the bad press and have finally appealed to the U.S. judicial system for respite. Until I read Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow’s “Don’t Sweat the Invasion” post on Slate, I, too, was a hater. In my defense, as an amateur gardener and resident of the South,* it’s hard to like kudzu or English ivy — both notorious invasive plant species in the Southeastern U.S. — when they maintain a death grip on your tulip poplar.

by Allison Loudermilk

November 3, 2009
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Depending on where you live, you may not think too much about malaria. And that’s a ridiculous luxury, considering that every 30 seconds a child dies from the infectious disease, according to the World Health Organization. Despite favored interventions such as using bed nets treated with insecticides, spraying the inside of dwellings, getting rid of standing water and, of course, drug treatments, about 250 million people get sick and 1 million people die every year from malaria, reports the WHO.

Given those numbers, it’s hard not to be interested when a malaria vaccine apparently shows promise — even if it is years away from reaching the people who need it. The candidate in question is RTS,S, a vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, working with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, an organization funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (You know, the same foundation that gives money to people for things like figuring out how to detect tuberculosis with an electronic nose.)

by Allison Loudermilk

October 29, 2009
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I’m knee-deep in firearms this week editing an article on the 5 most popular guns. Yep, firearms fall under the science umbrella here at HowStuffWorks.com, but until this week, I really had no idea how little I knew about them. It got me thinking, maybe I should try one out (on a shooting range, of course). This, in turn, got me wondering, are there guns designed specifically for women?

by Allison Loudermilk

October 22, 2009
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I’m not usually one for “Wow, look at this neat site” blog posts, but there’s a cool new talking(!) genetics glossary in town, compliments of the National Human Genome Research Institute. If you can’t remember the various types of RNA (messenger, transport and ribosomal, thank you, glossary) or you use genotype or phenotype interchangeably, then, by all means, check it out.

by Allison Loudermilk

October 20, 2009
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What scares the bejesus out of you? Your in-laws? Freakishly big bugs? What about snakes? Because if it’s this last one, then stop reading, or for goodness sake, don’t move to South Florida. The sunny home of Gloria Estefan (“C’mon baby, do the conga!) is also home to tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Geological Survey.

by Allison Loudermilk

October 15, 2009
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If you could have any super power, what would it be? I love asking this question. My friend Ben said he’d like to be able to talk to animals. He’s a softie. Robert reports that he’s torn between wanting to talk to cats (another one!) and wanting to manipulate atmospheric heat. Sarah’s also digging on the Dr. Dolittle and the flying. I’m a little surprised.

by Allison Loudermilk

October 13, 2009
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In case you missed it, and I doubt you did, Dan Brown has a new novel called “The Lost Symbol.” In his new thriller, Brown discusses an area of research that I’d never heard of — noetic science.

Forget studying how an avian infection may have plagued dinosaurs or surveying sea ice for clues to climate change, these guys tackle experiments like testing the efficacy of prayer, although prayer would likely be called “distant healing” in noetic science parlance. (If you’re curious, here’s a link on how to carry out such studies, published by the president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Marilyn Schlitz, and her colleagues.)

But I still haven’t told you what noetic science is. I guess you’ll just have to click “Read more” to find out.

by Allison Loudermilk

October 11, 2009
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It’s weeks like these that all the aliens need to get together and finally start an intergalactic news organization to report on all the universal happenings. Here at HowStuffWorks.com we’ve been so busy covering the Ig Nobels this week, that outer space took a back seat.

Which new story excited you the most? Was it NASA taking a bite out of the moon Friday morning? Or maybe you didn’t bat an eye at that since, as Robert reminded me, this idea of bombing the moon has been around since as early as the 1950s in the form of Project A 119. Or maybe you’re more of a pacifist and applaud Huffington Post blogger Amy Ephron’s efforts to help save the moon (rather than bomb it). Furthermore, even if you were gung-ho on the explosion idea, the impact didn’t exactly give you a big show in the form of a plume of debris.