About me

I became a science writer in 2004 after more than a decade as a computer scientist and entrepreneur. My stories appear in a number of outlets including The Scientist, Los Angeles Times, Cell, and Biomedical Computation Review. I live in Princeton, New Jersey.

Writing sample

Life in a beehive quickly turns sour when small hive beetles pay a visit. Within weeks, these tiny black pests and their larvae plunder the bee colony's honey, kill its young, and wreck its combs. Sadly, the bees' own chemical signals may be to blame: according to a recent PNAS study, certain bee pheromones give away the hive's location to the unwelcome guests. To add insult to injury, the homewreckers infect the hive with a fungus that emits the same chemical lure. More beetles arrive, and pretty soon the entire colony feels the sting. (From ScienceNOW)

Recent Stories

Title Description Publication
Pigs have wings Swine flu pandemic ... the very term strikes terror. But how serious is the threat? Read this story to find out what the experts say, and where they disagree. Chemistry & Biology

(Jul 2009)

Personalized Medicine Can your genes predict how you respond to drugs? Biomedical Computation Review

(Summer 2009)

Laser unexpected Princeton researchers discover a new type of laser that needs less energy and works at higher temperatures Princeton University

(Dec 2008)

Fishy aesthetics Beauty, as the saying goes, is in the eye of the beholder--and some fish have taken this idea to the extreme. AAAS ScienceNOW

(Oct 2008)

Safer than estrogen? Estrogen is very effective in relieving menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, but the hormone may not suit everyone. What causes hot flashes? And can this condition, which affects three out of four women during menopause, be treated without hormones? Los Angeles Times

(Jul 2007)

Target: vagus nerve In hunting for a simpler and safer alternative to weight loss surgery, researchers are trying to disable a nerve that carries much of the communication between brain and gut. Los Angeles Times

(Jun 2008)





Copyright 2007 Chandra Shekhar. This web site is based on a design by Styleshout.com.