It can be hard to keep up all that sugar and spice in your relationship, but according to experts, you get what you give when it comes to your relationship. An oldie but a goodie in time for Valentine's Day at @discovermag.bsky.social www.discovermagazine.com/the-key-ingr...

Many of the supplements people take are unnecessary, she added, and can even be risky. Supplements can contain contaminants or excessive levels of nutrients. Great piece by @alicecallahan.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...

I've always been fascinated by the Lighthouse of Alexandria and this article by Franz Lidz has it all. A true picture of what it looked like, why it was built, and its downfall. Now for the tomb of Alexander the Great. Oh the intrigue. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/s...

So interesting. Of the 47 places Western Ghats king cobras were rescued across the state between 2002 and 2024, five were completely unsuitable locations. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/snak...

This biomarker may be more predictive of heart disease than cholesterol. My latest for @medscape.com www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

In my latest for @discovermag.bsky.social, when scientists recorded a whale contact call, known as a whup, and played it underwater around their research vessel, a whale named Twain became a more than willing participant in the call-and-response exchange. www.discovermagazine.com/whales-are-c...

This is so interesting. Family ties during teens matter more than social ties when it comes to having a healthy social life in adulthood. Researchers looked at six outcomes, such as having three or more close friends or socializing at least once a week. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/h...

I sat one cubicle over from Jim during my time at the @postandcourier.bsky.social. He was an old school journalist who had been in the game for decades and I aspired to be like him. I am so saddened by this, such kind people do not come along often. www.postandcourier.com/news/local_s...

In my latest @sciam.bsky.social, early humans were avid, hunters, but they could also become the hunted, living among behemoth megafauna. That’s why the embellished burial site of a 15-year-old from 27,000 years ago is an important window into the past. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-fo...

Angus I totally agree...🥱#5amwritersclub

My latest @discovermag.bsky.social gave me permission to go galactic and dormant. That’s right. Dormant bacteria can survive by hibernating in the same way as you would expect from a bear and what if that was what was happening on Mars! www.discovermagazine.com/bacteria-hav...

I would love to speak with parents who are going low-tech and not allowing their teens to have phones, social media, etc. How has it impacted your family, your kid, and yourself? #journorequest Also, do you have a landline?

I've read so many great books this year. Here are some of my favorites. What have you loved? What should I read next? #5amwritingclub #sciencejournalism

This is so cool. One way we know what Neanderthals looked like is b/c researchers can discern which genomic regions influence specific facial traits by looking at patients with a genetic condition called Pierre Robin Syndrome, characterized by a small lower jaw. tinyurl.com/mrx82wue

It truly was the year of the Neanderthal. I wrote about them often but this @nytimes.com piece by Frank Lidz is truly captivating. From the hybrid child of a modern human and Neanderthal to their commando-style hunting techniques and choice in proteins. A good read. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/s...

In my latest for @sciam.bsky.social, the green hermit hummingbird of Central America uses its elongated bill to joust like a medieval knight. Once mating season begins, its distinctive needle-pointed bill also becomes a weapon of war. www.scientificamerican.com/article/vide...

Happy holidays from the rainforests of Costa Rica! Sometimes you just need to go back into the wild. A baby sloth snoozing, two white-faced Capuchins, and an American Crocodile.

In my latest for @sciam.bsky.social, this "clever little molecule" clings to carbon monoxide with such power that it might finally be a treatment for the 100,000 people who go to the emergency room each year with carbon monoxide poisoning.

It’s long been thought that certain risk factors explain most cardio events, until recent studies claimed that it can develop out of nowhere. But a new study calls this into question, finding that 99% of all events resulted from 4 risk factors. My latest @medscape.com tinyurl.com/2u9exxnd

In my latest for @medscape.com, much of our understanding of long COVID — specifically in researching biomarkers, viral persistence, chronic inflammation, and antiviral treatments — came from years of prior research into HIV. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

A recent @nature.com depicts life in the Kuril–Kamchatka & W Aleutian Trenches, two hadal trenches in the W Pacific that were explored with submersible Fendouzhe. @sarafnovak.bsky.social www.discovermagazine.com/using-deep-s...

Updated COVID vaccines are still the best tools we have to reduce severe disease and death from the virus. @sarafnovak.bsky.social explains the latest research for @sciam.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman #5amwritersclub

Diabetes and weight loss treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy, known as #GLP1 agonists, could significantly reduce the risk of developing any type of #dementia. My latest @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2475...

A growing number of people are “microdosing” – by taking lower-than-standard amounts of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro for a host of health reasons, but does it work? My latest for @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

Only around 3 percent of women who suffer from postpartum depression are diagnosed and treated through remission. But a new biomarker could one day predict the condition and open the door for better treatments and prevention. My latest @sciam.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/post...

Hearing the name Tiffany in a historical film or reading it in a historical book may distract the audience from the story momentarily since, surely, people were not named Tiffany centuries ago. Ohh but they were....My latest @discovermag.bsky.social www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-tif...

If you're looking to get away, I mean really get away. Another fun one. Only around 5 percent of the universe and 26 percent of the ocean floor have been visited. My latest @discovermag.bsky.social explores deep sea and deep space travel. #5amwritersclub www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences...

My latest for @discovermag.bsky.social is a fun piece on how the ancients viewed outer space. Sometimes you just need to space out :) #sciencewriting #writingcommunity www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences...

Breaking News: An unvaccinated child died of measles in Texas, officials said, the first known death from an outbreak that began in January.

We've all been through it--when a moment makes us cringe with embarrassment all those years later. My latest for @discovermag.bsky.social is on how to stop reliving embarrassing memories. #writingcommunity

A busy month it's been. It's a work all weekend kind a week. So here we go. #5amwritersclub.

"The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on." — Charles Dickens #5amwritersclub

I dare you to ask him to get off the sofa. #writingcommunity #5amwritersclub

Great to catch up with friends and colleagues at the #AAASmtg in Boston. So many story ideas, let's go! #sciencewriting #writingcommunity

Very excited to open up the mailbox and see this. My latest for @discovermag.bsky.social is a Q&A feature with the Paleo Protector Larisa DeSantis, a paleontologist who has set her sights on protecting modern mammals from climate change based on our knowledge of the fossil record.

Exhausted. That's all. Happy Friday. #writingcommunity

My latest piece on the first detailed analysis of plesiosaur soft tissue in @nytimes.com! www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/s...

“Keep your face toward the sunshine–and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman #5amwritersclub

Interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals allowed for genetic segments to spread amongst the population, giving humans resistance to diseases that they had not come in contact with previously. My latest @discovermag.bsky.social #sciencewriting #writingcommunity tinyurl.com/drrsdwws

Well, yesterday was a blast. In the south, we don't have sleds, we have to use boogie boards instead. #writingcommunity 😂

It's a winter wonderland out there. Off to go sledding in South Carolina. ☃️☃️☃️ #writingcommunity

Getting my work done early this morning because it's a snow day outside! Sledding and snowball fights in South Carolina, I just can't believe it. The first time ever my 4-year-old has seen snow. #5amwritersclub ❄️☃️❄️☃️

"Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look." –Jodi Picoult #5amwriterclub

Really important piece on a sometimes awkward conversation. I learned a lot writing this. My latest @sciam.bsky.social #writingcommunity #sciencewriting tinyurl.com/2n8zmejh

Look what came in the mail! Very excited to be featured in @discovermag.bsky.social year in science 2025 issue along with some of my favorite science writers. #writingcommunity

We're all freezing cold. 🥶 #writingcommunity #5amwritersclub

I'm hoping to mark 2025 with more features like this one. My latest is the cover story for Johns Hopkins Magazine on the mind altering nature of anorexia. Before writing this I was sorely misinformed with no idea that it's the most deadly mental health illness next to opioid use disorder.

I just filed my last 2024 article. It's been a wild year--prolific, but also creative and inspiring. Here's one of my favorites from the year. Now vacation! 🎄🥂☃️ #5amwritersclub #writingcommunity www.smithsonianmag.com/history/disc...