Andrew Porterfield


Porterfield is currently a freelance writer, specializing in life sciences, biotechnology and healthcare. He has worked with Pfizer, Amgen, CalTech, the University of California, and the Salk Institute. He started out as an assistant in a genetics laboratory, and quickly found a preference for writing about science. He has an M.S. in biotechnology management from the University of Maryland, a B.A. in physical anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. When not writing about science, he can be found surfing California\\\\\\\'s central coast or biking its rural roads.
Role: Journalist, Science
No. of articles: 25
Email: Please use the contact form to contact Andrew Porterfield.

Google vs. Death

Google, the American company known for its popular search engine, is supporting a new venture that aims to significantly...

Could Evading Death be the Ultimate Search Engine?

 Andrew Porterfield Google has been called a lot things--savior of student research projects, consummate time-waster,...

The Mind Can Fly a Helicopter

A helicopter is a rather complicated craft to fly--it doesn't really glide, and moves by controlling the pitch and power...

Life On Earth, With A Martian Twist?

UFO conspiracies and early sci-fi filmmakers may have been right all along, as we might all come from Mars, after all. New...

Germany Approves No-Sex Option

New German legislation will allow birth certificates to have a third option when asking about gender. Germany is the...

Chaos, Not Order, Spark Creativity

Being neat and tidy has always been associated with order, tradition and general good sense. But being a slob may have a...

From a great flood came unique underwater life

By Andrew Porterfield  When studying evolution, scientists don't often get the opportunity to see exactly how a modern...

Beat Me, Hurt Me: BDSM Practices Can Be Healthy

 By Andrew Porterfield Whips and chains, handcuffs and other forms of bondage are usually considered a sign of impaired...

To Predict a Bird's Song, Head Out to Space

      A new study is looking at bird song evolution from outer space. Birds come in an outstanding diversity of forms...

How Do Happier People Become Healthier? It's all about social connections

Andrew Porterfield  Happy people are usually healthy people. But how do happy people get healthy? And which came first;...

Beauty and Strength Makes The Perfect Weapon

A new study shows how a humble crab can accomplish the difficult trick of merging beauty with strength. Male fiddler...

Bring Out your Dead--Can We, Should We Reverse Extinction

By Andrew Porterfield   Until the very late 1800s, a migration of passenger pigeons was a sight to behold. Hundreds of...

How to Make a Black Dahlia

New research uncovers the secret of how a flower gets its famous color. Dahlias (Dahlia variabilis) are very popular...

The genes behind the face

A crime is committed. All that's left at the scene is a single hair. Today's detectives can use that hair to identify the...

Scientists make a allergy-free, long-lived Geranium plant

Geraniums (also known as Storkbills) are one of the world's most popular plants. The South African native plant has been...

Dolphins Form Clubs

Dolphins again demonstrate their incredibly advanced social skills and development. Their flippers may forever prevent...