Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Holly Anderson 🍇 @hollyanderson.bsky.social · 1d

Hey folks, anybody interested in taking home a very good dog who is not into cats?

teddyvelvet757.bsky.social @teddyvelvet757.bsky.social · 1d

Hey @shutdownfullcast.bsky.social extended universe:

My wife and I are trying to find a home for a sweet 70lb Full Mutt currently in little ol' Clempson.

This sweet boy was built from the ground up in God's Name, Image, and Likeness, and he deserves the best.

www.adoptapet.com/pet/45942838...

Pendleton, SC - American Pit Bull Terrier/Mutt. Meet Angus a Pet for Adoption - AdoptaPet.com

Pictures of Angus a American Pit Bull Terrier/Mutt for adoption in Pendleton, SC who needs a loving home.

www.adoptapet.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 2d

My favorite quote from the piece: “They’re basically screaming with their mouths full”

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 2d

Please enjoy these super cute, secretly metal bats!! I love them!! 🧪 🌎 www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...

Bat vs. Robin—Scientists Capture Real-Life Audio of Midair Hunt

Scientists suspected that Europe’s largest bats snack on migrating songbirds when they can, but a stunning newly published observation proves it

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 2d

Got mine 3 weeks ago and got my son’s 2 weeks ago!

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 3d

The science is in: COVID boosters are worth it, even if you've been vaccinated and/or infected before. Stay safe out there, friends!: 🧪 🛟 www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 3d

The science is in: COVID boosters are worth it, even if you've been vaccinated and/or infected before. Stay safe out there, friends!: 🧪 🛟 www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 3d

At no point did the first 15-20 minutes of this episode prepare me for the following 5 minutes.

Perfect show, no notes.

Shutdown Fullcast @shutdownfullcast.bsky.social · 3d

We talked a lot about Bill Belichick, but we also talked about competent football winners (the Jacksonville Jaguars)

Champions Fall Twice

Podcast Episode · Shutdown Fullcast · 10/08/2025 · 1h 49m

podcasts.apple.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 4d

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Lee Billings @leebillings.bsky.social · 4d

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: This year’s physics Nobel goes to 3 researchers who demonstrated quantum tunneling on a superconducting chip. By bringing this microscopic effect into the macroscale world, they laid important foundations for quantum computing.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

This Year’s Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded to Three Scientists for Work in Quantum Mechanics

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work showing how bizarre microscopic quantum effects can infiltrate our large-scale, everyday world

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 5d

Well it's another pretty garbage Monday, but here is a selection of gorgeous photos of cats from a new photo book "Feline."

Photographer Tim Flach was unsure about working kitties, who are not known for their cooperative nature. “My problem was, how can I do a cat book and come out with dignity?” 😆

See Stunning Feline Photography Revealing the Science of Cats

Tim Flach captures his fascination with the science of cats in stunning photographs from his new book Feline

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 5d

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Lauren J. Young @laurenjyoung.bsky.social · 5d

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to some neat fundamental research on the immune system: peripheral immune tolerance. It's what keeps the body's defense mechanism in check—and could be key to new therapies for autoimmune disorders. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

This Year’s Medicine Nobel Goes to Discovery of Why the Body Doesn’t Attack Itself

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi shared the Nobel prize for their work on peripheral immune tolerance, a process that is key to organ transplants and treatment of autoimmune disease...

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

ProPublica @propublica.org · 6d

#ICYMI: GOP lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027.

A GAO report shows the program has spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says

Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at lea...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 9d

Jane Goodall was one of my first scientific idols. She reminded us that the natural world is not simply an object of study but a living, breathing subject: "In a flash of 'outsight' I had known timelessness and quiet ecstasy, sensed a truth of which mainstream science is merely a small fraction."

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 10d

On Friday 18 blue state attorneys general BLASTED the Federal Trade Commission, telling it to back off trans youth healthcare and warning of an insidious attempt to reshape the regulation of medicine in the US.

And nobody covered it.

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

State AGs Defend Trans Americans in Stunning Rebuke to Trump’s FTC — Assigned

Eighteen state Attorneys General unite to stand up in defense of trans Americans, in opposition to a Federal Trade Commission investigation into trans healthcare.

www.assignedmedia.org

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Nathan Andrew is opening The Gate - Auld Hornie telt me t’dae’t @feralharp.bsky.social · 11d

As you will gather from the article, it does, in fact, sound like a cartoon villain the size of a piece of string cheese.

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 11d

You NEED to see and hear these cute little barking geckos and I won't let you talk yourself out of it: 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/six-...

Mildly Menacing Mating Calls Lead to Discovery of New Gecko Species

Scientists found new gecko species hidden in plain sight in pristine deserts of southern Africa, thanks to their loud, barking mating calls

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Lizzie O'Leary @lizzieohreally.bsky.social · 12d

My oncologist & pharmacy team at the world class cancer center doesn’t know. The pharmaceutical company that makes it doesn’t know.

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Lizzie O'Leary @lizzieohreally.bsky.social · 12d

I am a well educated, pretty media literate person whose job it is to be professionally annoying. I cannot figure out if my cancer medication, which costs $17k a month (I do not pay anything thanks to a combo of insurance/access programs), is going to be tariffed 100%.

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 12d

Thanks to @wxmanms1.bsky.social and @bmcnoldy.bsky.social for chatting with me about this one.

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 12d

Well not only is TS Imelda going to move away from the U.S. (phew), it's doing so because of what is essentially a "flavor" of the Fujiwhara effect that has Imelda making a sharp right turn to follow in Hurricane Humberto's wake. 🧪

(I love hurricanes.)

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

A Hurricane Is Saving the U.S. from a Tropical Storm

In a version of the Fujiwhara effect, Hurricane Humberto is pulling Tropical Storm Imelda eastward and away from the U.S.

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 13d

"After nearly 40 years, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, or ARCUS, will close September 30."

"The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States funded programs that aided Indigenous communities and tracked melting sea ice, among dozens of initiatives."

After Trump cut the National Science Foundation by 56 percent, a venerable Arctic research center closes its doors

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States funded programs that aided Indigenous communities and tracked melting sea ice, among dozens of initiatives.

grist.org

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Scott Waldman @scottpwaldman.bsky.social · 12d

Energy Secretary Wright made tens of millions of dollars as the CEO of a fracking company, so he certainly knows that the natural gas he brought to market is the primary cause of the decline of the coal industry.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12d

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Matthew @dlthings.bsky.social · 14d

# of paragraphs for news orgs to mention there's no discernable need to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon

The Guardian: 1st paragraph
BBC: 4th paragraph
AP: 5th paragraph
Time: 6th paragraph
Politico: 8th paragraph
NPR: 9th paragraph
CNN: 10th paragraph
NBC: 12th paragraph
Fox News: never mentions

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 14d

The first picture that accurately describes what it felt like to be a Georgia Tech student (h/t u/taohid1)

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King with a thousand-yard stare and dirty shoulder pads during a post-game interview

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 14d

Sweet Baby Jesus and Happy Birthday to me.

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

katie dzwierzynski @kdzwierzynski.bsky.social · 15d

SIR MIX-O-LOTL

facebook post from brookfield zoo chicago with a picture of an axolotl and the caption:

“And the votes are in...

Please give a warm welcome to our newly named axolotl: Sir Mix-O-Lotl. Thank you to everyone who cast their vote in our naming contest. Stop by The Living Coast to say hi to Sir Mix-O-Lot on your next visit!
Brookfield Zoo Chicago recently took in 20 rescued axolotls that were illegally imported at O'Hare International Airport and seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers. These salamanders were imported from Indonesia and needed professional care to survive. Axolotls are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List).
You can symbolically adopt Sir Mix-O-Lot to support the care, education, and conservation of this critically endangered species at https://bit.ly/4mFQXlh.”

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 16d

The FDA is conducting "its own review of the evidence" on the safety & effectiveness of abortion drug mifepristone, according to news reports. Yet a wealth of evidence has shown the drug is safe and effective. SCOTUS rejected a case on this last year: www.scientificamerican.com/article/abor...

Abortion Pill Access Is Still Under Threat After SCOTUS Ruling, Legal Experts Warn

“It would be foolish to declare victory” for abortion rights, one expert says of the recent Supreme Court challenge to medication abortion access

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 16d

Also, it's not like there's two storms likely to affect the U.S. over the next week...

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 16d

New: There was an "emergency" all-hands meeting inside part of NOAA today basically to tell people they have no idea what to expect re a potential shutdown. "Even less than usual," per one source. There is no guidance yet available and no info on what specifically the OMB memo means. So that's cool.

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 16d

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 16d

New: There was an "emergency" all-hands meeting inside part of NOAA today basically to tell people they have no idea what to expect re a potential shutdown. "Even less than usual," per one source. There is no guidance yet available and no info on what specifically the OMB memo means. So that's cool.

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