Natalia Mesa, PhD

As she was completing her graduate thesis on the neuroscience of vision, Natalia found that she loved to talk to other people about how science impacts them. This passion led Natalia to take up writing and science communication, and she has contributed to outlets including Scientific American and the Broad Institute. Natalia completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of Washington and graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. She was previously an intern at The Scientist, and currently freelances from her home in Seattle.

Articles by Natalia Mesa, PhD

A pair of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Monogamous Rodents Don’t Need “Love Molecule” To Pair Up

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 4 min read

An artist’s rendering of a DNA-based virus trap, represented as gray rods in a short cone-shaped arrangement. One is coated with blue molecules, likely antibodies, that adhere to a virus target. Another image shows to traps coming together to capture a red coronavirus.

“Origami” DNA Traps Could Keep Large Viruses From Infecting Cells

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 4 min read

A green and white fish swimming underwater

Rockfish Genes Hold Clues to Human Longevity

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 3 min read

A colored microscopy image of a dividing breast cancer cell

Transfer RNAs Have a Surprising Role in Breast Cancer Growth

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 4 min read

Artist’s rendering of a reflective metallic DNA double helix.

Humans Are Still Evolving Thanks to Microgenes

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 3 min read

Rendered image of <em>Chlamydia</em>

How Chlamydia Guards Itself Against the Immune System

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 4 min read

<em>Chlamydia</em> invades a host cell, forms a membrane-bound vacuole, or inclusion, and then modifies the protein composition of the structure’s membrane. If immune cells detect <em>Chlamydia</em> before it forms the inclusion, they trigger T cells to produce interferon-γ (IFN-γ), a powerful cytokine. IFN-γ activates the protein mysterin (also called RFN213), which attaches ubiquitin to the inclusion membrane, signaling the cell to destroy the inclusion’s contents by dumping them into a lysosome (left). C. trachomatis produces GarD, a protein that integrates into the inclusion membrane itself and somehow prevents mysterin from attaching ubiquitin, allowing the bacterium to evade immune destruction while continuing to multiply and eventually bursting from the cell (right).

Infographic: How Chlamydia Evades Immune Detection

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 2 min read

illustration of T cell attached to protein

“Smarter” CAR T Cells Target Tumors with Precision

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 5 min read

A grayscale tomography image of snake tissue

Snakes Have Clitorises After All, Study Finds

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 4 min read

Illustration of HIV virus

Viral Protein Behind Chronic Inflammation in People with HIV: Study

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 3 min read

Lock and key illustration

Novel Yeast-Assembly Technique Yields Living Materials

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 3 min read

Orange and blue spring with steam rising

Archaea Sport Structures that Shuttle Genes Among Microbes

Natalia Mesa, PhD | | 3 min read

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Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.

January 2026

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