Meghan Rosen is a staff writer who reports on the life sciences for Science News. She earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology with an emphasis in biotechnology from the University of California, Davis, and later graduated from the science communication program at UC Santa Cruz. Prior to joining Science News in 2022, she was a media relations manager at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her work has appeared in Wired, Science, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. Once for McSweeney’s, she wrote about her kids’ habit of handing her trash, a story that still makes her (and them) laugh.
Trustworthy journalism comes at a price.
Scientists and journalists share a core belief in questioning, observing and verifying to reach the truth. Science News reports on crucial research and discovery across science disciplines. We need your financial support to make it happen – every contribution makes a difference.
All Stories by Meghan Rosen
-
Materials Science
Spiders spin stronger threads with nanotubes
Spiders sprayed with carbon nanotubes spin supertough strands of silk.
-
Genetics
Molecular scissors snip at cancer’s Achilles’ heel
Finding cancer’s vulnerable spots using CRISPR technology could lead to drugs that hit the disease hard.
-
Health & Medicine
Kids who have had measles are at higher risk of fatal infections
Measles infection leaves kids vulnerable to other infectious diseases for much longer than scientists suspected.
-
Paleontology
Oldest known avian relative of today’s birds found in China
Fossil find suggests modern birds’ oldest avian relative lived about 6 million years before previous record holder.
-
Genetics
The year in genomes
From the tiny Antarctic midge to the towering loblolly pine, scientists this year cracked open a variety of genetic instruction manuals to learn about some of Earth’s most diverse inhabitants.
-
Microbes
The year in microbiomes
This year, scientists pegged microbes as important players in several aspects of human health, including obesity and cancer.
-
Archaeology
Year in review: Roster of dinosaurs expands
With the discovery of several new species and a few dogma-shaking revelations, dinosaurs got a total rethink in 2014.
-
Environment
Black carbon fouls New York subway stations
Black carbon, a respiratory irritant, fouls air in New York subway stations.
-
Tech
Designing robots to help in a disaster
Ideally, robots could take over for human crews in disaster zones. But seemingly simple tasks, such as walking, communicating and staying powered up, still pose big challenges.
-
Neuroscience
Breathing returns to paralyzed rats
Scar tissue–busting enzyme plus rehabilitation therapy improves respiration long after rats’ initial spinal cord injuries.
-
Neuroscience
Stopped brain clock saves memory in hamsters
Broken timekeeper in brain may explain some memory problems, hamster study suggests.
-
Life
Norovirus grown in lab, with help from bacteria
Norovirus, famous for sickening cruise ship passengers, has finally been grown in human cells in a lab, offering scientists a chance to test new therapies.