Stories by Taylor Mitchell Brown

Taylor Mitchell Brown is a San Diego–based journalist covering anthropology and paleontology, with occasional forays into other disciplines. You can find him in Science, Science News, New Scientist, National Geographic, Scientific American and elsewhere. Read his latest musings on Bluesky @tmitchellbrown.bsky.social

A stone wall with a partially destroyed tower seen at an angle with two tall trees next to it

ArchaeologyApril 20, 2026

Ancient ‘machine-gun’ damage discovered on walls of Pompeii

Recently uncovered damage to walls in Pompeii displays patterns that may have been made by an ancient “machine gun” called a polybolos

Taylor Mitchell Brown

A gray view of fossilized rock with the impression of a leg and foot and scaly tail at the center

PaleontologyMarch 4, 2026

This may be the oldest ‘butthole’ imprint on Earth

Fossils show exceptionally rare evidence of a cloacal vent—the slit that most vertebrates use to excrete, have sex and lay egg—which could shed light on the evolution of the orifice

Taylor Mitchell Brown

Ambystoma mexicanum f. leucistic (axolotl)

BiologyFebruary 14, 2026

Axolotls wow scientists by regenerating this complex organ

Axolotls can completely rebuild their thymus, a key immune organ

Taylor Mitchell Brown

An orange, branching lichen is seen in an inset circle over a scene showing water next to cliffs also covered in the orange lichen

PaleontologyNovember 25, 2025

This fossil is rewriting the story of how plants spread across the planet

An enigmatic group of fossil organisms has finally been identified—and is changing the story of how plants took root on land

Taylor Mitchell Brown