Betsy Mason
Betsy Mason is a freelance science journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is coauthor of All Over the Map and the cartography website Map Dragons.

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All Stories by Betsy Mason
- Science & Society
Marie Tharp’s groundbreaking maps brought the seafloor to the world
In part because of her gender, Tharp was the right person in the right place at the right time to make the first detailed maps of the ocean’s bottom.
- Animals
In the animal kingdom, what does it mean to be promiscuous?
A review of hundreds of scientific studies finds that the label “promiscuous” is applied to a surprisingly wide range of mating behaviors in animals.
- Tech
Virtual reality has a motion sickness problem
Virtual reality games and experiences can make some people sick, and women are more susceptible.
- Science & Society
Virtual reality raises real risk of motion sickness
New research confirms anecdotal reports that virtual reality headsets can cause motion sickness, and may affect women more than men.
- Archaeology
Muons Meet the Maya
Physicists are exploring the use of muons generated by cosmic rays to explore Mayan archaeological sites and to probe the interiors of volcanoes and shipping containers.