Maris Fessenden is a freelance journalist and illustrator based in Bozeman, Montana. They report and write about scientific methods, genetics, health, wildlife and ecology, and the intersection of science and art.

Maris Fessenden
Contributing writer
Freelance
From this contributor
Lightweight system captures brain activity while mice jump
A thin “micro-tether” and rotating connector facilitate uninterrupted, hours-long neural population recordings as the animals freely explore their environment.
Lightweight system captures brain activity while mice jump
Atlas of developing brain reveals rainbow of cell types
An online resource reveals all major cell types in the developing human brain during the period in which autism is thought to arise.

Atlas of developing brain reveals rainbow of cell types
New method dramatically scales up mapping of active genes in cells
A new technique enables scientists to isolate, and chart gene expression in, tens of thousands of cells at once.

New method dramatically scales up mapping of active genes in cells
Online platform offers one-stop shop for studying brain circuits
A browser-based platform simulates functional neuronal circuits in the brain regions of several species.

Online platform offers one-stop shop for studying brain circuits
Database, lab tricks may crack secrets of the synapse
Two new resources may aid the study of synapses, the junctions between neurons.

Database, lab tricks may crack secrets of the synapse
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U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.

U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.
Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated
If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.

Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated
If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.
It’s time to examine neural coding from the message’s point of view
In studying the brain, we almost always take the neuron’s perspective. But we can gain new insights by reorienting our frame of reference to that of the messages flowing over brain networks.
It’s time to examine neural coding from the message’s point of view
In studying the brain, we almost always take the neuron’s perspective. But we can gain new insights by reorienting our frame of reference to that of the messages flowing over brain networks.