Who else was excited about Kepler-22b showing up in #Pluribus? I covered this planet's discovery in 2011 for CNN, and then dressed up as it for Halloween that year! www.cnn.com/2011/12/05/u...

bird migration is powered by extra + extra powerful mitochondria - that are activated ONLY during migration season. @lizlandau.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/turbocharged...

Did you know plants can heat themselves up? Even cooler, these beetles in the Amazon detect the changes infrared intensity to go pollinate those plants, representing one of the oldest forms of pollination. My latest for National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

If Neil and Buzz took their historic steps in 2025, I feel like instead of "Men Walk on Moon" the headline would be "You'll Never Guess Where These Astronauts Landed." RIP legendary science journalist John Noble Wilford.

Did you know that a black hole could fall into a star, only to then blow up the star from the inside?! 🤯 Loved getting back to my astrophysics roots to write this one for Nat Geo! www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

A mammoth-sized discovery for #FossilFriday! 🦣 Researchers extracted the world's oldest RNA from Yuka, a 39,000-year-old juvenile mammoth mummy from Siberia! Very excited to write this up for @nationalgeographic.bsky.social: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

I left CNN in 2014 but my interview with James Watson was still referenced in his obit (along with a shout-out to Rosalind Franklin) www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/u...

Took a group of science journalists from @dcswa.bsky.social out for a 530-million-year stroll along the Billy Goat Trail today. ⚒️

In case you missed it: scientists found this sign of possible past life on Mars! My latest for Nat Geo: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

Spotted this snake 🐍 in Shenandoah National Park on Saturday. Can anyone identify it?

NASA’s acting chief calls for the end of Earth science at the space agency arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

How did I get this far in life and _just_ find out that every cube is a multiple of 9, ±1? 1³ = 1 = 0⸱9 +1 2³ = 8 = 1⸱9 -1 3³ = 27 = 3⸱9 +0 4³ = 64 = 7⸱9 +1 5³ = 125 = 14⸱9 -1 6³ = 216 = 24⸱9 +0 7³ = 343 = 38⸱9 +1 Proof is easy: any can be written as (3k-1)³, (3k)³, or (3k+1)³; then just expand.

Just solved a tech issue bugging me all day yesterday by restarting my computer. Somewhere, a discarded 40-year-old Apple IIe gets its wings.

The number of "This is my last day" posts on LinkedIn regarding what was these people's dream jobs is staggering. My heart goes out to everyone who is not leaving by choice.

Nothing to see here, just *the most energetic explosions in the universe since the big bang.* They came from supermassive black holes eating stars, reported in a new study today using NASA data. My latest: science.nasa.gov/science-rese...

Here we are in 2025. Overheard on the street in DC: "I'm definitely not a Charlotte. I think I'm a cross between Miranda and Carrie."

RIP Edmund White, acclaimed novelist but also a wonderful creative writing professor. Here is a story I had written about him for CNN back in 2011: web.archive.org/web/20120210...

I am an old soul who still gets excited to see something I wrote in print in the @nytimes.com 😍

Join the AAAS to celebrate the winners of the Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award. Ceremony begins at 4:00 PM and a reception will follow at 5:30 PM. Register and type DCSWA as your affiliation. 📍 Address: 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005 Registration: 🔗 shorturl.at/JuoWz

DCSWA 🦆 Members: Join us on June 26 at Sonny's Pizza. There will be dairy free and gluten free options for those with dietary restrictions. No registration required. 📍Sonny’s Pizza is a few blocks from the Columbia Heights metro station. Address: 3120 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010.

Have been thinking this for a long time now:

Monkeys kidnap the babies of other monkeys, and then wear them around for days on end... it's a grim tale I've written for the @nytimes.com! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/s...

Loved working on this deep-dive into how mitochondria enable bird migration!

It's a big publication day for me today! First, how do some birds get the energy to fly hundreds to thousands of miles without stopping? The answer may in their mitochondria. I report for @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/turbocharged...

How do birds migrate thousands of miles, flapping nonstop for hours or days at a time without food or rest? Lab and field studies reveal that migrating birds have "turbocharged" mitochondria in their cells that produce extra energy. @lizlandau.bsky.social: www.quantamagazine.org/turbocharged...

I think that maybe 20-30 years from now we will understand in more detail why some of us can't get pregnant naturally and don't respond well to the most advanced interventions of today (which also break our bank accounts, bodies, and minds). I'll be too old by then. undark.org/2025/03/13/o...

My mom just used the word "vibes" in a text for the first time so I think we have officially entered a new linguistic era with this word.

Has anyone yet run the headline "Math Major Elected Pope" ?!

The fringe-lipped bat learns how to eavesdrop on frogs, and picks out the ones that are tasty by listening to their mating calls! My latest for National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Where did gold first appear in the early universe? It might have come from highly magnetized neutron stars! My latest for NASA: science.nasa.gov/universe/sta...

Celebrate Hubble’s 35th year in orbit! In honor of the legendary space telescope that redefined the universe, NASA released an assortment of observations recently taken by Hubble, including data used in this video of Mars at the start of Martian spring. (1/5) 🧵 🧪 🔭

You know you're doing spring cleaning right when you reunite two socks that haven't seen each other since 2020. #winning

Science writers! Science communicators! Come to the @dcswa.bsky.social Professional Development Day on May 3 for fantastic workshops, networking, and speed-intros with editors. Register: dcswa.wildapricot.org/event-6148947

This is genuinely the best internet advice I have ever seen

When did scientists first discover stars were dominated by hydrogen and helium? A hundred years ago, thanks to the work of a trailblazing female astrophysicist who deserves her day in the sun. @lizlandau.bsky.social with the story. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Does it feel like the universe is collapsing? New evidence on dark energy says it's not just you, the universe really may be in for a Big Crunch. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

100 years ago, she showed us what stars are made of. My latest story, about a very important woman in the history of astronomy, for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social! www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Honored to have my IVF essay also published in @slate.com (originally in @undark.org) slate.com/technology/2...

I decided to be vulnerable and share the super private thing that has plagued me for many months: undark.org/2025/03/13/o...

Had a very special Pi Day at NASA Goddard and then saw the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in the cleanroom! This observatory will launch by May 2027.

I decided to be vulnerable and share the super private thing that has plagued me for many months: undark.org/2025/03/13/o...

Are you at #SXSW? Come to our panel about the @esa.int Euclid telescope and the search for answers about dark energy! schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/...

Loved performing some of my original music at @astroontapdc.bsky.social! This one was inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers." www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKA...

Your weekend counter-programming!

Pterosaur tails were so VANE! My latest for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/s...

Pterosaur tails were so VANE! My latest for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/s...

On Feb. 18th, come to @dc9club.bsky.social to hear @lizlandau.bsky.social talk about our quest to search for dark energy! This science is made possible thanks to NSF and NASA observatories #SupportGovernmentAgencies RSVP for free ticket here: dice.fm/event/py7okw...

Also really into this Einstein Ring spotted by the @esa.int Euclid spacecraft. Edited NASA's version of the press release: www.nasa.gov/universe/euc...

Currently obsessed with a recording I found of @idinamenzel.bsky.social (you love her from Rent/Wicked/Frozen/etc) singing "Nobody's Side" from the musical Chess. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PHD...

Huge news about asteroid Bennu!