Marissa Fessenden
Freelance journalist & ilustrator
biology, wildlife, art&science, food, environment, science history
PROJECTS
Smithsonian Magazine
Landfill Surprises Scientists With 12-Million-Year-Old Whale Fossils ...
The fossilized remains of a sperm whale were discovered in a newly cleared area of an Orange County landfill
spectrumnews.org
Maternal infection may trigger autism traits via neuronal ‘patches’
Patches of overactive neurons in the brains of mice exposed to inflammation in the womb may lead to autism-like features in the mice, a new study suggests. Treating pregnant mice with an antibiotic prevents these patches in their pups, a related study suggests.
Nature
Illuminating life's building blocks : Nature : Nature Research
A suite of tools now enables scientists to see proteins at work in living cells at the single-molecule level.
Smithsonian Magazine
How Forensic Scientists Once Tried to "See" a Dead Person's Last ...
Scientists once believed that the dead's last sight could be resolved from their extracted eyeballs
Smithsonian Magazine
Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her ...
Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World ...
Smithsonian Magazine
This Painting Shows What It Might Look Like When Zika Infects a Cell
David S. Goodsell's watercolor-and-ink artworks use the latest research to illustrate viruses, proteins and more
Smithsonian Magazine
From Sticks and Stones, Two Artists Make Pinhole Cameras | Arts ...
David Janesko and Adam Donnelly are using materials found in nature to photograph nature
YouTube
Library Catalogs Diversity of Animals Sounds - by Scientific American
Library Catalogs Diversity of Animals Sounds - by S...
Popular Science
Three Body Hacks You Shouldn't Try At Home | Popular Science
To improve themselves, a growing number of people are going beyond meditation or exercise. These brave pioneers are trying to hack their bodies with bacteria, special diets, and even electrical zaps.
Smithsonian Magazine
Ghostly Neutrinos Created in the Heart of the Sun Are Finally Detected
This is the most direct evidence supporting researchers’ ideas about how the Sun is powered...
Scientific American
Massive Asteroid Vesta Harbors Scant Frozen Water at ...
Data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveals easily evaporated chemicals and hydrogen on the asteroid, suggesting the presence of water mixed into its surface material
Smithsonian Magazine
Behold the Beauty of Disappearing Glacier Ice Caves on Mt. Hood ...
Behold the Beauty of Disappearing Glacier Ice Caves...
Scientific American
Massive Genetic Effort Confirms Bird Songs Related to Human Speech
The sequencing of genomes of 48 bird species explains the evolutionary roots of vocalization and could offer insight into human speech disorders...
The Daily Dot
Meet the Internet’s DIY brain hackers
Wire together some resistors, current regulators, and a 9-volt battery, then connect the slapdash device to your head with saline-soaked sponges that serve as electrodes and get ready. A mild current...
spectrumnews.org
Cognition and behavior: Mirror neurons age normally in autism ...
Mirror neurons, which fire when a person performs or observes an action, function just as well in young children with autism as they do in their typically developing peers...