Rachel Becker is a reporter with a background in scientific research. After studying the links between the brain and the immune system, Rachel left the lab bench to become a journalist via the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing. For nearly three years, Rachel was a staff science reporter at The Verge, where she wrote stories and hosted award-winning videos about everything from nicotine to nuclear waste. Her byline has also appeared in Nature, Nature Medicine, National Geographic News, Smithsonian, NOVA Next, Slate, bioGraphic, and Hakai Magazine, as well as two digital video series: Gross Science and MinuteEarth. Rachel is now an environment reporter for CalMatters, a Sacramento-based non-profit journalism outlet, where she covers environmental science, public health, and policy in California. You can follow her on Twitter @RA_Becks.  ​(Photo by Anne Wernikoff)

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