Becca Mellema
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beccmel2.bsky.social
Becca Mellema
@beccmel2.bsky.social
180 followers 790 following 130 posts
“Not all who wander are lost”- JRR Tolkien. Immunology and Microbiology PhD candidate. Loves writing, riding bikes, DnD, and taking photos. BLM 🍉 🧬She/her

Website: gettingthesciencewrite.com
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beccmel2.bsky.social
A belated Halloween post! We’re covering hallucinations (caused by hallucinogens and injuries)!

gettingthesciencewrite.com/Science-of-S...
November 3, 2025 at 5:24 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Thank you bluesky for the amazing block function!
October 22, 2025 at 7:54 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
New blog post! How likely is it that your favorite fictional character can become completely immune to snake venom? And has it been done in real life? (Spoilers: yes).

gettingthesciencewrite.com/Built-Up-Imm...
September 9, 2025 at 5:42 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Coming out of a PhD thesis defense haitus, it’s my newest blog post!!

gettingthesciencewrite.com/Firearms-in-...
June 14, 2025 at 2:55 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
“Stand up for Science” march poster making session! #science
March 7, 2025 at 2:59 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
New blog post! I’m back, and ready to tackle the science of organ transplants! #science

gettingthesciencewrite.com/Transplants/
March 1, 2025 at 5:14 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
What’s technically my January 2025 newsletter (though it’s February 😅)

gettingthesciencewrite.beehiiv.com/p/january-20...
February 9, 2025 at 7:53 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
The blog is back in business, folks!! Time to get back to putting fun #science into #fantasy once more!

This first blog post of the year is an update/overview of the blog and other #Scicomm projects in the work! Next month => biology of limb replacements!

gettingthesciencewrite.com/Updates-2025/
January 31, 2025 at 6:18 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Another #dnd art from a recent session! My little Warforged chronicler saw an ill omen streak across the sky near our campsite… which he took as a pretty set of shooting stars!! 💫

(I’m still figuring out oil pastels!)
Oil pastel image of a yellow tent under a dark stary sky with two red shooting stars streaking across the sky in parallel
January 26, 2025 at 6:36 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Without downloading any new pics where are you mentally?
A hero forge of an ink monster: an elven maiden with ink tattoos running up her arms, ink streaming down her cheeks. She reaches out of a swirling pool of ink. Her jaw is unhinged and her sharp white teeth poke out from between her lips
January 25, 2025 at 2:31 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
More #dnd #fantasy #dragon #fantasyart!

First time in years using paint and I made this lil’ fellah playing in the bubbles!
A red baby dragon’s head is popping out of a bucket of bubbles
January 25, 2025 at 2:11 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
(I’m so sorry; I swear I’m trying to do alt text but the app won’t let me save it! The save button is not working?)
January 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
More #Dnd art because it’s giving me joy this morning!

I play a little Warforged chronicler who is supposed to write down major events as his job.

Here, we see his art that’s SUPPOSED to be depicting a major “fortune telling” event for a town… but he got distracted by this cool leaf!!
A watercolor painting of a red-yellow-orange oak leaf on a blue and green background
January 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Welp, in spite of things, I still want to post #DnD stuff.

Here’s an image of a huge bird mount I drew from our DM’s description!
January 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
My blog (currently on hold until later this month), is my favorite scicom project: examining theoretical science using scifi fantasy!

gettingthesciencewrite.com

I will eventually be making my own website, where I will post other science writing (eta end of this year)
January 19, 2025 at 10:38 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Hello folks:

Due to the rise of fascism in many of the media platforms I’m using, I’m going to be focusing on using my newsletter and blog to do my science communication once I’m back into it.

My newsletter is monthly

gettingthesciencewrite.beehiiv.com/subscribe
January 19, 2025 at 10:38 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Reposted from my stories. I wish I could find the original post that got me thinking, but the paraphrasing will do.
Text says: “You know, I heard something today that, paraphrasing, went like this: I’m grieving, because I feel powerless in a burning world, and those in power are doing nothing or even helping for the preventable destruction of the world. And I grieve because I love the world.” Text says: I almost went into anthropology because I adore people’s odd cultures everywhere. I love how widely different we all can be across the globe or even state lines and have these oddities make us feel amazingly human. I study biology because I love to to know how people work internally. I just need a moment to cry about how cruel people can be too. And for no reason other than made-up fear. Power. Stupidity. And I’m so sad right now as I watch people forget how kind humanity is capable of being. How resilient we can be. It feels like we’ve forgotten how strong we can be and have preemptively readied a throne at our side for despair to rule at our sides. So yeah. Right now, I’m deeply sad.
January 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Okay, time to do a reintroduction!

I’m Becca Mellema, a nearly-graduate PhD student studying blood in diseases and a science communicator! Things I do:

🧪 #scicomm
🗺️ made #ttrpg maps
🎲 play ttrpgs
🖊️ creative #writing

Check out my science+ fantasy #blog!

www.gettingthesciencewrite.com
Logo for Getting the science write blog: a feather pen with DNA double helix coming off of it. To the side says “Getting the Science Write.”
November 16, 2024 at 9:42 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
I’m sorry… what?!
A screenshot from the article, with a part underlined: “the open-access journal changes authors whose manuscripts it reviews $2500 each”
November 15, 2024 at 11:18 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Had fun with this ink demon in last night’s one-shot! Made on heroforge

#daggerheart #trrpg #tabletoproleplay
Heroforge mini of a pale elven maiden with black writing over her body and ink pouring out of her eyes. She is waist deep in swirling ink and her elongated arms are reaching out, with her jaw elongated and crocked.
October 24, 2024 at 4:14 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
Since I’m going to fully migrate over here from the bird site, I’ll do a quick plug;

I’m a PhD candidate and science communicator who (when I’m not drowning in PhD work) plays TTRPGs, makes fantasy maps and runs a science+ fantasy blog! Link 👇

gettingthesciencewrite.com
October 18, 2024 at 9:34 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
New blog post up! This time, we’re making a DnD character that I played for Science and Sorcery’s “Playing for Palestine” series! How do we add science flavor to a character?

Link to blog: gettingthesciencewrite.com/Dnd-Characte...

Link to charity: tiltify.com/@scienceands...
April 29, 2024 at 1:56 PM
beccmel2.bsky.social
New blog post up! Here we explore how dragons could have feathers and the world building implications of that addition!

gettingthesciencewrite.com/Dragon-Feath...

#science #sciencewriting #blog #blogging #scicomm
Background: close up on a scarlet feather. In the top half, a white circle holds a dragon head with a red feather beneath the dragon. In the box in the lower half, it reads: “dragon feathers: our classic fire-breathing terrors of the sky… with plumage!”
March 24, 2024 at 3:56 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
February’s blog post! New blog post! Explore the world rich history of microbiology— especially superbugs— with special guest author, Charlotte Roughton.

gettingthesciencewrite.com/2024-Germina...
A green and blue promotional background, which a hand spraying green cleaning solution onto cartoon germs. In the title box directly beneath, it states “Germinate: a science fiction story about a difficult superbug. Guest Author: Charlotte Roughton.)
March 10, 2024 at 12:55 AM
beccmel2.bsky.social
New Inkarnate Map!
Enziel, the Last Loyal Outpost

inkarnate.com/m/5XM2QV-enz...
February 11, 2024 at 3:01 PM