María de los Ángeles Orfila

María de los Ángeles Orfila

Live Science Contributor

María de los Ángeles Orfila is a science journalist from Montevideo, Uruguay, known for her long-form writing featured in El País and El Observador. She also participated in the Sharon Dunwoody Mentoring Program 2023 offered by The Open Notebook and has bylines in Science, Scientific American, and Discover Magazine, among other outlets.

Latest articles by María de los Ángeles Orfila

GIF image showing before and after of the common murre population; in first photo the common murre population seems to thrive with loads of birds present on the cliffside, in the second photo of the same cliffside bird numbers have dramatically dropped.

Worst die-off of a single species in the modern era discovered — and 'the blob' was to blame

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published

The blob — an extreme marine heatwave that hit the northeast Pacific between 2014 and 2016 — killed approximately 4 million common murre, and the population is yet to recover, a new study finds.

Birds
Marine otter (Lontra felina) resting on the shore, Peru.

Chungungo: The mini sea otter that lives on rocky cliffs and mates for life

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published

Marine otters live on rocky coasts with extreme swells and strong winds, with their dens built into crevices and caves.

Animals
A photo of a flooded street with cars stacked on top of each other from being pushed by water

What is DANA, the strange weather phenomenon that has caused deadly flooding in Spain?

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published

With record-high Mediterranean temperatures and a year's worth of rain falling in mere hours, Spain has been devastated by the weather phenomenon known as DANA.

Weather
Aerial view shows a house destroyed by a fire in the surroundings of the SP-330 highway in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on August 25, 2024.

Record-breaking fires engulf South America, bringing black rain, green rivers and toxic air to the continent

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published

The Amazon fires, fueled by severe drought exacerbated by climate change, have created a toxic smoke cloud spanning about 4 million square miles — an area larger than the entire United States.

Climate change
Single pelagic tunicate or salp (Salpa aspera), with transparent body.

Salps: The world's fastest-growing animals that look like buckets of snot

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published

In just 48 hours, salps can reach maturity, making them the fastest-growing multicellular animals on Earth, with a significant impact on ocean health.

Animals
Three panels showing different desert flower blooms with dew drops on the petals

See stunning photos of the Atacama Desert — the driest on Earth — blooming in winter for 1st time in a decade

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published

"This very arid soil houses a treasure," ecologist María Fernanda Pérez told Live Science after the Atacama Desert produced a rare winter bloom.

Plants