I think the issue is not with genderization but the choice of using it instead her name or affiliation (University of Nottingham) or country of residence (United Kingdom). Suggesting that "She Turns Fluids Into ‘Black Holes’ and ‘Inflating Universes’” is more “news worthy” than “Dr. Weinfurtner Turns Fluids Into ‘Black Holes’ and ‘Inflating Universes’” which imho is at least a little bit patronizing.
The phrase "[s]he turns fluids into black holes" could have come directly from some new-age bible. The only thing that made me think "maybe they're talking about a person" was seeing it featured on HN, so that was purely by context. For me, your suggested change isn't patronizing -- rather, it's an essential addition that upgrades the headline from content-free gibberish to an interest-piquing description.
It might also be one of the reasons why the assumption is veering towards "man" in headlines such as "professor turns fluids into black holes." When media go out of their way to stress that it concerns a woman, the default assumption for ungendered terms will remain male.
I thought "She" seemed odd too. I suspected it might be a sort of acronym or code-word, and when I started reading the article, that's what I was looking for an explanation of.
