Maris Fessenden

 

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

Healthy purple sea stars, also called ochre sea stars, in a tide pool.

Wasting Disease Clears Way for Young Sea Stars, for Now

Whether or not the devastated populations are on the road to recovery remains uncertain

"The Unconscious Patient (Allegory of the Sense of Smell)," about 1624 - 1625 by Rembrandt van Rijn

Early Rembrandt Found in Basement Goes On Display

The painting is one of five in a series about the senses that the Dutch master created as a teenager

A furled chameleon tail obviously takes its shape from the rolling of a tube, but its pattern is distinct from that created by rolling an even tube, such as that of a garden hose. The gentle taper of the tail produces a logarithmic spiral—one that gets smaller, yet the small parts look like the large parts.

The Science Behind Nature's Patterns

A new book explores the physical and chemical reasons behind incredible visual structures in the living and non-living world

ArcAttack's lightning guitarist wears a protective Faraday suit.

When Electricity and Music Collide, the Tesla Coils Sing

The band ArcAttack delivers a high-voltage performance with a side of science education

liquid gravity, 2013. A cosmonaut seems to levitate in an industrial environment but the view of Earth through a porthole “dislocates the viewer’s perspective,” Najjar writes in an email. The image comes from Najjar’s experience in the hydrolab, a huge tank of water, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

An Artist Imagines the Future of Humans in Space

Through manipulated photographs and video, Michael Najjar tackles the meaning of space travel

Landscape of Change uses data lines reflecting sea level rise, glacier volume decline, increasing global temperatures and the increasing use of fossil fuels.

These Watercolor Paintings Actually Include Climate Change Data

Jill Pelto, an artist and scientist, incorporates graphs of rising sea levels and soaring temperatures in her artwork

Artist Suzan Shutan assembled her map of the rivers and groundwater wells of Nebraska by projecting the data on the gallery's wall.

Eight Artists Conspire About Water Issues In a New Exhibition

In Omaha, Nebraska, individuals and nonprofits unite in a show focusing on the issues of water quantity and quality

Julia Child in the kitchen of her Cambridge home in 1983

Julia Child's Provence Kitchen Will Serve Up New Meals as a Cook's Retreat

An American couple has a vision to preserve and continue the legacy of the famous chef

Technicians hard at work are dwarfed by the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

A New Experimental Fusion Reactor Powers Up in Germany

The reactor's first test was brief but successful

Hospital Apprentices second class Ruth C. Isaacs, Katherine Horton and Inez Patterson (left to right) were the first black WAVES to enter the Hospital Corps School at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. Photographed March 2, 1945.

Photographs Document Some of the First Black Women to Serve With the U.S. Navy

Black women were not allowed to join WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) until 1944

Which States Have the Fastest Talkers?

Next time you hear, "this call may be recorded," an analytics firm could be analyzing every word

Infants Can See Things That Adults Cannot

Over time, our brains start filtering out details deemed unimportant

Women "Catch" Yawns More Easily Than Men

Researchers sneakily observed thousands of interactions to see if gender made a difference in the contagiousness of yawning

A 1950s Mountain Dew ad as photographed in Jakes Corner, Arizona

Mountain Dew Once Had Ties to Moonshine

The original soda named Mountain Dew was supposed to be a whiskey accompaniment

Teslasuit, a full-body VR suit, worn in a demo.

What It Feels Like to Don a Skintight Virtual Reality Suit

Though it sounds a little weird, it might be the future of virtual reality

The Fontus Airo water bottle

This Water Bottle Refills Itself From Moisture in the Air

The Fontus is a gadget for adventurers and potentially a way to help people living regions where water is scarce

Adventure Through the Water Cycle With NASA's New Comic Book

The comic brings whimsy and fun into the story of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite mission

An archeologist surveys the in-progress excavation of an approximately 4,500-year-old boat.

Archeologists Find a Rare 4,500-Year-Old Egyptian Funerary Boat

The watercraft is so well preserved that it still has the pegs, ropes and plant fibers that once held it together

Snowflakes seem a natural choice for a pattern in the snow-covered field, but they also showcase Beck's mathematical precision.

These Stunning Fractals Are Made of Snow

Snow artist Simon Beck uses his own two snowshoe-clad feet to create these masterpieces

A Lady-in-Waiting of France strums her instrument on this card from The Courtly Household Cards (Das Hofämterspiel), created in c. 1450.

Lavishly Illustrated Medieval Playing Cards Flouted the Church and Law

Secular and religious officials alike frowned on card playing in Europe's Middle Ages

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