Bio

A science and medical writer for more than 25 years, I have covered everything from the use of gene therapy to treat childhood diseases to the discovery of new dinosaur species. I have written for newspapers, magazines, online news sites, universities, and hospitals, completing stories varying in length from 250 words to 10,000 words. I also have nearly 20 years of experience as an editor, both for magazines and web sites, and have been involved in legislative advocacy and social organizing in Maine since 2017. See my full resume.

Breeding Nemo, Maine lab flourishes

Breeding Nemo, Maine lab flourishes

Boston Globe

Soren Hansen’s first marine lab was in the closet of an apartment in Orono, Maine. Years later, his company, Sea & Reef, was one of only a few whose tropical saltwater fish are grown from eggs produced in captivity.

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Gene Therapy’s Road to Redemption

Gene Therapy’s Road to Redemption

Pediatrics Nationwide magazine

Fifteen years ago, gene therapy suffered a highly visible fatality, leaving the field in shambles. Now, one team’s efforts at gene therapy for muscular dystrophy suggest the field may finally be on track to deliver on its initial promise.

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Angry Brains

Angry Brains

Sarah Lawrence Magazine

People fight because of how they feel, whether angry, afraid, or threatened. Can understanding what’s happening in our brains help us control destructive emotions?

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Crowning Glory

Crowning Glory

Compass Magazine

Once the keystone species–that upon which all the others depend–in the largest single-tree-dominated ecosystem in the United States, longleaf pine now occupies just under 3 million acres, less than 5 percent of its original territory.

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This Shrimp’s Got Rhythm

This Shrimp’s Got Rhythm

Science magazine

Yellow-beaked cleaner shrimp may not sing for their supper, but they’ll dance to get a meal, a new study suggests. The small crustaceans, which dine on parasites that infest large, predatory fish, use the dance to attract customers.

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The “Y” Files

The “Y” Files

Paradigm magazine

The Y chromosome has been called the Rodney Dangerfield of the genomic world. New studies suggest it’s time to give the chromosome a little respect.

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Drivers of Discovery

Drivers of Discovery

Paradigm magazine

A national report says postdoctoral researchers are “indispensable” to the advancement of science, a fact often overlooked by institutions and funding agencies. Now, postdocs are pushing for change. And people are listening.

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Steroid eye drops reverse cataracts in mice

Steroid eye drops reverse cataracts in mice

Science magazine

More than half of Americans over the age of 70 have cataracts, caused by clumps of proteins collecting in the eye lens. The only way to remove them is surgery, an unavailable or unaffordable option for many of the 20 million people worldwide who are blinded by the condition.

Science magazine

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