Meghan Rosen

Staff Writer, Biological Sciences, Science News

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. 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.

All Stories by Meghan Rosen

  1. Tech

    This squirrel-like robot has some serious hops

    Salto the jumping robot has a claw-like gripper. Like a squirrel, it can adjust its movement to help it stay balanced to stick a landing on "branches."

  2. Health & Medicine

    Three U.S tick species may trigger a mysterious red-meat allergy

    This little-known allergy, known as alpha-gal syndrome, is potentially deadly. Here’s what we know about it — and how to avoid the tick bites that seem to cause it.

  3. Animals

    Dire wolves or not, these pups could help counter extinction

    Some question if these are just gene-tweaked gray wolves. Still, the tech behind the new "dire wolves" might help some living at-risk species avoid extinction.

  4. Artificial Intelligence

    AI-designed proteins target toxins in deadly snake venom

    The current way to produce antivenoms is outdated. In lab tests, AI-designed proteins could save mice from a lethal dose of snake toxin.

  5. Climate

    2024 set new record for hottest year, passing a dangerous heat threshold

    For the first year in recorded history, Earth’s average temperature topped 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

  6. Chemistry

    Predicting and designing protein structures wins a 2024 Nobel Prize

    A biochemist and two computer scientists using AI shared the top award in chemistry.

  7. Humans

    Rain Bosworth studies how deaf kids experience the world

    This deaf experimental psychologist has found that babies are born ready to learn sign language, just like spoken language.

  8. Physics

    Forget moon walking, lunar visitors. Try horizontal running

    Researchers took over the Wall of Death, an amusement park attraction, to test out how astronauts might keep their strength up on the moon.

  9. Animals

    Cats play fetch — but only when they feel like it 

    Most cats that play fetch pick up the behavior on their own, a study finds. And those felines tend to dictate when fetching sessions begin and end.

  10. Animals

    Have you seen Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster? Probably not 

     Floe Foxon is a data scientist by day. In his free time, he applies his skills to astronomy, cryptology and sightings of mythical creatures.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Doctors found a snake parasite in a woman’s brain — still alive

    This worm typically infects pythons. Though this is its first known infection in humans, other types of worms also can infect the human brain.

  12. Health & Medicine

    RNA work that led to COVID-19 vaccines wins 2023 Nobel in medicine

    Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman overcame hurdles to using mRNA for medicine. This led to COVID vaccines — and maybe, one day, some for other infections.