Katya Zimmer
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
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📥 29
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Science and environment journalist covering discoveries, problems, and solutions
reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
5 days ago
🎊 We're delighted to share that Knowable Magazine’s work has won an award! “For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids,” by Victoria Uwemedimo and
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
, placed first in the Multimedia category at the
@soljourno.bsky.social
awards.
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
26 days ago
🌊 Today is
#WorldEnvironmentDay
! Read our 2021 Q&A with environmental law expert
@johnhknox.bsky.social
on why a healthy environment is a human right — now recognized as such by the UN Human Rights Council. ✍️
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
:
knowmag.org/4uQ0laE
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A healthy environment as a human right
UN recognition would strengthen legal arguments for preserving nature
https://knowmag.org/4uQ0laE
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
about 1 month ago
⚡️ AI isn't built to save energy. Perhaps it could be.
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
takes us through the latest techniques and technologies that researchers are working on to reduce AI's "voracious appetite for energy."
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How to tame AI’s voracious appetite for energy
Scientists are exploring new algorithms, hardware and computing methods to lower AI’s power demands. Strategic siting of datacenters and other steps to increase green energy use are also key.
https://knowmag.org/4v9NQqp
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Kendall Powell
about 2 months ago
In the latest "Dear
@nature.com
" advice column: A non-fluent English speaker seeks advice on how to improve his writing for academic publishing without paying for expensive editing services. Experts weigh in with
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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My English skills are hurting my chances in academic publishing — how can I improve?
A non-fluent English speaker struggles to navigate language barriers in academic publishing.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01350-w
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Jude Isabella
about 2 months ago
Last week the
@biographic.bsky.social
team learned that, owing to an ongoing deficit, the California Academy of Sciences will no longer provide us with financial support. We're reaching out to foundations that support environmental journalism. We've got plans, we just need some help!
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
2 months ago
🌏 This
#EarthDay
, we're revisiting Katarina Zimmer's interview with linguist David Harrison, who has studied nature-centric Indigenous languages all over the world. “If we’re willing to be humble enough to learn from Indigenous people,” Harrison says, “what they know could help save the planet.”
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Indigenous languages are founts of environmental knowledge
Peoples who live close to nature have a rich lore of plants, animals and landscapes embedded in their mother tongues — which may hold vital clues to protecting biodiversity
https://knowmag.org/3GsOdbo
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Allow me to introduce you to the palolo worm. This marine critter is known for its spectacular spawning events that happen on one single night every year, making a lasting mark on many Indigenous cultures in the southwestern Pacific. For
@biographic.bsky.social
:
www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-...
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The Moon of the Palolo Worm
In the Pacific Islands, communities count on the annual spawning of a species of sea worm to fill bellies, spark celebration, and shape peoples’ sense of time.
https://www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-the-palolo-worm/
3 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
bioGraphic
3 months ago
Across the southwestern Pacific, sea worms spawn in concert at the same time each year--anchoring ecological calendars and even shaping communities' sense of time. by
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-...
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The Moon of the Palolo Worm
In the Pacific Islands, communities count on the annual spawning of a species of sea worm to fill bellies, spark celebration, and shape peoples’ sense of time.
https://www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-the-palolo-worm/
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Krista Langlois
3 months ago
It's always a delight to work with
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
, and this story checks all the boxes for me as an editor: ✅ Weird invertebrate with fascinating biology ✅ Traditional ecological knowledge that matters in the modern world ✅ Pacific Islands culture ✅ Myths and symbolism
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The Moon of the Palolo Worm
In the Pacific Islands, communities count on the annual spawning of a species of sea worm to fill bellies, spark celebration, and shape peoples’ sense of time.
https://www.biographic.com/the-moon-of-the-palolo-worm/
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
koenfucius
3 months ago
Our distant ancestors self-sufficiently produced their own proteins. Then the started getting them by eating other organisms. For plant-eaters, meeting their needs is a challenge, but evolution pulled some neat tricks, writes
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
:
buff.ly/cHd8rPl
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Jeffrey Perkel (he/him)
4 months ago
A blend of chem & molbiol techns are enabling archaeologists to mine ancient sediments for clues about the people who once lived there. New
@nature.com
,
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
reports on the molecular fossils enriching archaeology.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪cc
@benmarwick.bsky.social
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How pollutants and poo paint a picture of past civilizations
A blend of chemistry and molecular-biology techniques are enabling archaeologists to mine ancient sediments for clues about the people who once lived there.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00705-7
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It was a pleasure speaking with Jorge Cham for iHeartRadio's
#ScienceStuff
podcast about the perils of AI-generated animal imagery. While this content may seem cute and harmless, I argue they could have real consequences for our relationship with other species:
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
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What Is AI Slop Doing to Us? - ScienceStuff | iHeart
<p>AI is everywhere these days. What happened to make it so powerful all of a sudden? And what is all this AI content doing to our brains? Jorge talks to three experts to find the answers.</p><p>See <...
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-sciencestuff-269210018/episode/what-is-ai-slop-doing-to-320937188/
5 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
The Lambrechts Lab
5 months ago
Great read! Congratulations
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
on your insightful
@knowablemag.bsky.social
piece exploring the remarkable biology of the Aedes aegypti
#mosquito
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
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Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito
Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2026/fighting-aedes-aegypti-dengue-and-yellow-fever
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Katie Fleeman
5 months ago
Aedes aegypti is the “perfect mosquito”... to spread disease. Dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever, kill tens of thousands of people in tropical countries every year. And experts worry it could get worse. More, by
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
for
@knowablemag.bsky.social
👇
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Beating back the Aedes aegypti mosquito
Scientists are taking a multipronged approach to tackle this dangerous carrier of dengue, yellow fever and other noxious viruses
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2026/fighting-aedes-aegypti-dengue-and-yellow-fever
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
bioGraphic
6 months ago
Farmers in Gabon notice that elephants sometimes eat the leaves and stems of banana and papaya plants while leaving the nutritious fruit behind. Why? New evidence shows the elephants may be taking advantage of plants' medicinal properties to treat parasites. Read more:
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Pachyderm Pharmacies - bioGraphic
Scientists find that elephants who raid farms might be looking for medicinal plants, sparking a cross-species exchange of pharmaceutical knowledge.
https://www.biographic.com/pachyderm-pharmacies/
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The most valuable illegally traded wildlife product is not tiger bone. Nor is it rhino horn, or pangolin scales. It's actually rosewood. For
@mongabay.com
I looked into new technologies - from AI to DNA metabarcoding - that could help end the rosewood heist:
news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-...
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New technologies offer hope in fight to save the world’s imperiled rosewoods
News about the poaching and smuggling of threatened species often centers on products like tiger bone, rhino horn or pangolin scales. But much of the world’s illegally sourced wildlife products are ac...
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-technologies-offer-hope-in-fight-to-save-the-worlds-imperiled-rosewoods/amp/
7 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Katie Fleeman
7 months ago
“It’s really easy to make a wolf, because wolves eat basically what their body looks like. Their diet mirrors their body. But it’s really, really hard to make a moose, because a moose’s diet does not.” How do plant-eaters get their protein fix?
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
@knowablemag.bksy.social👇🧪
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How plant-eaters snag their essential amino acids
Early in evolution, we animals lost the ability to manufacture nine of the 20 building blocks needed to make proteins. Herbivores evolved an impressive array of tricks to ensure their dietary needs…
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2025/how-herbivores-get-their-essential-amino-acids
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Early animals took an evolutionary risk: They gave up the ability to synthesize 9 of the 20 amino acids that living things need to make protein. Scientists are now learning how they ensure they get these amino acids from their diet.
@knowablemag.bsky.social
:
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
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How plant-eaters snag their essential amino acids
Early in evolution, we animals lost the ability to manufacture nine of the 20 building blocks needed to make proteins. Herbivores evolved an impressive array of tricks to ensure their dietary needs ar...
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2025/how-herbivores-get-their-essential-amino-acids
7 months ago
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@jessehirsch.bsky.social
Hi Jesse! Did you get my note about my plastics story?
8 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
EthicAI
8 months ago
AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature
atmos.earth/science-and-...
“I think that’s probably one of the biggest issues—that it gives the impression that actually the environmental messages are less serious than they actually are”, Gosler.
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AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature | Atmos
Cuddly polar bears and hyperrealistic chimeras may seem harmless on social media, but experts worry AI animal content can be harmful.
https://atmos.earth/science-and-nature/ai-generated-animals-are-distancing-us-from-nature/
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AI-generated imagery of animals may seem harmless, but experts worry that it could worsen the public's understanding of wildlife, harm conservation, and even erode people’s general interest in nature. Check out my latest for
@atmosmag.bsky.social
:
atmos.earth/science-and-...
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AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature | Atmos
Cuddly polar bears and hyperrealistic chimeras may seem harmless on social media, but experts worry AI animal content can be harmful.
https://atmos.earth/science-and-nature/ai-generated-animals-are-distancing-us-from-nature/
8 months ago
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Lots of animals eat poisonous plants and critters and survive. How do they do it? I looked into this mystery in my latest for
@knowablemag.bsky.social
:
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
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Animals that eat poisons and don’t die
Critters consuming species that contain deadly toxins have evolved a suite of clever strategies to keep out of harm’s way
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/animals-deal-with-toxins
8 months ago
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For many species threatened by sea level rise, translocation may be the only way to save them. Learn how conservationists are moving rare tree cacti and threatened seabirds to higher ground and helping entire marshes shift inland, in my latest for
@nwf-south.bsky.social
:
www.nwf.org/Magazines/Na...
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As Seas Rise, So May Wildlife Translocations
Countless plant and animal species are threatened by rising sea levels. For some, translocations may be the only way to avoid the fate of the Bramble Cay melomys.
https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2025/Fall/Conservation/Wildlife-Translocations
8 months ago
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A rare piece of good news: New research reveals how the Ampurta - a small carnivorous Australian marsupial - is thriving despite drought conditions. My story for
@nautil.us
showcases its nifty drought-resisting tricks that made this feat possible
nautil.us/deep-sleep-i...
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Deep Sleep Is This Mammal’s Super Power
Few Mammals Sleep as Deeply as the Ampurta: How a threatened Australian marsupial is thriving in the face of drought.
https://nautil.us/deep-sleep-is-this-mammals-super-power-1239714/
9 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Lesley Evans Ogden
9 months ago
The Big Bad Wolf is Afraid of You. Fascinating experiment on wild wolves in Poland. By me for
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/s...
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The Big Bad Wolf Is Afraid of You
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/science/wolves-humans-fear-study.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qU8.wTfX.HbCzGPUOy7Ev&smid=url-share
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Around the world, growing quantities of drugs are excreted by human bodies and slip, along with wastewater, into lakes and rivers. My latest for
@cenmag.bsky.social
explores how this is influencing the behavior, reproduction and biology of aquatic animals
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
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How Human Medicines Are Disrupting Aquatic Ecosystems
More drugs are entering aquatic habitats. Scientists are teasing apart how they influence the behavior, reproduction, and biology of organisms that live there.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acscentsci.5c01661
9 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
koenfucius
9 months ago
There’s more to seed banks—efforts to preserve threatened plants—than simply storing the seeds safely,
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
explains:
buff.ly/tG23nqq
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Lesley Evans Ogden
9 months ago
Writing a news story for Nature about the impacts of US government cuts to science on Canadian science and scientists. If you are a Canadian scientist affected by Trump's funding cuts to science or other impacts, please get in touch via my contact form:
www.lesleyevansogden.com
Please repost.
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
10 months ago
For a look at the latest techniques for keeping plant material for the future, cryopreservation among them, read
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
's recent story.
knowmag.org/3Zfy8w6
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The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking
To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken
https://knowmag.org/3Zfy8w6
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Waggoner Lab
10 months ago
‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bully
@nature.com
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bully
Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02922-y
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Emma Dunne
10 months ago
It was great to chat with
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
for her important article on discrimination and microagressions in peer review. Without system-wide changes, we must rely on individual action - if you experience this behaviour, inform the editorial team ✏️
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bully
Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02922-y
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Mirella Miettinen
10 months ago
Thank you
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
for interviewing me, along with many other experts, for this insightful piece "How Human Medicines Are Disrupting Aquatic Ecosystems" | ACS Central Science
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
.
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How Human Medicines Are Disrupting Aquatic Ecosystems
More drugs are entering aquatic habitats. Scientists are teasing apart how they influence the behavior, reproduction, and biology of organisms that live there.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.5c01661?ref=PDF
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Humans aren't the only animals that get irritable and angry when it's too warm. In this fun story for
@sciencenews.bsky.social
- which features an experiment dubbed "salamander fight club" - I unpack why many other animals respond the same way.
www.sciencenews.org/article/anim...
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Just like humans, many animals get more aggressive in the heat
From salamanders to monkeys, many species get more violent at warmer temperatures — a trend that may shape their social structures as the world warms.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/animals-aggressive-heat
10 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
10 months ago
Long-Form Feature Content > Consumer ☀️ ”For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids” | Victoria Uwemedimo and
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
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For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids
Nigeria is pioneering the development of small, off-grid solar panel installations to bring reliable electricity to remote communities — setting a model for other African countries
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/technology/2025/nigeria-bets-on-solar-minigrids-for-climate-livelihood
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Great to see an old piece of mine making the rounds again, where I explain why the Amazon rainforest does not produce 20% of the world's oxygen. (In fact, the Amazon’s net contribution to the oxygen we breathe likely hovers around zero!)
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
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Why the Amazon rainforest doesn’t really produce 20% of the world’s oxygen
The myth that the Amazon rainforest forms the “lungs of the Earth” is overstated. Here’s what scientists say.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/why-amazon-doesnt-produce-20-percent-worlds-oxygen
10 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
11 months ago
“Noise exposure has also been linked to a range of long-term health effects, including heart disease and diabetes – and noise-sensitive people may suffer the most from mental health impacts.” ✍️
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
, BBC Future
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
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How noise sensitivity disrupts the mind, brain and body
Though noise sensitivity is often dismissed by doctors, it can have long-term effects on our mental and physical health.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250804-inside-the-brains-of-noise-sensitive-people
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BBC Future let me write about how much I hate noise, and what being "noise sensitive" does to our health:
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
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How noise sensitivity disrupts the mind, brain and body
Though noise sensitivity is often dismissed by doctors, it can have long-term effects on our mental and physical health.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250804-inside-the-brains-of-noise-sensitive-people
11 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Matthias C. Rillig
11 months ago
‘We have committed ourselves to this toxicity’ Article about some of our work on microplastic, including the toxicity debt hypothesis By
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/environment/...
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‘We have committed ourselves to this toxicity’
Matthias Rillig’s research reveals a range of impacts of microplastics on soil-dwelling worms, bacteria, and plants—some of which may even harm human health
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/committed-ourselves-toxicity/103/web/2025/07
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I love learning about new scientific theories - like whether the fungi that inhabit our bodies could be influencing our minds and brains. My latest for BBC Future:
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
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Our body is a mosaic of fungi. Some scientists think they could be influencing our brain
The fungi within our bodies may have a much greater effect on our health than we've long given them credit for.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250716-how-fungi-residing-in-our-bodies-could-influence-our-minds-and-brains
11 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Hi! I’m a freelance reporter writing a story for Nature Careers about bullying during peer review & solutions to the issue, and am looking to speak with folks who have personal experiences. If you have a story you'd like to share, please write to me at
[email protected]
. Thanks so much!
12 months ago
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I had such fun writing this recent article for
@knowablemag.bsky.social
about the latest advances in light microscopy and all the surprising new things we're now learning about cells. Check out the beautiful images!
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
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Super-resolution microscopes showcase the inner lives of cells
Advanced light microscopy techniques have come into their own — and are giving scientists a new understanding of human biology and what goes wrong in disease
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/technology/2025/super-resolution-microscopes-reveal-new-details-cells
12 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Kendall Powell
12 months ago
Help a reporter (and her editor) out? If you've dealt with
#AcademicBullying
during
#PeerReview
, please reach out to Katya👇🏻
add a skeleton here at some point
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Hi! I’m a freelance reporter writing a story for Nature Careers about bullying during peer review & solutions to the issue, and am looking to speak with folks who have personal experiences. If you have a story you'd like to share, please write to me at
[email protected]
. Thanks so much!
12 months ago
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
12 months ago
Learn more about the surprisingly tricky art of seed banking with
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
's recent report:
knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
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The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking
To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/seed-banking-to-preserve-rare-plants
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reposted by
Katya Zimmer
Knowable Magazine
12 months ago
“Proving that fish are evolving is tricky, especially in the wild, as it requires long-term tracking of the animals’ genes. But experiments show that fishing does disproportionately target individuals with certain traits.” ✍️
@katarinazimmer.bsky.social
@nautil.us
nautil.us/how-fishing-...
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How Fishing Could Change the Evolution of Fish
Our appetite for fish can alter their bodies, minds, and behaviors
https://nautil.us/how-fishing-could-change-the-evolution-of-fish-1214497/
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In the early 1990s, a small team tried to survive in a hermetically sealed space containing replicas of Earth's ecosystems. Their trials and discoveries still have repercussions today, I report for BBC Future:
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
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How the Biosphere 2 experiment changed our understanding of the Earth
In the early 1990s, eight people tried to survive in a hermetically sealed glass structure filled with miniature forests, oceans and savannah.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250703-how-the-biosphere-2-experiment-changed-our-understanding-of-the-earth
12 months ago
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"Bibliotherapy" - prescribing people books to help treat mental health conditions - is soaring in popularity. But does it work? I dug into this surprisingly complex question for BBC Future:
www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
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'It opened up something in me': Why people are turning to bibliotherapy
"Bibliotherapy" has been soaring in popularity as a means of improving people's wellbeing. But getting it right depends on the book, and the person.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250616-how-bibliotherapy-can-both-help-and-harm-your-mental-health
about 1 year ago
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@bbmwong.bsky.social
Hi! I'm a reporter hoping to get in touch for a story related to your 🐟 research. What's the best way to reach you? Thanks!
about 1 year ago
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Fish with certain body types and behaviors are more likely than others to get caught. Over time, fishing can gradually change the makeup of the remaining population—and over many generations, it could even influence evolution. My latest for
@nautil.us
:
nautil.us/how-fishing-...
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How Fishing Could Change the Evolution of Fish
Our appetite for fish can alter their bodies, minds, and behaviors
https://nautil.us/how-fishing-could-change-the-evolution-of-fish-1214497/
about 1 year ago
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