Maris Fessenden

 

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

This is a pyramidal neuron, so named for the pyramid-shaped body at the center of this drawing, from the cerebral cortex of a human. This outermost layer of the brain integrates information from sensory organs, commands movements and is the hub for higher brain functions, such as consciousness. In his drawing, Cajal gives the branches or dendrites different weights to show how the neuron extends in three-dimensional space. It’s likely that this represents a sort of idealized portrait of a pyramidal neuron, a synthesis of many observations.

Revel in These Wondrous Drawings by the Father of Neuroscience

A new book and exhibition pay homage to Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s impressive powers of observation

Iron-thiocyanate complex, droplet on surface

Time-Lapse Photos Reveal the Beauty of Metal Crystals Growing

Photographer Emanuele Fornasier spends hours capturing the intricacy of chemical reactions

The Best "Art Meets Science" Books of 2016

Eight sumptuous books from the past year that meet at the intersection of science and art

A forest grows in miniature at Metrotech Commons in Brooklyn for Spencer Finch’s “Lost Man Creek."

A Miniature Living Redwood Forest Springs Up In Brooklyn

Artist Spencer Finch explores landscape by building a tiny, scale replica of a California grove

Gemasolar Thermasolar Plant, 37.560755°, –5.331908° This image captures the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain. The solar concentrator contains 2,650 heliostat mirrors that focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a 140-metre-tall (460-foot) central tower. The molten salt then circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

These Photographs From Space Show What Humans Have Done to the Earth

In new book, vivid satellite images of the planet evoke what astronauts call "the overview effect"

DFB 45, Arès, Brandon Ballengée, 2008. Scanner photograph of cleared and stained multi-limbed Pacific Tree frog from Aptos, California in scientific collaboration with Dr. Stanley K. Sessions. Title in collaboration with the poet KuyDelair.

With Deformed Frogs and Fish, a Scientist-Artist Explores Ecological Disaster and Hope

A 20-year retrospective of Brandon Ballengée's artwork explores humans' connection to cold-blooded creatures

“Enneagon” features repeating crystalline-like shapes. “You think you understand a pattern, but if you zoom out or change your perspective, it changes,” Shlian says. Created in 2015, measures 48 x 48 inches.

These Mesmerizing Paper Sculptures Explore Nature’s Mirrored Structures

Artist Matt Shlian folds, cuts and glues paper to create faceted and curved works of art

"The Hive" is on display at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London, England, through the end of 2017.

This Sculpture Is Controlled by Live Honeybees

Artist Wolfgang Buttress collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to create a giant, metallic hive

Participants in "The Leading Strand" project share their prototypes with each other.

Here's What Happens When Neuroscientists and Designers Team Up to Explain Scientific Research

A new interdisciplinary project results in a moving sculpture, an animated piece, a song that evolves and more

A schematic design of the upcoming “Icebergs” installation for the National Building Museum

A Maze of Palatial Icebergs Has Floated Into a Washington, D.C. Museum

The new exhibition touches on design, landscape architecture, the life of icebergs and climate change

The "Persian Ceiling" installation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2013

Sculptor's New Show is a Riot of Color

Dale Chihuly sets out to "overwhelm with light and color" in 'Persian Ceiling'

A squash seedling (though not one of the ancient squash)

An Ancient Squash Dodges Extinction Thanks to the Efforts of Native Americans

Indigenous people carefully tended an ancient squash for thousands of years and now the seeds are seeing a resurgence in popularity

Fossilized teeth from an ancient sperm whale

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

"Dance at Molenbeek," a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638) depicts pilgrims dancing to the church at Molenbeek.

A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago Today

Modern experts still don't agree on what caused plagues of compulsive dancing in the streets

Some Genes Remain "Alive" for Days After the Body Dies

Studies in animals show that even when a creature has ceased to live, some genes are still busy doing their thing

By Augustus Koch (1840–?) - Amon Carter Museum Texas Bird's-Eye Views [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9140425

Solving a Neighborhood Mystery Reveals Forgotten African-American History

An abandoned lot in San Antonio turned out to be an important part of the city's story

The lighthouse on Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas

A Lucky Artist Will Be Marooned on a Deserted Island

An artist-in-residence program invites applicants to consider spending a month alone in paradise

A view of twilight on Pluto

New Evidence Strengthens the Case for Pluto's Underground Ocean

Features on the dwarf planet's smooth surface suggest that not all is frozen on that tiny, distant world

A view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, with two reactors.

PG&E Announces Closure of California's Last Nuclear Power Plant

One of the most famous, but aging, nuclear power plants in the U.S. will soon see its end

Co-author in the new study, Nick Longrich from the Milner Centre for Evolution at Bath University, poses with some mammal specimens.

The Event that Wiped out Dinosaurs Also Nearly Did in the Mammals

New estimates suggest a measly seven percent of mammals survived the extinction

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