Marissa Fessenden
Smithsonian Magazine
Bozeman, MT, United States
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Past articles by Marissa:
New Study Looks at Why Neolithic Humans Buried Their Dogs With Them 4,000 Years Ago
Analysis of the remains of 26 dogs found near Barcelona suggest the dogs had a close relationship with ancient humans → Read More
Scientific Images Make Dazzling Art In a Duke University Exhibit
Three graduate students set out to show that the scientific and artistic processes are more similar than many imagine → Read More
Peru's Rainbow Mountain Could Be in Danger Following Surge in Popularity
Up to 1,000 tourists visit the colorful ridge every day. But this influx of people is eroding the nature → Read More
Scientists Create a New Form of Light by Linking Photons
Photons typically don't interact, but physicists bound three together in the lab → Read More
Method that Maps DNA Tags Reveals New Types of Neurons
New way to catalogue the brain's cellular diversity may aid autism researchers → Read More
Method that Maps DNA Tags Reveals New Types of Neurons
New way to catalogue the brain's cellular diversity may aid autism researchers → Read More
These Haunting Photographs Call Attention to Plastic Trash Swirling in the Ocean
Award-winning photographer Mandy Barker explores the beauty and tragedy of marine plankton and plastic waste → Read More
One Million Internet Users Created This Piece of Art
Contributions range from the juvenile to bizarre to strangely beautiful → Read More
The Best "Art Meets Science" Books of 2016
Eight sumptuous books from the past year that meet at the intersection of science and art → Read More
This Sculpture Is Controlled by Live Honeybees
Artist Wolfgang Buttress collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to create a giant, metallic hive → Read More
Meet the Internet’s DIY brain hackers
Wire together some resistors, current regulators, and a 9-volt battery, then connect the slapdash device to your head with saline-soaked sponges that serve as electrodes and get ready. A mild current will flow across your skull. According to some research and anecdotes, this exercise could help you enter a flow-state that enhances meditation or zap your neurons enough to master a video game or… → Read More
What Was the First Thing Sold on the Internet?
The answer depends on how the question is approached → Read More
Lake Michigan is So Clear Right Now its Shipwrecks Are Visible From the Air
A Coast Guard patrol spotted the wrecks in shallow waters that are only clear after the lake's ice melts and before summer sediment swirls and algae blooms → Read More
Massive Genetic Effort Confirms Bird Songs Related to Human Speech
The sequencing of genomes of 48 bird species explains the evolutionary roots of vocalization and could offer insight into human speech disorders → Read More
What you need to know about the Orion test flight
Early Thursday morning, NASA is launching a spacecraft able to carry humans into deep space. There will be no humans on board this test flight of the Orion spacecraft, but from the blas... → Read More
Here's what you need to know about the first-ever comet landing
The Rosetta spacecraft is currently circling a comet, looking for a good spot to make the first soft landing on a comet. For those of you waiting with bated breath for the scheduled touchdown on... → Read More
Remote-controlled rover goes undercover as a baby penguin
Wild animals get seriously nervous when people get close. This is a problem for researchers, who need to observe the fascinating beasties. So we’ve called in the robots to help. ... → Read More
Don't worry, dog-sized spiders won't be taking over the world
The dark of the Amazon rainforest’s night is brimming with sounds—the stridulations of insects, the calls of nocturnal critters, and the skittering tap of… giant spiders ... → Read More
Dolphins use a magnetic GPS to navigate
Dolphins, it seems, can perceive the Earth’s magnetic fields. Some researchers wondered if these intelligent cetaceans had a magnetic sense because they’ve found magnetite (magne... → Read More
This mind-controlled prosthetic arm changes everything
A Swedish man whose arm was amputated 10 years ago now has a new artificial one directly connected to the bone, muscles, and nerves of his body. The truck driver is the first person in the world... → Read More