Having an imaginary friend, playing house or daydreaming about the future were long considered uniquely human abilities. Now, scientists have conducted the first study indicating that apes have the ability to play pretend as well.

I'm at the Willard Hotel where I've been denied entry and kicked out of the Reclaiming Science event with NIH director Bhattacharya & other top agency leaders. @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and I registered for the event months ago yet were told capacity was full, even as they let in dozens of others.

Off the coast of British Columbia, dolphins lead killer whales to salmon and earn their share of lunch, a new study reveals. My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/s...

Killer Whales Find an ‘Unlikely Friend’ in Dolphins Off the coast of British Columbia, dolphins lead killer whales to salmon and earn their share of lunch, a new study reveals. By @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social

The twelfth installment in the @nytimes.com Lost Science series is up: an entomologist who helped protect people from malaria. Story by @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social Gift link: nyti.ms/4pBdYbk

*️⃣ Focus on key statistics that will resonate with your audience. *️⃣ Investigate how setbacks in studies could affect citizens’ lives. TON/@bwfund.bsky.social early-career fellow Lucila Pinto spoke with @emilywoodruff.bsky.social, @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social and others for this helpful story. 🧪

A global treaty has extended trade protections to more than 70 shark and ray species whose numbers are in sharp decline. my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/s...

In my latest for @nytimes.com, scientists and Indigenous sailors in the Marshall Islands are studying seafaring and the human brain. I became completely fascinated by navigation while reporting this story. (gift link!) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...

A huge thankyou to @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social for covering our research in the Marshall Islands for the @nytimes.com ! In the photo Ken Daniels (an expert indigenous sailor) is looking towards the horizon whilst wearing an fNIRS system. Analysis underway! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...

I first heard about orcas attacking white sharks while working as a field biologist in South Africa. Back then, no one had really seen it. Now, scientists in both South Africa and Mexico have drone footage. my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/s...

Through blackwater photos, scientists have found an interaction rarely seen before. Baby fish might be using free-living anemones to protect themselves from predators in the deep sea. The photos are a delight. my latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/s...

The bumpy snailfish, discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California, shows that not all denizens of the abyss are frightening. (I watched the video more than 10 times.) My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...

"It's not just cool ecology" – my latest story for @nytimes.com looks at the benefits of letting bison roam as free as possible. (gift link!) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/s...

Like humans, every tree has its own microbiome — an invisible ecosystem that is only beginning to be understood. My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/s...

Another way drones are changing how scientists study whales: A new tagging method called tap-and-go allows researchers to gather more data on the health and behavior of whales, with less disruption. (gift link!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/s...

I learned a lot about Fresnel lenses for this amazing series of lighthouse photographs by Michal Siarek: nyti.ms/41qkFCN

A zoo in Denmark is asking pet owners to donate their animal companions — their guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and even small horses — to feed to its predators. In a Facebook post, the zoo noted that donations of pets would help it mimic the natural food chain.

Since 2013, a mysterious epidemic wiped out billions of sea stars. A new study finally identifies the culprit. My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link below!) #marinelife www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/s...

You say potato, @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social says tomato: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...

An ancient hybrid of tomatoes and potato-like plants may have given rise to the modern spud, a new study suggests. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...

Once a surfer's paradise, a string of deadly attacks made Réunion Island synonymous with one word only: sharks. But a team of scientists turned this tiny island into a hub of lifesaving research. For @science.org, I wrote about this fascinating place. www.science.org/content/arti...

A fascinating summer read from the redoubtable @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social‬ for @science.org ! How a string of deadly shark attacks made a remote island a hub of lifesaving research | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Big day in the NY Times for NYU SHERP. Congratulations William Herkewitz (SHERP 31) and @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social (SHERP 42)! www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/s...

Jaws' release in 1975 haunted the reputation of sharks worldwide. But a generation of scientists helped turn the tide. My story for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/s...

Stunning video of this Antarctic gonate squid caught alive on camera for the first time. Before this, no one had ever seen this creature alive in the wild. Read more: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/s...

Today is my first day on the job as a reporter fellow on the Science desk for @nytimes.com! Send me any tips to [email protected]

"Promising" is overused when it comes to potential medicines, but here I think it's justified. 10s of millions of Americans have sleep apnea; many reject CPAP. @science.org.bsky.social : Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Work relating to Microsoft’s new quantum computing chip has been called into question after an author on the 2017 study acknowledged it contained “undisclosed data manipulations,” according to emails obtained by Retraction Watch and Science. scim.ag/42Z6Vz2

Did you hear? You can now listen to audio narrations of our #NewsfromScience stories. 🎧 Check out this new tool on a story about the oldest ant fossil ever found: scim.ag/44PK0IY

Oldest ant fossil ever found reveals history of ‘hell ants’ www.science.org/content/arti...

“I’m going to keep trying to maintain the life that I have here,” a Nigerian student says. “But what life am I fighting for if people don’t want me here?” International students in U.S. are reeling from terminated records and revoked visas. My latest for @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

In November 2024, the CSG worked with the IUCN SSC and WCPA chairs to draft and send a letter of concern that has helped to halt a potentially harmful LNG development in an Important Marine Mammal Area in the Gulf of California. Read more at: shorturl.at/VwvwF #conservation #IUCN #cetaceans

In Mexico, a planned gas terminal threatens an important whale sanctuary. The controversial megaproject would routinely send huge tankers through the Gulf of California. If the project moves forward, "we are going to regret it a lot," a whale researcher told me. www.science.org/content/arti...

Excited to be working to share this new film on observation with the world, and especially the science community! A great writeup in Science by @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social 👇 #scicomm #science 🧪

The smartest and most beautiful person I know will now be covering Science for The New York Times. Please go follow her to keep reading her amazing work. Te amo, Alexa 🦭❤️

So happy to share I'll be joining the @nytimes.com as a reporting fellow on the science desk in June! I'm feeling really grateful and excited for this opportunity to continue covering science www.nytco.com/careers/news...

A few weeks ago in Boston, I met the organizers behind the Stand Up for Science (@standupforscience.bsky.social) rally and spoke with them about their motivations in the buildup to the event. Read more in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Today for @science.org 🌎https://www.science.org/content/article/earth-s-inner-core-might-harbor-volcanoes-and-landslides

“When we listen long enough and when we look, we find more complexity in these animal communication systems.” Really fascinating paper that deep dives into how whale song shares similar structures with human language My latest / @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

How do polar bears keep their fur ice-free despite living in the Arctic? These scientists have an answer 🐻‍❄️ My latest / @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

This is the way to give a song a natural vibe. A team of researchers trekked through Colombia and recorded the sounds of birds, frogs, jaguars and more, and used them to create a version of the national anthem. @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social with the story. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

After 100 years of searching, scientists finally found this tiny frog. In Ecuador, where 57% of amphibians are endangered, this finding represents a flag of resistance in the battle to protect the forests from mining and illegal logging My story for NatGeo www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Off-road vehicles racing through Chile's Atacama Desert have destroyed ancient geoglyphs over decades of competitions. Authorities have been unable to stop them. The images of the damage are striking. My investigation for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2024/09/24/s...

I have a new story up in @theguardian.com: how drones are showing promise in scaring predators, like grizzlies & wolves, away from human spaces in the American west—a way to keep both humans and animals safe as predator populations grow there. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Kicking off my BlueSky feed with a recent story I did for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social In the ‘Salamander Capital of the World,’ Hurricane Helene flooded the ecosystems where the amphibians thrived. Will these species survive the aftermath? www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...