The U.S. has reported more than 1,000 measles cases in 2026—and we're just two months into the year. That's nearly half of all the cases reported in 2025. And public health experts say it's a sign that the U.S. has likely lost its measles elimination status. My reporting for @sciam.bsky.social:

This announcement was NOT on my bingo card!

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: What’s behind Trump’s order to declassify U.S. government documents about aliens and UFOs? How are scientists actually searching for ET? What happens next? Here’s what some real experts have to say. www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum...

FDA backtracks and agrees to review Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine after all. @clairehcameron.bsky.social explains on @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/fda-...

Extremely important and critical science. www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Come for the scandal, stay for the science.

It's the Winter Olympics, which always brings stories detailing what Olympians eat. But food lists and diets aren’t actually as important as this: Olympians simply need to eat enough. What it takes to eat like an Olympian, now on @sciam.bsky.social! www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The first time I came across a ketogenic diet as a therapy was for Dravet syndrome, a seizure disorder. And now, RFK Jr. is touting it as a possible cure for schizophrenia. The research just doesn't back that up, but its more nuanced than you might think. www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-...

So snakes keep turning up in places they should not be in India and it turns out they may be accidentally hoping a ride on trains. (And yes, I am pretty proud of this headline.) 🧪

“Seeing is not just what our eyes physically see,” says Sandra Ristovska, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, “but also the experiences and ideas that viewers bring to images."

The, er, thing below is called a Prototaxite. Turns out it may be a new branch of life. That is extremely cool and I have absolutely no idea why you are laughing... 🧪

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Artemis II—humankind's first crewed voyage to the moon in more than a half-century—is at last almost ready to launch, and NASA revealed some new details about the mission in a press conference earlier today. Check it out! www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

Astronauts evacuated from the ISS splashed down early this morning. Asked if NASA will release more info about the medical situation that triggered their evacuation, Jared Isaacman said NASA is “very committed to being transparent.” More: www.scientificamerican.com/article/evac...

Today in unique experimental set ups: Horses that were presented with cotton pads soaked in a scared human’s sweat showed more signs of fear themselves www.scientificamerican.com/article/hors...

How prepared are ISS astronauts to deal with medical emergencies and problems in space? Had a fascinating day reporting out this story! New on @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Breaking: NASA is going to evacuate four astronauts from the ISS after one fell sick with an unknown medical issue. This has never happened before. www.scientificamerican.com/article/in-u...

Thinking about welcoming the new year with a polar plunge? Here's what science has to say about the practice

The brutal respiratory infection has infected tens of thousands and killed at least 13 people in the U.S. in 2025

GLP-1s are about to become so much more ubiquitous.

There's hope for me yet.

Lawmakers just confirmed Jared Isaacman as the new head of NASA. One wonders what this means for the agency's space science and exploration programs... New on @sciam.bsky.social ---->

Astronomers have discovered a bizarre lemon-shaped exoplanet orbiting a dense, rapidly spinning dead star. But those details are perhaps the least weird thing about it. Latest in @sciam.bsky.social! www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

RFK, Jr.–Backed Lyme Disease Conspiracy Theory May Be Probed under New Bill www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-... President Donald Trump is expected to sign a defense bill this week that orders an investigation into whether the U.S. military bioengineered Lyme disease

“In my career, I have seen children with hepatitis B. I’ve seen children die of liver failure, which is a horrible death. I would never wish this on anybody,” say Yvonne Maldonado, Stanford pediatrician. These risks have now increased under the new ACIP vaccine vote today. More @sciam.bsky.social:

It's been thought since the early 70s that eukaryotes (basically any life with a cell nucleus) wouldn't survive above 62C and no complex life had been shown living above 60C. Until the "fire amoeba"... 🧪 (These are some of my favorite stories to write, just weird neat stuff we're learning.)

Unsure what to get your loved ones — or yourself — for the holidays? @sciam.bsky.social subs are currently half off! Consider subscribing and supporting original, thought-provoking and delightful journalism. ✌️ www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/

A big vote on the hepatitis B birth vaccine dose is pushed to tomorrow after CDC advisers seemed confused and caught off guard by new recommendations. "There have been multiple arguments between ACIP members. It’s frankly embarrassing," says @angierasmussen.bsky.social. Read @sciam.bsky.social 💉

Today in nightmare fuel, courtesy of a skunk scratch from beyond the grave. Now on @sciam.bsky.social ----> www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

Scientists announced on Wednesday that they have found no evidence for the hypothetical “sterile neutrino,” a fourth version of the ghostly neutrino particles that are ubiquitous in the universe. www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora on Friday updated its regulation and monitoring of several iconic shark and ray species

Newly identified bones tie the mysterious Burtele foot to a new Australopithecus species that lived alongside Lucy more than three million years ago

Human brains go through five distinct phases of life, each defined by its own set of characteristics, according to a new study

Just as we experience different phases of life, our brain also experiences five distinct eras as we age. Each are defined by changes in our neural architecture that influence how we process information, new research shows. New on @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

🚨NEW: Iran will move its capital due to an ecological catastrophe. Experts warn the move won’t help the nearly 10 million people living in Tehran, who will continue to face the impacts of corruption and climate change. “We saw this coming,” one source told me. My story @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

The CDC is reportedly ending its monkey research program. The decision will impact infectious disease studies, and the fate of 200-or-so monkeys remains unclear. New on @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/cdc-...

Exclusive: @danvergano.bsky.social reports on what's in a list of 383 shelved clinical trials affected by NIH grant terminations, obtained by SciAm. Now on @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...

Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt... Sickle cell disease, sleep disorders and lung cancer & much more A dive into the list of NIH's 383 shelved clinical trials, obtained by Scientific American

🚨NEW: A massive new study found no link between exposure to recommended levels of fluoride and IQ decline in children. Over the past year, Health Secretary RFK Junior has claimed that fluoride causes IQ loss, neuro disorders and bone cancer, among other issues. My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

Please do yourselves a favor and listen to these birds mimic R2-D2. (And learn something about how some species are able to do it better than others!) (by Kate Graham-Shaw for @sciam.bsky.social)

New on @sciam.bsky.social Harvard has reportedly launched an investigation into former uni president and influential economist Larry Summers and almost a dozen other scholars over ties to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...

The U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status in January, if current outbreaks in Utah and Arizona aren't brought under control. @sipappas.bsky.social recently wrote about what that would mean for @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/meas...

Cuts to mRNA research now could hold such unspeakable consequences for the future of medicine.

True nightmare fuel: Scientists just confirmed the first known death from a severe meat allergy caused by a tick bite. The man, who died in 2024 after eating a burger, had alpha-gal syndrome, a bizarre disease triggered by tick bites. www.scientificamerican.com/article/man-...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: NASA’s presumptive next leader, Jared Isaacman, wants to outsource more of the space agency’s interplanetary science. The newly launched ESCAPADE mission to Mars offers a sanity check for those plans. www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

I, for one, welcome our new trash panda overlords. But for real, fascinating science on how we might be seeing the very early stages of domestication in action in wild animals. 🧪 By @marinacoladas.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social

Of course my first byline in @sciam.bsky.social is a story about a rocket launch... www.scientificamerican.com/article/blue...

Jeffrey Epstein Emails Reveal Depth of Ties to High-Profile Scientists A trove of emails of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released Wednesday by a Congressional committee www.scientificamerican.com/article/jeff...

Completely thrilled to share that I’m starting a new position as Breaking News Chief @sciam.bsky.social! It's a great moment to be fully returning to science journalism — vital reporting is needed now more than ever. Got a tip? Or a neat discovery? Email me at [email protected] ✌️

Fun story spotlighting some of the incredible microphotography featured in this year's Nikon Small World competition for Nat Geo! Read it here ---> www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/...