Nicoletta Lanese

Nicoletta Lanese

Nicoletta Lanese is a staff writer for Live Science covering health and medicine, along with an assortment of biology, animal, environment and climate stories. She holds degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has appeared in The Scientist Magazine, Science News, The San Jose Mercury News and Mongabay, among other outlets.

Articles by: Nicoletta Lanese

carcass of giant squid strewn between large rocks on a beach

Giant 'kraken' carcass with dinner plate-size eyes washes ashore in South Africa

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A huge giant squid carcass cropped up in Cape Town.

illustration of e coli bacteria

'Fast-moving' E. coli outbreak prompts CDC investigation

By Nicoletta Lanese published

An E. coli outbreak has sickened 29 people in the midwest.

tan-colored italian greyhound curled up against a pillow on a bed

1st suspected case of human-to-dog monkeypox transmission reported in France

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Two men in France may have passed the monkeypox virus to their pet dog.

illustration shows t. rex skull with its true eye socket shape compared to skull with circular eye socket, which can hold a far larger eyeball

Not just tiny arms: T. rex also had super small eyes to accommodate its big bite

By Nicoletta Lanese published

T. rex may have evolved thin eye sockets to help handle its bite force.

black, mineral-filled water shown spewing out of a hydrothermal vent that a robot is collecting samples from

Massive expanse of towering hydrothermal vents discovered deep in the Pacific

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists found a huge field of hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise.

Scientist in a lab coat is pictured injecting something into a small glass vial on a lab bench

Scientists uncover ancient source of oxygen that could have fueled life on early Earth

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Chemical reactions in early Earth's crust may have provided oxygen to ancient microbes.

close up of an older man holding his throat in discomfort, as if it's sore

A man's voice grew hoarse for no obvious reason. It turns out, he had fungus in his throat.

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A man's rare fungal infection caused his voice to grow hoarser and hoarser.

eight photos of sythetic mouse embryos in various stages of development

1st synthetic mouse embryos — complete with beating hearts and brains — created with no sperm, eggs or womb

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists grew mouse embryos without cells, sperm or a uterus.

close up of a pig in a hay-lined pen

Scientists revived the cells of pigs an hour after death, a potential organ transplant breakthrough

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists revitalized cells in the bodies of dead pigs.

Lina Medina pictured in 1941 with one of her doctors and her son

What's the youngest age that a person can get pregnant and give birth?

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Pregnancy is possible from the start of ovulation.

close up of a jawbone and teeth from the remains of a young adult male excavated in Holland who died in the 1600s

'Cold sore' virus may have gained prominence thanks to Bronze Age smooching

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists analyzed ancient herpes DNA found in human teeth.

lab dish containing a red culture liquid and the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei

Bacteria behind melioidosis, a deadly tropical disease, found in US for 1st time

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Health officials found potentially deadly bacteria in Mississippi soil.

illustration of an ebola virus; the virus looks like a long, thin filament that's twisted into a loose knot at one end

Ebola: Causes, symptoms, treatments & vaccines

By Alina Bradford, Nicoletta Lanese published

Four types of Ebola virus cause severe disease in humans.

conceptual image of stem cells being injected into the bloodstream

66-year-old likely cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A patient entered remission from cancer and HIV after a transplant.

monkeypox viral particles

Monkeypox: Symptoms, pictures, treatments & vaccines

By Nicoletta Lanese published

The monkeypox virus is related to the virus that causes smallpox.

(left) a fossil of a precambrian jellyfish relative outlined in white; (right) a colored illustration of the same animal, which resembles a sea anemone with two cup-like structures full of short tentacles

560 million-year-old tentacled creature may be the animal kingdom's first known predator

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A fossilized animal from the Ediacaran period is likely related to modern jellyfish.

brain scan with a region of the left hemisphere highlighted in blue; behind the scan, sentences pulled from Alice in Wonderland can be seen running from the bottom of the image to the top

'Universal language network' identified in the brain

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Brain scans revealed a "map" of this universal language network.

A slow-motion movie of a trap-jaw ant (Odontomachus brunneus) releasing its mandibles.

Trap-jaw ants' lightning-fast bite should rip their heads apart. Here's why it doesn't.

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A unique "dual spring" powers the ant's jaws.

illustration of poliovirus particles

New York resident infected with polio, marking 1st US case in a decade

By Nicoletta Lanese published

A Rockland County resident tested positive for poliovirus.

surfer walking on the boardwalk near rockaway beach in NY

NYC beaches briefly closed for swimming after 'multiple' shark sightings

By Nicoletta Lanese published

It's New York State Park policy to suspend swimming following a shark sighting.

Two wildlife officials, one in a parks uniform and one in a neon vest, pose with a clutch of invasive python eggs with young hatchlings in their hands; a second photo shows one official holding an adult python

19 python babies and their massive mom nabbed in Florida nursery raid

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Officials removed two breeding females and many hatchlings.

a uniformed wildlife official inspects a dead goose

Someone decapitated a gaggle of geese in Idaho, and wildlife officials seek answers

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Officials are investigating the killing of multiple geese.

Pox viruses (shown here in this illustration) like monkeypox are oval-shaped with double-strand DNA.

CDC's monkeypox case count passes 1,000: Here's what you need to know

By Nicoletta Lanese published

At least 1,050 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with monkeypox.

illustration of jurassic water bugs swimming with clusters of eggs on their legs

Jurassic insect wore eggs on its legs, fossils show

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists found eggs on water bug fossils from the Jurassic.

honey dripper placed in a small pool of honey on a blank background

Honey marketed for 'sexual enhancement' could be dangerous, FDA warns

By Nicoletta Lanese published

The FDA sent warning letters to four companies.