🏜️I have a #sourcerequest: I'm working on a piece about the seizing and destruction of public lands along the southern border for border security, and I'd love to speak with people who live in the region about their experiences. Please share widely! DM or signal at aheidt.16

New NIH funding strategy has been formalized. I really do hope scientists understand what this means for the future of science (funding) - it's not subtle. www.niaid.nih.gov/about/unifie...

The government’s arrests of journalists @donlemonofficial.bsky.social and @bygeorgiafort.bsky.social are attacks on freedom of the press. Two federal courts flatly rejected prosecuting Lemon, but instead of accepting that humiliating defeat, the government has now doubled down. Read our statement:

Many moons ago, I spoke with researchers at the University of Amsterdam for a study on the practice of watchdog science journalism, and now that publication is out as a preprint! This is a great chance to learn from dozens of (far more seasoned than me) reporters on how they approach their work.

Reupping my "Abolish ICE" Congress tracker. Right now, only one Minnesota Member of Congress (@repilhan.bsky.social) and one white Member of Congress (@repmcgovern.bsky.social) have publicly called for abolishing ICE: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... bsky.app/profile/alex...

Filming ICE is an act of journalism. Cell phone footage is vital source material for reporters who can’t be everywhere at once. Shooting, killing and other targeting of those documenting news is an attack on press freedom and all else that's good in the world.

Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti. "Please get the truth out about our son."

Now updated with new info from the preliminary report! A second helicopter came within 10 feet of the line an hour after the first, deadly crash.

May or may not be taking a trip there this weekend because I was so intrigued by this story. 👀

Biden's DOE gave $2 million to a nonprofit called Mothers for Nuclear so they could come to San Juan County and tell us that accepting high-level nuclear waste would be totally safe. My latest:

SNAP now has work requirements for people 55 to 64. But because of the axing of a USDA food insecurity survey, we may not have comprehensive data of the effects of this barbaric change. My latest for @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/food/2026/01...

🏜️My first feature for @sfgate.com, and such an important story. For decades, the inventory & monitoring program has ensured that parks are being managed based on the best available science. Now, that effort is being threatened.

In 2026, we're launching an ambitious effort to track legacy news media's coverage of the trans community, with a focus on the words news outlets choose and how those are changing as right wing pressure threatens the independence of our press. www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

🧪 I've been deep in the cancer space in recent months, including this feature, out in the most recent issue of @nature.com, on cancer dormancy and how it can lead to metastasis decades after a person has ostensibly been declared cancer-free. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🏜️ An autopsy report in the last hour confirms that a mountain lion killed a hiker near Rocky Mountain National Park --- the first mount lion-associated fatality in the state in decades. Her death follows a handful of incidents in recent months in which the large cats threatened hikers.

🧪 New year, same 'ol me. Following last year's piece about early career scientists and their hopes and fears for the future, I cast an even wider net, inviting people in Australia, South Korea, Germany, South Africa and China to share their career journeys.

🏜️Why is the southwest parks reporter covering the ocean, you ask? Because I was once a marine biologist, and sometimes I get to dip my (metaphorical and literal) toe back into things. Congrats to all involved, this is exciting news to someone who watched wasting syndrome sweep through back in 2013.

It's a risky time to come forward, so I especially appreciate the folks who spoke with me for this story. Some of the policies in here are happening across the NPS, but Yose is feeling the pinch especially hard due to upcoming changes in how their hourly rates are calculated.

😎Stephen Colbert referenced our parks coverage for 10 whole seconds last night, including my piece on how Trump may have run afoul of the law by putting his face on the America the Beautiful pass and @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social’s follow-up on the resulting lawsuit! youtube.com/watch?v=rc90...

Early details about the gathering were scarce, a leaked agenda stated that the goal was to discuss future national parks planning that would keep with “the goals of the NPS, Department of the Interior, and President Trump’s agenda.” via @scattercushion.bsky.social www.sfgate.com/national-par...

🏜️About that Trump national parks pass thing... www.sfgate.com/national-par...

I read some of the coverage of this story and was left with about a million questions. So I used my millennial powers for good and tracked Lisa Frazee down on Facebook to satisfy my (and hopefully your) curiosity. www.sfgate.com/national-par...

In other news, what the jesus christ is this? www.whitehouse.gov/mediabias/t

I did a bad job sharing this one out, but my latest is a doozy.

Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly. Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help! 🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm

breaking news: COP30 talks have been evacuated after a massive fire broke out inside the venue in brazil

I keep a particular meme shortcutted for responding to lengthy criticisms about my work. (Which is NOT to say I won't engage with legitimate concerns. I'm 👀 at you, guy who argued I was being funded by woke leftists b/c I used the word "diversity" too much in a story about the Cambrian Explosion.)

Happy International Day of LGBTQIA+ People In STEM! How are you celebrating it? #LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM

🏜️ The lesser-visited side of the Grand Canyon is closing two weeks earlier than planned due to winter weather and lingering damage from the Dragon Bravo fire. www.sfgate.com/national-par...

Science/health/environmental journalists: Join us for an amazing year at MIT. 🔭🧪2026 applications are open! Deadline is Jan. 9. Please share widely. ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/11...

My first byline in my new role for @sfgate.com, and I got to go report in my own backyard! I promise the next one will be more uplifting.

Aurora over Moab tonight. I've been waiting my whole life to see this. 🌌

🧪Fun #sourcerequest: Have you, a scientist, read the book Microbe Hunters, and if so, did it leave a lasting impact on you? This book--perhaps the first popular science text--is turning 100 next year, and I'm covering it for @nautil.us! Also interested in speaking with medical or science historians.

"Science is being destroyed across many agencies" say federal researchers. For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.

🏜️Today is the day! I have officially started at @sfgate.com and am on the hunt for stories about our southwest national parks. If you've got a tip, know of an iconic local in your town, or otherwise wanna chat public lands, I'm at [email protected].

🧪I've been doing a lot of reporting on cancer recently, and the first to run is this feature for @nature.com on the intersection between nanorobotics and oncology. Read on to learn about biohybrid robots (a sperm cell that delivers cancer drugs!?) and what we can expect in the coming years.

Look at this point if Richard Dawkins thinks you've got good ideas about how science needs to be run, you...should look hard in the mirror and reconsider your ideas. www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...

Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs - Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75% - Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60% - Social Sciences by 50–70% - History by 60% - Biology by 75% - The German department will lose all PhD seats - Sociology from six PhD students to zero

I’ve long said that the staff job that could pull me away from freelancing probably doesn't exist. Happy to be proven half wrong, at least. Excited to announce that I'll soon be starting a new role as the Southwest National Parks Editor @sfgate.com, covering public lands in the four corners region.

Since I've gotten a bit more traffic on my page recently, I'm still seeking sources for this story.

🧪Did I really have time for this story? No, I did not, for reasons I'll be sharing soon. Did I absolutely feel compelled to write it anyways? You know I did! A viral mystery solved by science. Read on @sciencenews.bsky.social Also, I have a new to-do for my trip to Chicago for #SciWri25 next month!

🧪Hello friends! I'm working on a piece about putting together the best tenure/promotion package, and I'd love to hear from STEM folks who have recently done this or have experience evaluating these types of proposals. Please RT for reach, and feel free to reach out with any Qs!

🧪New from me for @nature.com: Nearly every model organism used in research has it's own database, called a MOD. These resources underpin decades of discovery, but they're collectively struggling amid funding cuts. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH has anyone been on a .gov website yet today? How many of them are like this??

🧪Hearing about Myasthenia Gravis for the first time? I was too, but turns out there's lots to learn about this surprisingly common rare disease. So read on, in my latest for BioSpace. www.biospace.com/drug-develop...

The CDC has released the agenda for this week’s vaccine advisory meeting. The first item of business: MMR vaccines. 👀👀👀 www.cdc.gov/acip/meeting...

NSF: The vessel [US Antarctic research vessel NB Palmer] is planned to be returned to the operator after a final cruise in October 2025.   www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/upda... @carlosmoffat.com

This story — which asks what happened to all of those newsroom DEI jobs, committees, and promises from 2020 — is the hardest one I've ever worked on. I hope you'll spend some time with it today. www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...

I'm sorry, they do what now!? This is reaffirming my longstanding belief that myrmecologist are unhinged.

🧪We are so back! I have three deadlines this week, and here's the first to make it to pub. A new study in @cellpress.bsky.social identified the "key hub" that controls consumption. It's even got a link to semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy/Ozempic. www.nature.com/articles/d41...