For investigative or research-driven stories, get a grant *first* to support the work & then ask editors to greenlight project, say Patricia Clarembaux & Wendy Ruderman #sciwri25 🧪 (resembles Grave Hopper axiom "It is better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission")

want to be on TikTok to communicate science but "not good at TikTok"? Collaborate with someone who *is* good at it. We don't have to be good at everything, says Rudy Molinek. #sciwri25 🧪

Before taking on add'l work, ask yourself: 1- would I rather be relaxing at home? 2- what will I give up to make time for this? 3- does this new work align with my strategic plans? 4- would I do this for free? Tips from @katrinamillerphd.bsky.social & @notnotrocketscience.com #sciwri25 🧪

success tip for freelancers from @notnotrocketscience.com: figure out what your unique talents/offerings are in the field. Mentions op-eds, explainers, outreach events. #sciwri25 🧪

solid advice for early career freelance science journalists and writers, from Katrina Millet at NYT: build relationships with as many assigning editors as possible so you minimize time spent cold pitching #sciwri25 🧪

sound on: bongo.cat (works nicely on computer keyboard but might work on phone keyboard too)

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: At least one nuclear-weapons expert (one of many, I’d reckon) is baffled by Trump’s call to “immediately” resume U.S. nuclear tests. An enlightening convo with @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social, courtesy of @danvergano.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Vladimir Putin claims Russia has conducted a successful flight of a nuclear-powered cruise missile, Burevestnik. @danvergano.bsky.social explains how that missile might work—and why its existence leaves many experts perplexed. 🧪 scientificamerican.com/article/russ...

Sea Otters Are Stealing Surfboards in California. Again.

With all the fuss over tylenol, we're missing a bigger issue: we don't know enough about medication safety in pregnancy because so few drug studies include pregnant people. And that harms both women and their fetuses. My latest @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

"Conversion therapy is, for all practical purposes, no more legitimate than selling snake oil to cure cancer—and licensed professionals have no more of a legal right to provide it."

If you are in L.A. , go see this exhibit! My friend's mother, Ofelia Esparza, is a force of nature and her art is so incredible and life-affirming.

We used @sciam.bsky.social's 180th anniversary as an excuse to revisit an old favorite. Familiar with the efficiency of locomotion chart from the March 1973 issue? Here it is again, reimagined for 2025 by DTAN Studio, w/text by @parshallison.bsky.social 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

Only 1 week left to register for the annual ScienceWriters conference. More hotel rooms and more field trips! In Chicago. sciencewriters2025.org/register/

The science is in: COVID boosters are worth it, even if you've been vaccinated and/or infected before. Stay safe out there, friends!: 🧪 🛟 www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: This year’s physics Nobel goes to 3 researchers who demonstrated quantum tunneling on a superconducting chip. By bringing this microscopic effect into the macroscale world, they laid important foundations for quantum computing. www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

Your daily moment of zen: Rescued bear cubs at the Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire are given a donated pile of apples & acorns every year to fatten up before their first hibernation. Kilham is focused on rehab & release, run by competent rehab experts.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to some neat fundamental research on the immune system: peripheral immune tolerance. It's what keeps the body's defense mechanism in check—and could be key to new therapies for autoimmune disorders. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

Same and same! Great read on rocks.

Listeria is a dangerous bacteria, with a 20 percent case-fatality rate. It also survives refrigeration. So if you have these meals at home, toss them now.

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

Early-bird reg. discount for ScienceWriters2025, the annual conference for science journalists and science writers, ends next Weds (Oct 1). I plan to attend SciWri, as usual. It's always great. Let's all attend to re-energize, learn, make job connex & hang out in Chicago. sciencewriters2025.org

The @washingtonpost.com story on Tylenol & autism leaves out a MAJOR 2.5M sibling-controlled study of children in Denmark, which "found no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

We've reached 6,000 confirmed exoplanets! I talked with @aussiastronomer.bsky.social about where things go from here. (A great graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social visualizes the amazing jumps in planet finds since the first ones were confirmed in the 1990s.)

The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage. When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig. Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?

Take my weekly science quiz for @sciam.bsky.social ! This week: psychedelics and sexual parasites www.scientificamerican.com/game/science... 🧪

This is really interesting. I learned something!

Congratulations to @maxkozlov.bsky.social for winning the 2025 Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award! The judges recognized his @nature.com investigations of turmoil at the NIH as essential, thorough and timely. Kozlov will be honored in November at #SciWri25. casw.org/news/max-koz...

Her work had such an impact on me as a new graduate student. Why wasn't I being taught about any of these amazing science women? Oh. That's why.

happy skynet becomes self aware day to all who celebrate

Scientific American magazine is 180 years old. To celebrate, they're offering digital subs for $18 (about half price). Offer ends 9/2. www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/

Heads up science writers: Tomorrow 8/28 is the deadline to apply for a #SciWri25 Support Grant! Funds are available for both in-person and virtual attendees to help with travel, caregiving, and other costs. Plus: free registration. sciencewriters2025.org/grants/

Today marks 180 years of @sciam.bsky.social! I've been here for nearly 12 years and I couldn't be prouder to be a Scientific American. Here's my favorite cover, and the first special issue I edited. Happy 180th! sciam.com/180

COVID vaccines-which saved 1.4 million lives 2020-2024 (jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...) won't be easy to get now, though the disease still kills 100 people weekly. Today FDA changed approval to cover only senior citizens; kids/adults w/ health problems will have to jump thru unknown hoops.🧪🩺

To celebrate its 180th birthday (!!) @sciam.bsky.social is running a photo contest (details here: sciam.com/180contest) to take #SciAmInTheWild. Where do you read about science?

The Perseids are the best annual meteor shower, but this year’s show will be dimmed by a bright gibbous moon

Thanks to Dan Epstein for talking to me about the significance of recent events in Atlanta. I don't claim any credit for Jen's talent or success, but she's my "protegé" for the same reason I say that about EVERY woman who's out there umpiring baseball in 2025. They're all my babies! Look at us fly!

Holy crap. This is poetry. I have seen a sarcastic debunkening this melodious in quite some time.

Sludge, aka friction, in customer service interactions - it's planned, it's growing www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

About 80% of my grammar suggestions from Microsoft Word are “why not use a simpler word here for clarity?” No. Fuck you. I will use a complicated word for evocative precision whenever the muse’s clarion song demands ebullience, vivacity, torpor, or solemnity, you shit-ass suck machine.

Scientific American is turning 180! 🎉 Celebrate with us: 🎂 Explore our anniversary collection 🧩 Solve digital jigsaw puzzles of vintage covers 🏆 Stay tuned for a contest announcement tomorrow! sciam.com/180 #SciAm180

This graphic alone is like a fucking dissertation. Incredible stuff. Master class. Blows a massive hole in every govt's excuse that their level of gov't has no control over freeway spending.

Now on @sciam.bsky.social, by @nadiadrake.bsky.social: The U.S. has axed CMB-S4, its boldest cosmology experiment in generations. Tight budgets and crumbling infrastructure helped doom the project, which was meant to test cosmic inflation. RIP. www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

Tony Reavis on doping in elite running: tonireavis.com/2025/07/17/b...

My first story for @sciam.bsky.social eeee. And such a fascinating phenomenon: ~true polar wander~. Read more about what's causing Earth's poles to wander here: www.scientificamerican.com/article/eart...

We finally made it to Bluesky—just a few billion years after the Big Bang, and only slightly late to the party ✨🌌 We’re sharing some of our best stories from the year so far to kick off our Bluesky journey!

100 years after the Scopes trial, in which John Scopes was found guilty of breaking a law against teaching human evolution in school, U.S. education is still under attack from the same religiously motivated political forces that led to the Scopes verdict 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/amer...

"Fool’s gold" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... "the past four decades, the White House has exerted increasing political control over the scientific work of federal agencies... " "institutionalizes a 'doubt science' approach to shaping policy. Political apparatchiks are now granted broad license"

Applications are open for CASW'S (@sciencewriting.bsky.social) annual award to an outstanding under-31 science journalist. Deadline June 30. Winner gets $1,000 & expenses to attend ScienceWriters2025. I'm excited to organize judging this year. DM if interested in judging: casw.org/awards-fello...