Liz Devitt

• Science Writer, Freelance

St. Louis

Environment, Health, Science

As seen in: Nature, Slate, Science Magazine, Mongabay, Sierra Magazine, Trellis, RealClear Science, Bay Nature Magazine, Science News for Students, Ensia and more.

Veterinarian-turned-science writer. My beat is wherever there are stories to share about medicine, health, animals, and the environment. Tanguera, too.

Articles

The Other COVID Nurses

5 years ago | By Lauren Lambert, Liz Devitt | Sierra Magazine Verified

This story originally appeared in bioGraphic, an online magazine about nature and sustainability powered by the California Academy of Sciences. Under the glare of surgical lights, the exposed muscle of an opossum’s right forearm gleams. The limb lies at an awkward angle above the elbow, telltale evidence of a broken humerus. The rest of the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is almost completely covered by a neat mosaic of blue and green surgical drapes.

The Other Covid Nurses

5 years ago | By Liz Devitt | Earth Island Journal Verified

The Other Covid Nurses Caring for sick and injured wildlife has always been challenging, but during the pandemic, for many rehabilitators, it has become a grueling, 24/7 labor of love. Zak Mertz, director of the Cape Cod branch of the New England Wildlife Rescue Center, holds an injured swan in a cranberry bog in Carver, Massachusetts. Liz Devitt Images by Lauren Owens Lambert UNDER THE GLARE of surgical lights, the exposed muscle of an opossum’s right forearm gleams.

Drones might one day capture a dolphin’s breath in midair

6 years ago | By Emily Conover, Helen Thompson, Liz Devitt, Sharon Oosthoek | Science News for Students Verified

If you’ve ever had trouble catching your breath, try catching a dolphin’s. The plume produced when these “whales” come up for air could reveal signs of how healthy they are. But capturing samples of the spray from agile, skittish wild dolphins is challenging. To make the task easier, a team of engineers has turned to the dolphin’s chuff. This is the forceful exhale that sends water, air, and mucus hurtling skyward from the animal’s blowhole. Their first step: getting good data on the fluid’s flow.