Meghan Rosen headhsot

Meghan Rosen

Staff Writer, Biological Sciences

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. A close-up image of discolored, swollen toes
    Health & Medicine

    Got a weird COVID-19 symptom? You’re not alone

    From head to COVID toe, doctors have seen a bevy of bizarre cases.

  2. Illustrations on a three week calendar showing a woman struggling with her COVID-19 symptoms
    Health & Medicine

    At a long COVID clinic, here’s how doctors are trying to help one woman who is struggling

    As more people experience long-term health problems from COVID-19, long COVID clinics try to help patients manage symptoms, like brain fog and fatigue.

  3. woman in bed with arms outstretched as the morning sun shines through the window behind her
    Health & Medicine

    Why daylight saving time just isn’t healthy, according to science

    Shifting daylight from morning to evening puts our bodies and brains out of sync with our clocks, leading to a host of potential health issues.

  4. One polar bear stands and holds its paws up, while another walks along sea ice
    Animals

    Here’s how polar bears might get traction on snow

    Microstructures on the Arctic animals’ paws might offer extra friction that keeps them from slipping on snow, a new study reports.

  5. Electron micrograph of a macrophage
    Health & Medicine

    Need a fall read? ‘The Song of the Cell’ offers tales from biology and history

    Siddhartha Mukherjee’s new book, The Song of the Cell, explores the world of cell biology through the lens of scientists, doctors and patients.

  6. Illustration of SARS-CoV-2 being pulled by a running man
    Health & Medicine

    What is long COVID and who’s at risk? This NIH project may find out

    Scientists with the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER project are working to define long COVID and figure out who’s at risk of developing it.

  7. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster floats atop the Gulf of Mexico
    Earth

    50 years ago, scientists found a new way to clean up oil spills

    In the 1970s, researchers added chemicals to the list of oil spill cleanup methods. Soon, they may add microbes.

  8. photo of silkworm cocoons
    Life

    A metal ion bath may make fibers stronger than spider silk

    The work is the latest in a decades-long quest to create artificial fibers as strong, lightweight and biodegradable as spider silk.

  9. Large surface proteins with chains of sugars (illustrated, yellow) are shown on the outside of a cancer cell in this illustration of bioorthogonal or click chemistry, the subject of the 2022 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
    Chemistry

    A way to snap molecules together like Lego wins 2022 chemistry Nobel

    Click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry allow scientists to build complex molecules in the lab and in living cells.

  10. a robotic pill-like device sits on pig intestine
    Health & Medicine

    This robotic pill clears mucus from the gut to deliver meds

    A whirling robotic pill wicks mucus from the gut, allowing intravenous drugs such as insulin to be given orally, experiments in pigs suggest.

  11. composite of two images of a children with blonde, unruly hair
    Genetics

    Can’t comb your kid’s hair? This gene may be to blame

    Scientists linked variants of one hair shaft gene to most of the uncombable hair syndrome cases they tested.

  12. A row of 10 positive coronavirus tests on a table
    Health & Medicine

    The curious case of the 471-day coronavirus infection

    One patient couldn’t get rid of their coronavirus infection. The case gave scientists an unprecedented look at viral evolution.