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Noooo :( I just finished rewatching Schitt's Creek, but she was funny in *everything*.

#ABSWmembers #students Are you a student science journalist seeking personalised #careeradvice from experienced professionals on your next career step? Join the ABSW online session on Wed, 25 February, at 19:00. Book now! zurl.co/GIDmu#ABSWmembers#students#careeradvice#speeddating #networking

I’m working on a new Mixture issue today, but have to finish something else first, so why don’t you reread the previous one while you wait? open.substack.com/pub/mixture/...

"Luchs speaks five languages: English, French, Italian, and some German and Russian. She approached grasping Gen Z parlance like she was learning another language. ...An Instagram commenter wrote: 'She’s so natural with it too like it’s not even cringe.'"

Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.

Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out. As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class. Here's what happened:

Some pictures from the @wcsj2027.bsky.social launch at the Royal Society last night. I was there to represent the European Federation of Science Journalism. The European conference is even earlier - in October!

And just like that, the US has left the World Health Organization. Link goes to the official announcement—lies pretending to justify a decision that will kill countless numbers—from people too stupid to even include a proper twittercard. www.hhs.gov/press-room/u...

As someone who spent the last 15 years working with aging brains & dementia, I can't stop thinking about this. It is gerontocracy: leaders who are substantially older than most of the adult population. When did we accept this? The new generations can't show up because the old generations never left.

I've reached the point in reporting where sources are recommending other people that I have *already* talked to, so I think the story is taking shape.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold

Guys, I don’t think we’ve got a view of the aurora here. (North is looking toward that satellite dish) I can try out of another window but there’s even more light pollution on that side and I can’t open a window there right now because of sleeping people.

We used to do real science

My first PLR day! I'm pleasantly surprised by how many people borrowed my book(s)* from the library. So you *do* like science after all! *It was just the biology book, but it was borrowed over 450 times!

In case you missed it on Friday: Mixture is back, with links to recent science writing on the web and a bit about stereo viewing (aka what 90s 3D art has to do with chemistry) mixture.substack.com/p/3d-images-...

This is very cool: An ebook about the science of colour, by science communicator Cristina Rugutto. #scicomm www.scicomm.it/colour-guide/

Charity says superrich 4,000 times more likely to hold political power than others and own all social media companies.

A joke for the history buffs: Germany’s satirical newspaper @der-postillon.com titles: “Vienna Academy of the Arts offers Trump admission as a student — They don’t want to get blamed again“

The Arctic is warming around four times faster than the rest of the globe. The changing landscape created a region ripe for opportunity factors that may play a role in President Trump’s sudden quest to obtain Greenland.

The thing I like particularly about the fact that Isaac Newton invented the catflap is it gives the image of him trying to lay the foundations of classical mechanics but getting distracted by having to let a cat out then in again 40 seconds later and thinking, “Shit, I really need to sort this.”

Mixture is back! Here's a new issue with science and also that scene from Seinfeld where Mr Pitt can't see the 3D Magic Eye art (it's relevant). 🧪 #scicomm open.substack.com/pub/mixture/...

it should not surprise anybody who follows my work that I wrote a bunch more songs last year. (Peter Balkan was written in 2024.) Here's one we're releasing early in honor of Bob Weir. Enjoy -- we're donating proceeds to the American Cancer Society. themountaingoats.bandcamp.com/track/going-...

👀 UK Research and Innovation and its councils quietly quit X / Twitter. Funding agency has “been using alternative platforms” amid ongoing controversies over social media company. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Such a shortsighted mess. Progressive cities need to be able to force councils to prioritise electric car sharing schemes

SCAM ALERT – IMPORTANT The cat has already been fed.

if you want a long read that involves udders, a hot air balloon, and some extremely dubious data on egg prices, the story I’ve been working on for the last few months where I tried to single-handedly take on every government function myself is now online! www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

The Notion article tracker is back to its normal price on Payhip, but I had to change it manually on Notion itself and it's still awaiting approval, so if you're quick you can still get it for $3 before it goes up to $12! www.notion.com/templates/fr...

About to start another #scicomm coworking session on Discord in a few minutes. I've been putting off a million little admin tasks and will use this time to work on those! Come join with your own scicomm tasks :) discord.gg/feDZ3Zng

Bandcamp bans AI music. For all the faults in its running post-acquisition, Bandcamp is still the best music streaming and purchase platform by a country mile. consequence.net/2026/01/band...

All homes in this #PhotoOfTheWeek were exposed to the Palisades Fire in 2025. The owner of the house that remains intact had done a home ignition assessment with a community brigade. Hear how this brigade is contributing to fire mitigation efforts in LA: buff.ly/6ImVvES 📷: Connor Nelson

📝 Is making science easy to understand your strength? Then show it! The Holtzbrinck Prize for Science Journalism is looking for the best contributions of the year. Since 1995, the prize has honored journalists who make scientific topics accessible to everyone. Apply: www.holtzbrinck-wisspreis.de 🧪

Greenland sharks are old but have great vision. Meanwhile, I've had glasses or contacts since I was a child. :(

Only 8 days left to nominate a stellar early-career molecular scientist for @cenmag.bsky.social's Talented 12. I'd love to see more folks from industry in our nominations pool. Link to the nomination form here: cen.acs.org/sections/nom... #chemsky #chemchat

Scicomm/sciwriting coworking sessions are back from holiday break! They're at 2PM UK time on Thursdays, so the next one is January 8th. This all takes place on Discord, so just follow the link, explore the #scicomm coworking server and you'll find the link we use on Thursdays. discord.gg/MDSC8Ny7dd

In an attempt to get more organized this year, I've updated my handle here to my domain name. Wow, so professional.

I’m updating my scicomm guide for the first time since January 2020. I was expecting changes related to the post-covid world, but also had to deal with addressing AI and scrubbing every mention of the birdsite.

Can We Save Wine from Wildfires? The industry has lost billions of dollars, largely because smoke makes the drink taste like licking an ashtray (smoke taint). Now a team of scientists is chasing a solution. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

I spent way too much of this morning troubleshooting a Teams setting only to find out that it's a "feature" not a bug. Here's someone with the EXACT same problem and the response is that it's just supposed to default you to a random client. learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answer...

This is still heavily discounted for the next 10 days. If you're a @notion.com user and a freelance writer, grab it while it's cheap and get organised in 2026! Features: ✏️Track your articles from pitch to invoice ✏️Linked databases match clients to articles to editors ✏️Page to set quarterly goals

Oh no

A random theory I have: Cats and dogs are about equally intelligent, but people think of one being as smarter than the other based on how they think about introverts/extroverts. (see next post)

This line aged weirdly.

One time a Canadian friend asked me if the Netherlands had any interesting wild animals (like how Canada has moose and beavers) and I immediately said “seals!” (There are also boars and deer and other forest creatures, but to me the seals from the Waddenzee are the most iconic Dutch wildlife.)

Happy New Year! In the last few hours of the year I managed to find a safe temporary home for a stray cat that had been in our garden for the last few days. Here he is in our bathroom but he’s now with my catsitter and got inside before the worst of the fireworks and frost.

This year has not always been the best, but I thought it was a surprisingly good year for music. I made a playlist with a selection of tracks from some of the 2025 albums I enjoyed. I put thought in the order so don’t just shuffle. It’s a mixtape! open.spotify.com/playlist/3FT...

pour one out to an icon www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We present: The Art of #InverteFest - December 2025 Edition A digital art book showcasing the work of 100 artists from around the world, in celebration of overlooked invertebrate fauna. Thank you to the artists who contributed to our book! Download: drive.google.com/file/d/1JCXz... #Art #SciArt

Now booking: Narrative Non-fiction (NNF) at City. Alumni books books from Penguin, Faber, Granta etc. New course starts Tuesday 20 January: “Terrific teacher! Encouraging, practical, demystifying and lots of specific feedback” (recent student) www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/prospective-...