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. 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.

All Stories by Meghan Rosen

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. A teacher wearing a mask looks to several young children, also wearing masks and leaning against a cupboard
    Health & Medicine

    The new CDC guidelines may make back-to-school harder

    The public health agency’s coronavirus advice could change how schools operate and may spur COVID-19 outbreaks in classrooms.

  9. Sukari sits pensively by a rock in a zoo enclosure
    Animals

    Zoo gorillas use a weird new call that sounds like a sneezy cough

    A novel vocalization made by the captive great apes may help them draw human attention.

  10. a close-up on a person's eye, with a tear streaming down their cheek
    Health & Medicine

    A new technology uses human teardrops to spot disease

    A proof-of-concept technique to analyze microscopic particles in tears could give scientists a new way to detect eye disease and other disorders.

  11. an elephant trunk grabbing something from a human hand
    Life

    The top side of an elephant’s trunk stretches more than the bottom

    New research on elephant trunks could inspire different artificial skins for soft robots.

  12. a woman holds a child as a medical professional gives the child a shot
    Health & Medicine

    Here are experts’ answers to questions about COVID-19 vaccines for little kids

    Pediatricians recommend that parents vaccinate their kids, toddlers and babies against COVID-19 to protect them from coronavirus infection.