Maris Fessenden

 

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

In this watercolor painting, the Zika virus (in pink) infects a cell (cell membrane and receptors in green, interior in blue). Blood plasma surrounds the viral particles.

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

A page of a manuscript of Gregorian chants

Inside the Effort to Digitize Medieval Monks' Chants

Scanning and interpreting centuries-old manuscripts is a challenge because musical notation wasn't formalized yet

Adam Donnelly repairs light leaks inside a camera that he and David Janesko constructed in Coachella Valley, California.

From Sticks and Stones, Two Artists Make Pinhole Cameras

David Janesko and Adam Donnelly are using materials found in nature to photograph nature

How Forensic Scientists Once Tried to "See" a Dead Person's Last Sight

Scientists once believed that the dead's last sight could be resolved from their extracted eyeballs

Nile Crocodiles Have Moved to Florida

Three "unusual" crocodilians turned out to be more closely related to South African crocs than American ones

The World's Longest Pizza Took 250 Chefs More Than Six Hours to Make

No surprise, the record-holding pie was created in Naples

This visualization shows how temperatures in the top 1,000 feet, approximately, of the Pacific Ocean at the equator were warmer or cooler than average during 5-day periods centered on three dates this spring: March 14, April 13 and May 3. 

Say Goodbye to a Historic El Niño and Hello to La Niña

Conditions are looking ripe for the cooler climate pattern to take over in the Pacific

A family photo taken near Noatak, Alaska

An Archive of Native Americans Portraits Taken a Century Ago Spurs Further Exploration

Edward S. Curtis' photography is famous, but contemporary Native American artists go beyond stereotypes

Robert Frost in 1941

Listen to Robert Frost Read His Poems

Recordings offer a chance to really listen to the meaning behind classics like "The Road Not Taken"

A glass of real bubbly.

Can Wine Made Without Grapes Match the Real Thing?

A San Francisco start-up is trying to create synthetic wine—just by mixing together the right ingredients

A set of the volumes published by 2010 of the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae

This Latin Thesaurus Has Been in Progress Since 1894

Scholars are still working on the letter "N"

The body of a young female beaked whale washed ashore in South Australia

Rare Beaked Whale Washes Ashore in Australia

Sporting unusual teeth, the young female offers researchers a chance to study an elusive cetacean

A "Walking Library" in London, circa 1930s

A Brief History of Taking Books Along for the Ride

Have books, will travel

Italian ship the Ievoli Ivory aids the effort to raise a sunken ship that carried migrants

Massive Effort Underway to Recover More Than 700 Migrants Drowned at Sea

Forensic scientists hope to use DNA to identify the remains

These Temporary Tattoos Can Help ID a Food Allergy

Plus, the tattoo is inspired by historical Japanese prints

Mercury’s northern volcanic plains shown in enhanced color to emphasize rocks types. The bottom left portion of the image displays large wrinkle ridges, formed during lava cooling. Near the top of the image, a bright orange region shows the location of a volcanic vent.

See Mercury's Landscape in Stunning Detail

A new map of the planet's surface captures the depths of craters and the peaks of volcanic mountains

The Royal Oak in Witney, England

Why "The Royal Oak" Is a Popular Pub Name in the U.K.

The story goes back to the English Civil Wars and a prince on the run

Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, between 1748 and 1755, currently at the Louvre Museum.

Madame de Pompadour's Legacy as a Patron of Arts Is Often Overlooked

A new exhibit explores the creative works of one of history's most famous mistresses

Human brain cells infected by the Zika virus (in red).

Mice Show How the Zika Virus Can Cause Birth Defects

A new study offers the first experimental evidence of the virus crossing the placenta and damaging fetal brains

An example of the type of axe head the newly described fragment would have come from.

50,000-Year-Old Axe Shows Australians Were at The Cutting Edge of Technology

A polished stone chip is the earliest-known example of a ground-edge axe yet

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