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Gabriel Popkin

Contributing Writer

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Latest Articles

A cutaway of thick brown soil with grasses on top.
climate science

A Soil-Science Revolution Upends Plans to Fight Climate Change

By Gabriel Popkin
July 27, 2021
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A centuries-old concept in soil science has recently been thrown out. Yet it remains a key ingredient in everything from climate models to advanced carbon-capture projects.

ecology

A Physicist’s Approach to Biology Brings Ecological Insights

By Gabriel Popkin
October 13, 2020
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The physicist Jeff Gore tests theories about microbe communities experimentally and finds new rules governing ecological stability.

Root glowing green against black background. Small spheres and threadlike filaments surround it.
ecology

Soil’s Microbial Market Shows the Ruthless Side of Forests

By Gabriel Popkin
August 27, 2019
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In the “underground economy” for soil nutrients, fungi strike hard bargains and punish plants that won’t meet their price.

Art for "Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor"
climate science

Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor

By Gabriel Popkin
October 9, 2018
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New work at the intersection of atmospheric science and ecology is finding that forests can influence rainfall and climate from across a continent.

Illustration for "Ultra-Accurate Clocks Lead Search for New Laws of Physics"
experimental physics

Ultra-Accurate Clocks Lead Search for New Laws of Physics

By Gabriel Popkin
April 16, 2018
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Atomic clocks are letting physicists tighten the lasso around elusive phenomena such as dark matter.

biophysics

Bacteria Use Brainlike Bursts of Electricity to Communicate

By Gabriel Popkin
September 5, 2017
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With electrical signals, simple cells organize themselves into complex societies and negotiate with other colonies.

School of Fish
biophysics

Swirling Bacteria Linked to the Physics of Phase Transitions

By Gabriel Popkin
May 4, 2017
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The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms.

biophysics

Jammed Cells Expose the Physics of Cancer

By Gabriel Popkin
August 16, 2016
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The subtle mechanics of densely packed cells may help explain why some cancerous tumors stay put while others break off and spread through the body.

ecology

A Twisted Path to Equation-Free Prediction

By Gabriel Popkin
October 13, 2015
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Complex natural systems defy analysis using a standard mathematical toolkit, so one ecologist is throwing out the equations.

About the author

Gabriel Popkin is a freelance science and environmental writer based in Mount Rainier, Md., just outside the nation’s capital. He has written for Science, Nature, The New York Times, Johns Hopkins Magazine, APS News and many others.
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