NASA’s Perseverance rover has found that particular parts of the rock are enriched with elements and minerals that — on Earth— can indicate microbes at work, @humbertobasilio.bsky.social reports in @sciam.bsky.social #astro #astronomy

they're bricks. they get hot. and they could be the climate movement's next big thing @humbertobasilio.bsky.social for @atmosmag.bsky.social on why heat batteries could be the next trillion-dollar industry 🧪🌎

NEW: a first-ever study has directly tied heatwaves to the world's biggest climate polluters each of these "carbon majors"—including Shell, ExxonMobil, and BP—has made between 16 and 53 otherwise impossible heat waves since 2000 possible. @humbertobasilio.bsky.social for @atmosmag.bsky.social 🧪🌎

In the middle of the “second space race,” NASA scientists say we may be looking at the closest evidence yet of ancient life on Mars 🔭🧪 My story for @sciam.bsky.social with edits from @leebillings.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-t...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: The Mars rock that made headlines last year is still worth getting excited about. A new study says the case remains strong for potential biosignatures in the "Cheyava Falls" rock studied and sampled by the Perseverance rover. www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-t...

🚨 An environmental injustice we already knew but data confirms: children from marginalized communities in the U.S. attend the schools most exposed to heat waves. They’re often the same kids without air-conditioning at school — and very likely at home too, sources say My story for @sciam.bsky.social

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...

NEW: The Trump administration's dismantling of USAID is fueling a black market of HIV medication in Zimbabwe. Desperate nurses are plundering PrEP and PEP pills from the hospitals where they work, and selling them to sex workers well-funded by their Asian clients, worsening the country's HIV crisis.

SPUN is featured in @science.org in a piece written by @humbertobasilio.bsky.social. Learn where some of the most unique fungal communities exist, such as West Africa’s Guinean forests, Tasmania’s temperate rainforests, and Brazil’s Cerrado savanna. Read here: www.science.org/content/arti...

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...

Studying the AHA! moments. This story about insight by @humbertobasilio.bsky.social is truly inspiring. Take on the test within to see if you feel it, too. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

NEW: The US government has collected DNA from over 100,000 migrant children—including a 4-year-old—and uploaded their genetic profiles into a national biometric database meant for sex offenders and violent criminals. www.wired.com/story/cbp-dn...

A principled student said in a grad speech that the “only appropriate thing to say in this moment” is to acknowledge the “atrocities” currently being committed in Palestine. In response, NYU is withholding their diploma + apologizing to the community for the trauma the audience was “subjected to.”

Just published: US scientists who received renewals from the NIH over the past four decades produced more novel research than those who didn’t, study finds You can then imagine what happens when scientists are shut out of renewals by Trump's NIH Article by the talented @humbertobasilio.bsky.social

Jon Lee Anderson profiles Alexandre de Moraes, the crusading Brazilian jurist who took on the Bolsonarist insurrection—and Elon Musk.

Sarah Stillman investigates a crisis of care in county jails: a scandal involving, at its worst, state-sponsored homicides of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.

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...

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 🦭❤️

🚨The world's darkest skies are at risk. A massive hydrogen plant could cause enough light pollution to affect the observations of the most powerful telescopes on earth. It could be “the beginning of the end” for astronomy in Chile, scientists say My story @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"At this point I believe my academic career is effectively over"--a postdoc studying schizophrenia at Columbia, in the wake of the government's $400 million funding cut. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🚨This week, many Columbia scientists lost grants that funded over half their annual income. Others will no longer be able to do research that helps treat thousands of sick patients across the US. "It hurts," they told me. My story for @nature.com 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🚨🧪 Are you a researcher affected by the recent cancellation of federal grants and contracts at Columbia University? I'm working on a story for @Nature.com. If you want to chat, your identity will be kept private. Signal: humbertobasilio.24 Email: [email protected] Repost please!

🚨 🧪 Thousands of scientists across the world protested today against Trump administration's attacks on science. We’ve been talking all day with attendees at the #StandUpForScience2025 rally in DC, Seattle, Boston and New Jersey. Here’s our story for @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🚨 #StandUpforScience2025 Rally Live from Washington D.C. 🚨 Dozens of people start gathering in the Lincoln Memorial to protest against Trump's administration attacks on science. Researchers, students and federal scientists are present. I’ll be covering the event today for @nature.com. Stay tuned 🧪

“We are really trying very, very hard ... to move our world forward" through "foundational, sometimes groundbreaking research, and then you get flagged and blacklisted because there is a word like ‘female’ in your project.” My latest, w/the brilliant Agnel Philip www.propublica.org/article/ted-...

Some researchers at NASA and outside it feel betrayed by the changes at the agency, which was known for promoting inclusion in science. https://go.nature.com/4ihq4Cv

“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...

Hi @napaaqtuk.bsky.social! I’m a reporter at nature. I just sent you a direct message, hope you can read it. Thank you so much!

Hi @queermsfrizzle.bsky.social. I’m a reporter at Nature. I just sent you an email, please let me know if you got it. Thank you so much!

And lastly, a sobering reminder by @humbertobasilio.bsky.social that without drastic action to mitigate climate change, extreme heat will claim the lives of thousands of Europeans by the end of the century: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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...

An extra 2.3 million people in European cities could die as a result of extreme temperatures — both hot and cold — by the end of the century https://go.nature.com/42pFO1r

🌡️ Around 2.3 million people in Europe could die as a result of extreme temperatures by the end of the century. My story for @nature.com go.nature.com/42pFO1r

From my home smack in the middle of the wildland-urban interface, I've been thinking about the more urban nature of the Los Angeles-area blazes. So I wrote about it. #wildfire

For background on these missions, see our launch preview in @nature.com.

We've put together a collection of the writers and editors who work on news, features, opinion and research at Nature magazine. Follow them all here: go.bsky.app/JARysRt 🧪

💥Exciting news: I just joined the @nature.com team as a reporter! I’ll be writing lots of science policy, environment, archeology and misconduct stories. Please send tips to [email protected] 🔎

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...

I finally received my copy of The Craft of Science Writing by @theopennotebook.bsky.social! I wrote a chapter on how to break into English-speaking media as a non-native English speaker. Please share it with all your international fellow journos/communicators who want to start writing in English! 🥰

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...

This new social media thing is extra painful for freelance journalists who don’t have a built-in promo team. Here’s a starter pack of freelance environmental reporters. Follow us — then hire us? (And lmk who I’m missing!) go.bsky.app/LEwiBCr

“Faced with increasing destruction of Alto Barranco’s art from off-road drivers and other encroachments, and potential damage to other desert regions of archaeological importance, activists say governments at all levels … are not doing enough to preserve them.” By @humbertobasilio.bsky.social

The Craft of Science Writing, available at your favorite place for books starting Nov. 5, includes contributions from @humbertobasilio.bsky.social, @laurahelmuth.bsky.social, @allakat.bsky.social, @carlzimmer.bsky.social, @alexwitze.bsky.social and many others. 🧪

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...