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Becca Mellema

@beccmel2.bsky.social
252 followers 821 following 248 posts

PhD in Immunology and Microbiology. Science communicator. BLM 🍉 🧬She/her Website: www.rebeccamellema.com Blog: gettingthesciencewrite.com

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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
#sciart current state of my recent WIP bird illustration!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
#Sciart #Scienceart
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
For my primary my #scicomm work, I write a blog where I examine fantasy and scifi tropes through a scientific lens. Welp, that blog eventually turned into a fun side project during my PhD, which then blossomed into a full on science fantasy comedy #book! Cover by @llysaan.bsky.social!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
What is this? A sneak peak at my science fantasy + comedy novel’s cover??! 🤩 Did my Scicomm blog inspire this book?! Yes! #Fantasy
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
A behind-the-scenes look at my most recent animation of hyaluronan heavy chain formation! #sciart There is a part 2 coming up of this animation, as we have to have those heavy chains degraded! (This refraction process was foundational to my PhD research! Made in procreate.
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Another #scienceanimation, this time on the molecule I studied for my PhD! Hyaluronan (HA) is a sugar on the outside of your cells that can, during inflammation, form heavy chains that reach out into the bloodstream. These heavy chains can act as landing sites for infiltrating immune cells! #science
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
New #sciart! I evolved from a little flask to a beaker for my #animation! #science #sciencesnimation
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Learning #animation for future #scienceanimation! (Do I see some swirling flasks and beakers in my future?)
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
#selfpublish #indiebook Another look at my upcoming science-heavy dragon fantasy book!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
#sciencecommunication #Science Setting up an art tutorial for scientists (and others) who are just starting out!
A work in progress on Procreate, where a black butterfly wing is being filled in with white marks
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
#sciart WIP Working off of a crab carcass that I found during my recent vacation to Port Townsend!
A partially completed digital painting of a crab.
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
New illustration practice! A turtle illustration with a watercolor/cutout style! #sciart #ilistration #scienceillustration #marineart
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
New science illustration practice! A peacock from the woodland park zoo! #sciart #scienceillustration #illustration
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
⭐ Open for Science Communication Work!⭐ Are you a scientist who's struggling to make your figures for your upcoming research article? Do you need someone to edit your grant manuscript? Do you need a new lab website? I can help you translate your science! Link to my website in my bio!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
#Science Opsonization! A macrophage demolishes a bacteria with the help of antibodies!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
#Sciart #scienceart Wanna see one of my first animations made in procreate (and created while I wrote my thesis?) Tadaa! A megakarytocyte turning into a bunch of teeny tiny platelets! (I highly recommend NEVER doing this for a first animation attempt 😅)
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
GTPase in action! This is the “on /off” switch of cells. When GTP is bound to the protein, the GTPAse (usually) is turned on. When it has GDP (two phosphates instead of 3), the protein is (usually) turned off. #science #animation #scicomm #Sciart
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
WIP #sciart …Never do peacock art for your science illustration portfolio, the feathers are NOT worth it! 🥲
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
New blog post! Today we will be exploring echolocation, inspired by a chat with one of my students. We not only look at animals beyond your classic bat, but we also discuss whether humans can echolocate! Link in bio and here: gettingthesciencewrite.com/Echolocation/ #scicomm #scienceblogs #scicomm
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Platelets and their clot formations! I studied these cells back in grad school! #sciart #scicomm #animation #science #sciencevisualisation #scienceanimation
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I think I’m done with this sea otter illustration! Digital painting of sea otters from the Seattle Aquarium! #sciart
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Ok! One last animation before I officially go on vacation! #sciart #animation #scicomm
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
One of many functions antibodies have: neutralization! Keeping proteins (like on the outside of a virus) from binding to cell surfaces and blocking them from the receptors on the cell’s exterior! This was a fun version of the bouncing ball animation exercise! #science #animation #scicomm
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I have been horrible at posting my #Sciart practices on BlueSky! Here’re some of my recent botanical practice pieces!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Neutrophils are the “nukes” of the immmune system, meaning they’re ready to dump all of their pre-packaged content into an inflamed area to deal with an infection. Sometimes, this means the neutrophil dumps out its own DNA, which can entangle itself into the site of inflammation.
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Another fun animation, this time of a bacteriophage! #science
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Hello! If you want to support my science communication (operation friendly neighborhood scientist, animations, illustrations, blog, etc) and don’t want to commission anything specific from me, you can support me on my Patreon! #science patreon.com/Gettingthesc...
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Another silly animation I made for my upcoming indie book (comedy fantasy) as we’re in pride month! Hello fellow aroaces!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
What do my PhD thesis and my upcoming fantasy novel have in common? I wrote them to the same music! #author
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Little fun animation practice (I think this is considered rotoscoping? I used a series of pictures I took from the Seattle aquarium to make the stingray’s motions!) #animation
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New blog post out! I gush about Project Hail Mary! Spoilers ahead! Link: gettingthesciencewrite.com/Amaze-Amaze-... #Scicomm #scienceblog #projecthailmary #blogger
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
This is the little animation I made for my upcoming #selfpub novel! (Yes, I animated this all in ToonSquid! Took a bit to figure out!)
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I’ve completely forgot to post this about my upcoming indie novel! If you like my science blog, you’ll enjoy this fun book! It was a blast to write! #author
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Another day of Operation Friendly Neighborhood scientist! #scicomm Drinks drank: 1 chai Folks chatted with: 0 (see below!) Thumbs up: 2! Smiles + nods: tons! Unfortunately, I managed to walk 2.5 when it started drizzling, and a fraction of the people who usually walk here were out. Bad timing!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New #scienceart practice! Fun little butterfly that I based off of a picture I took back from the pacific science center!
Watercolor painting of a blue butterfly
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Poetry book rec for scientists!! The Plates by Diane Ackerman has been a joy to read (and eventually I’ll make a video going through the actual poems because it tickles my writing brain in all the best ways!) #scicomm
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Art practice for science illustration that I forgot to post on here! #scicomm
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Please enjoy this picture that only happened this morning because I overcame my severe feet of bees and got real close with my iPhone. #photography #bees
Picture of a bumblebees taking nectar from a pink flower
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
New Scicomm blog post!! gettingthesciencewrite.com/Dragon-Fire/ Today we’ll be exploring all the scientific ways dragons could breathe fire! Buckle up, because we head back to AP chemistry for this one! #scicomm #blog #sciencecomm #dragons #sciencefantasy
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Day 9 of Operation: Friendly Neighborhood Scientist! #scicomm This time, we got our hands on wooden microscopes :) Miles walked: 0 Drinks drank: none (I forgot my water!) People chatted: 22+! So many people played with the microscopes! It was so much fun, and I got to chat about my research.
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
#art Animation practice from a Shake My Art youtube tutorial! This is so much harder than it looks, but it was great to practice key-framing speed!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Art practice for future Scicomm work! #scienceart
Watercolor of brightly lit jellyfish with gentle pink tendrils
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Day 7 of OFNS! #scicomm Sign: Which do you prefer: math or bio? Miles walked: 2.5-ish Drinks drank: chocolate turmeric chai Interactions: 24 + 2 in-depth chats! Which one would you choose?
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Fantastic talk on incorporating humor in science at #scitalk26 #sciencetalk26 #scicomm !
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Learning about combining games with science (as well as game production!) #SciTalk26 #ScienceTalk26 #scicomm
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Learning how to do some fun Lego coding for #SCITALK26 ! Meet our crab + grass drivers!
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Becca Mellema @beccmel2.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Day 6 of O:FNS #scicomm Today, I learned about penguins, planet definitions, how much bile acid is in your body, and even California’s economy! Miles walked: 2.5 People chatted: 8 Drinks drank: water Sign: see below!
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