madeleine Johnson - Science Writer
GenomeWebGenomeWeb.com is a biotech business and research news site. I'm a reporter and editor there, covering technologies for detecting DNA/RNA as well as companies that make diagnostic tests.
Find links to my feature stories here (and on the GenomeWeb tab at the top of this page). The site requires registration to view premium content and is free for researchers. |
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Selected Freelance Science WRITING
Why Investing in Women's-Health Technology Matters
A Q&A with biotech venture capitalist Anula Jayasuriya. Lenny Letter - July 2016 (illustration by Rachel Levit Ruiz) |
Zika Facts to Calm and Terrify You
Slate - January 2016 Beyond Brick and Mortar
A profile of Constance Adams, Space Architect Symbolia Magazine - March 2014 
Leptospirosis on Plymouth Rock?
Slate.com - November 2012 |
The chronology of chronobiology, courtesy of hamsters
Biological clockwork still holds secrets. Scienceline.org - November 2011 
The taste of victory
An award-winning gustatory neuroscientist is using his discoveries to overcome a total aversion to fruits and vegetables. Scienceline.org - March 2011 |
Lavender and Old Lace
To calm agitated dementia patients some caregivers are turning away from sedatives and toward aromatherapy. Scienceline.org - March 2011 
Feeding the mosquitoes
(video) In the quest to prevent mosquito-borne illness, Leslie Vosshall must first feed 500 hungry bugs a blood meal. Scienceline.org - March 2011 |
Nerd Nite NYC - March 2013
Olde Tyme Brain Surgeries and Disorders
"Let’s address some important questions. Is skull surgery using stone tools a good idea, or bad idea? What is trepanation? How did people perform this surgical technique in the past, and why was it so successful? And more importantly, why is it done now, by neurologists and by some aficionados in their own bathrooms(!)? And of course, is there any neurobiological basis for the idea that a hole in your skull would expand your consciousness? Inquiring minds want to know. Get it?!
Madeleine Johnson, PhD, recently migrated her nerdiness from the high-paying world of post-doctoral Neuroscience research, where jobs are plentiful, to the even more glamorous and profitable world of freelance science journalism, with its abundant employment opportunities and stable and secure business models. She’s no dummy!"
(photo from the show courtesy of Mary Beth Griggs)
Olde Tyme Brain Surgeries and Disorders
"Let’s address some important questions. Is skull surgery using stone tools a good idea, or bad idea? What is trepanation? How did people perform this surgical technique in the past, and why was it so successful? And more importantly, why is it done now, by neurologists and by some aficionados in their own bathrooms(!)? And of course, is there any neurobiological basis for the idea that a hole in your skull would expand your consciousness? Inquiring minds want to know. Get it?!
Madeleine Johnson, PhD, recently migrated her nerdiness from the high-paying world of post-doctoral Neuroscience research, where jobs are plentiful, to the even more glamorous and profitable world of freelance science journalism, with its abundant employment opportunities and stable and secure business models. She’s no dummy!"
(photo from the show courtesy of Mary Beth Griggs)
Nerd Nite NYC - February 2007
Adult Neurogenesis and Schizophrenia
"'And the olfactory bulb is Staten Island,' Madeleine Johnson quips. 'I like how the olfactory bulb is Staten Island because it smells.' Groans and laughter erupt from the dimly lit Orchid Lounge in Manhattan’s East Village. Johnson, a neurobiologist from Columbia, nervously waves her laser pointer at a projected map of the New York subway system lying on its side. That’s how she wants me to picture the mouse brain: Brooklyn is the caudate putamen, Manhattan is the neocortex, and Staten Island is, as previously mentioned, the olfactory bulb. Welcome to Nerd Nite, New York style." (from a write up in Inkling Magazine)
"Nerd Nite NYC - Orchid Lounge, 500 E 11th St between Aves A and B. Subway: L to First Ave. Thu 1 at 7pm, two-drink minimum. Do we continue to generate new brain cells throughout our lives? Tonight, Madeleine Johnson discusses the theory of adult neurogenesis (yay!) and its links to schizophrenia (boo!). Then, writer Neil Janowitz reminisces about our favorite time suck, Tetris." (from Time Out, 2007)
"Riding home after a late night in the lab, the New York City subway map starts to look a little like a sagittal section of mouse brain. This proves to be a surprisingly rich analogy for neuroanatomical landmarks!"
Adult Neurogenesis and Schizophrenia
"'And the olfactory bulb is Staten Island,' Madeleine Johnson quips. 'I like how the olfactory bulb is Staten Island because it smells.' Groans and laughter erupt from the dimly lit Orchid Lounge in Manhattan’s East Village. Johnson, a neurobiologist from Columbia, nervously waves her laser pointer at a projected map of the New York subway system lying on its side. That’s how she wants me to picture the mouse brain: Brooklyn is the caudate putamen, Manhattan is the neocortex, and Staten Island is, as previously mentioned, the olfactory bulb. Welcome to Nerd Nite, New York style." (from a write up in Inkling Magazine)
"Nerd Nite NYC - Orchid Lounge, 500 E 11th St between Aves A and B. Subway: L to First Ave. Thu 1 at 7pm, two-drink minimum. Do we continue to generate new brain cells throughout our lives? Tonight, Madeleine Johnson discusses the theory of adult neurogenesis (yay!) and its links to schizophrenia (boo!). Then, writer Neil Janowitz reminisces about our favorite time suck, Tetris." (from Time Out, 2007)
"Riding home after a late night in the lab, the New York City subway map starts to look a little like a sagittal section of mouse brain. This proves to be a surprisingly rich analogy for neuroanatomical landmarks!"
