Michelle Z. Donahue, National Geographic

Michelle Z. Donahue

National Geographic

Frederick, MD, United States

Contact Michelle

Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.

Start free trial

Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • National Geographic
  • Smithsonian Magazine

Past articles by Michelle:

Fingerprint study upends ideas about 'women’s work' in ancient America

Archaeologists just assumed that women made the pottery at Chaco Canyon 1,000 years ago. Then they started thinking like cops—and things got interesting. → Read More

New staple-size frog from Madagascar is one of the tiniest ever discovered

“Astronomically small,” the newly discovered Malagasy amphibians have brains that could sit on a pin. → Read More

New ‘curses’ emerge from Tut’s history-making tomb study

From microbial 'freckles' to sticky dust, conservators have solved some problems in the pharaoh's 3,300-year-old funerary monument, but raised new concerns in the process. → Read More

Flowers can hear buzzing bees—and it makes their nectar sweeter

“I’d like people to understand that hearing is not only for ears.” → Read More

This Lobster Trap Aims to Protect Endangered Whales — and Fishers’ Livelihoods

A team of engineers is designing a low-cost, lineless, self-surfacing lobster trap that would prevent right whale entanglement → Read More

How genetics affect your love or loathing of coffee and caffeine

Scientists are teasing out how jitters, sleeplessness, and even bitter taste are all influenced by tiny variations in your genetic code. → Read More

Millions of Animals Have Died in Mongolia. Extreme Winters Are to Blame.

Nomadic herders of the Mongolian steppe are at the mercy of these dramatic winters, and scientists are struggling to understand the lethal phenomenon. → Read More

Ancient Forest Home of Squatter Communities Is Doomed by Coal

Germany’s Hambach Forest sits in the crosshairs of coal mining, stirring debate about conservation and energy production. → Read More

Lost Artwork Found Under Picasso Blue Period Painting

The discovery offers new insight into the creative process of the innovative artist. → Read More

New Earth-Size Planet Found Around Nearby Star

The potentially habitable world is called Ross 128b, and it sits just 11 light-years away. → Read More

Dino-Killing Asteroid Hit Just the Right Spot to Trigger Extinction

Only 13 percent of Earth’s surface is made up of rocks that could have caused such a huge extinction event, a new paper argues. → Read More

Dino-Killing Asteroid Hit Just the Right Spot to Trigger Extinction

Only 13 percent of Earth’s surface is made up of rocks that could have caused such a huge extinction event, a new paper argues. → Read More

This Saber-Toothed Cat Mingled With Modern Humans

A surprisingly young fossil jaw found in Europe is helping scientists better climb the sabertooth family tree. → Read More

First Rings Found Circling Weird World Near Pluto

The thin bands of debris suggest that neighboring small bodies could also host rings—and that may spell trouble for visiting spacecraft. → Read More

New Neanderthal Genome Shows How Ancient DNA Affects Your Health

A genome from a female found in Croatia shows how conditions from schizophrenia to arthritis are influenced by our ancient human cousins. → Read More

New Neanderthal Genome Shows How Ancient DNA Affects Your Health

A genome from a female found in Croatia shows how conditions from schizophrenia to arthritis are influenced by our ancient human cousins. → Read More

Nobel Prizes 2017: Facts About the Secretive Process and Peculiar Past

These revered awards have a complicated history. → Read More

When Cutting-Edge Science Meets Science Fiction, It Packs the House

At Future Con, fans of sci-fi, fantasy and comics met the researchers and engineers who are bringing their stories to life → Read More

Fast-Growing Moss Is Turning Antarctica Green

Rising temperatures have boosted the growth rates of seasonal moss on the southern continent over the last 50 years. → Read More

Runners Aim to Shatter 'Unbreakable' Two-Hour Marathon Barrier

Science has learned a lot about humans and endurance running. But the goal of going even faster during a race has remained elusive. → Read More