Maris Fessenden

 

Maris Fessenden is a freelance science writer and artist who appreciates small things and wide open spaces.

Not Exercising Is Worse for You Than Being Obese

A large-scale study estimates that twice as many deaths can be chalked up to lack of exercise than can be blamed on being obese

Emphasizing Natural Brilliance Might Keep Women Away From Certain Fields

Disparities in science prompted researchers to look into other fields — such as philosophy and economics — as well to find a cause

One of many abstract images of the Moon collected by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

These Photos From a Lunar Orbiter Could Be Abstract Art

Our distant view of the Moon from Earth is nice, but these close-ups are amazing

Bananas (non-GM) at market in Vietnam

Iowa GMO Banana Trial Halted

Twelve volunteers were supposed to one whole GMO banana each — but so far they have eat zero

Northern long-eared bat

Some Bat Colonies Might Be Beating White-Nose Syndrome

A few recent discovering on the strange fungus wiping out North American bat colonies give reason to hope

Young boer goats, a meat breed, in Texas

America's Goats Are Concentrated in Texas

In 2012, famers reported more than 2 million goats living in the U.S.

Shewanella oneidensis

Some Microbes Can Eat And Breathe Electricity

How many ways can life exist? Some recently discovered microbes can live on a cathode, apparently without the need for a carbon food-source

Bayard Holmes as a medical student

Two Men Tried To Cure Schizophrenia by Removing Their Patients’ Intestines

Bayard Holmes and Henry Cotton were separated by a generation, but both thought that mental illness arose from toxins produced within the body

Harvey W. Wiley and his Poison Squad in 1902

Early Food Safety Workers Tested Poisons by Eating Them

They were hailed as heroes and even had a song

It’s Cheaper to Make Diabetes Test Strips of Silk Than of Paper in India

Skilled handloom weavers and abundant silk hold the key for an innovative solution

The Academy's live Lexias pardais with gynandromorphism

A Museum’s Butterfly Emerged Half Male, Half Female

The rarity is like a natural experiment that tells scientists how genes and hormones interact to produce different sexes

Monkeys Can Learn to Recognize Themselves in the Mirror

Generations of monkeys had tried and failed a classic test of intelligence, but the fault may have been in the way humans thought of the test

Marian Anderson as Ulrica in the Verdi opera Un ballo in maschera

60 Years Ago, the First African-American Soloist Sang at the Met Opera

Marian Anderson performed as the fortuneteller Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera

Fossils Show How Flying Fish Started to Glide

In the quest to avoid being eaten, some fish took a leap into the open air

Jurassic Park May Have Been Right—Some Dinosaurs Hunted in Packs

The film inspired paleontologists to discover the truth about dinos, including whether raptors were social hunters

Insecticide-Treated Nets May Create Super Mosquitoes

Two species of mosquitos have interbred, giving rise to hybrids that can resist the most potent weapons used against them

There is A Scientific Reason That Cold Weather Could Cause Colds

The rhinovirus that most commonly causes colds likes chillier temperatures, where the host's immune system doesn't fare so well

Marilyn Monroe playing on the beach

Model Your New Year’s Resolutions After Marilyn Monroe’s in 1955

The actress wrote that she wanted to "keep looking around me — only much more so"

Sunrise in Yosemite National Park

Two Climbers Are Free-Climbing One of Yosemite's Hardest Routes

Two athletes are halfway through an impressive 32-pitch climb up El Capitan's Dawn Wall

Create Your Very Own False Memories by Lying on Facebook

The brain is notoriously poor at recalling past events, and social media just makes it worse

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