Risa Aria Schnebly
Science Writing
Here's where to find and read my science writing work on a wide variety of topics, ranging from gender identity to de-extinction, honeybees to genome engineering.
Cascadia Daily News
Articles I wrote as part of the Mass Media Fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science
"WA beekeepers, researchers team up to keep bees healthy by tracking their diet
"Mount Baker’s glaciers and snowpack are shrinking. Will that affect Whatcom and Skagit County’s water supply?"
"Padilla Bay’s eelgrass is an ecological powerhouse — it’s under threat"
Freelance writing
Articles I've written about de-extinction
"Should we bring back the dodo? De-extinction is a feel-good story, but these high-tech replacements aren’t really ‘resurrecting’ species"
The Conversation
"A History of Resurrection Biology,
Part 1"
Extinct Blog
"A History of Resurrection Biology,
Part 1"
Extinct Blog
ASU News
I currently work as a science writer for the School of Life Sciences reporting on ongoing research for ASU News and the SOLS website. Here are a few of my favorite stories:
"Viral finds on the frozen frontier: 13 new papillomaviruses discovered in Antarctic seals"
"ASU researchers first to fully sequence Gila monster genome, thanks to crowd-funding campaign"
"Honey bees can handle the heat, but that still may not save them from climate change"
Ask A Biologist – Embryo Tales
Ask a Biologist is a science communication website run through ASU that is accessed by 18 million people each year. I helped start a collaboration between Ask a Biologist and the Embryo Project Encyclopedia to communicate topics related to embryology, development, and reproduction to younger audiences. Here are some of my favorite articles:
"Intersex" More than Male and Female"
"Cells, Frozen in Time"
"Getting to Know the Germ Layers"
Embryo Project Encyclopedia
The Embryo Project Encyclopedia is an open-access outlet communicating the history and importance of embryology, development, and reproduction. I worked for the Embryo Project as a writer, editor, social media manager, and publisher for 5 years. Here are some of my favorite articles:
"Biological Sex and Gender in the United States"​
​
Reviews how gender emerged as a concept distinct from biological sex, and terminologies of gender
"Sex Determination in Humans"
​
Reviews theories about sex determination through time.
"A Series of YouTube Videos Detailing the “CRISPR Babies” Experiment (2018), by He Jiankui"
​
Reviews He Jinakui's series of videos making the controversial announcement