Chris Simms
@chrisnsimms.bsky.social
Science journalist covering all fields. Formerly an editor at New Scientist and Nature. Particular fan of health, mushrooms, amphibians, marine life and nature 🧪🐸 🍄
Selection of articles here: https://www.newscientist.com/author/chris-simms/
Selection of articles here: https://www.newscientist.com/author/chris-simms/
This carved rock may have been a board game, according to a study in which AIs played out thousands of games with slightly different rules against each other to reproduce which moves might have led to the wear and tear seen on the board. 🧪 🤖 🎲
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Is this carved rock an ancient Roman board game?
The lines worn into an engraved limestone object from the Netherlands are consistent with the idea that it was a Roman game board, according to an AI analysis
www.newscientist.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:02 AM
This carved rock may have been a board game, according to a study in which AIs played out thousands of games with slightly different rules against each other to reproduce which moves might have led to the wear and tear seen on the board. 🧪 🤖 🎲
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
A mysterious group of bacteria - known as CAG-170 - seems to thrive in the gut microbiomes of people without illness, hinting that they may be crucial to good health. 🧪
They could be used as an indicator of health, or maybe (one day) for better probiotics.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
They could be used as an indicator of health, or maybe (one day) for better probiotics.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
'Hidden' group of gut bacteria may be essential to good health
Scientists have pinpointed a group of bacteria that consistently appear in high numbers in healthy people, suggesting that these could one day be targeted through diet or probiotics
www.newscientist.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:51 PM
A mysterious group of bacteria - known as CAG-170 - seems to thrive in the gut microbiomes of people without illness, hinting that they may be crucial to good health. 🧪
They could be used as an indicator of health, or maybe (one day) for better probiotics.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
They could be used as an indicator of health, or maybe (one day) for better probiotics.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
The spotted lanternfly has spread across the United States with unrelenting speed — and now we have a clue as to why: living in cities seems to have helped these invasive insects evolve to be more resistant to stresses. 🧪
www.livescience.com/animals/inse...
www.livescience.com/animals/inse...
Spotted lanternflies are invading the US. They may have gotten their evolutionary superpowers in China's cities.
The alarming spread of spotted lanternflies across the U.S. has been made possible by cities acting as evolutionary incubators, fine-tuning the insects and enabling them to thrive.
www.livescience.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:17 AM
The spotted lanternfly has spread across the United States with unrelenting speed — and now we have a clue as to why: living in cities seems to have helped these invasive insects evolve to be more resistant to stresses. 🧪
www.livescience.com/animals/inse...
www.livescience.com/animals/inse...
What is the meaning of life? 🧪
Some will say "There is none!" But the question has niggled people at least since the The Epic of Gilgamesh, written more than 4000 years ago.
It seems having a positive impact on others is key to feeling your life has meaning. www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Some will say "There is none!" But the question has niggled people at least since the The Epic of Gilgamesh, written more than 4000 years ago.
It seems having a positive impact on others is key to feeling your life has meaning. www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
How to live a meaningful life, according to science
The meaning of life has puzzled philosophers for millennia, but new research suggests it could be as simple as lending a helping hand
www.newscientist.com
February 3, 2026 at 7:39 PM
What is the meaning of life? 🧪
Some will say "There is none!" But the question has niggled people at least since the The Epic of Gilgamesh, written more than 4000 years ago.
It seems having a positive impact on others is key to feeling your life has meaning. www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Some will say "There is none!" But the question has niggled people at least since the The Epic of Gilgamesh, written more than 4000 years ago.
It seems having a positive impact on others is key to feeling your life has meaning. www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
I think you're going to go viral @shawnbraley.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 12:40 PM
I think you're going to go viral @shawnbraley.bsky.social
We have long known that early humans and Neanderthals interbred, but where did it happen and over what kind of time period? My latest for @newscientist.com reports on a new paper that finds it may have happened over a massive area 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Neanderthals and early humans may have interbred over a vast area
We are getting a clearer sense of where and how often Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred, and it turns out the behaviour was much more common than we first thought
www.newscientist.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:05 PM
We have long known that early humans and Neanderthals interbred, but where did it happen and over what kind of time period? My latest for @newscientist.com reports on a new paper that finds it may have happened over a massive area 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Is this drawing of me (by one of my children) meant to be complimentary or not?
January 29, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Is this drawing of me (by one of my children) meant to be complimentary or not?
The weather may be wet and glum in Somerset but spring is on the way. 🌷
January 27, 2026 at 4:51 PM
The weather may be wet and glum in Somerset but spring is on the way. 🌷
There are patterns in unprovoked shark attacks relating to the reproductive behaviour of these epic predators, but it's nothing like in Jaws 3 when a mother shark wreaks havoc to avenge her baby... 🧪 🦑 🦈
www.livescience.com/animals/shar...
www.livescience.com/animals/shar...
Shark attacks in Hawaii spike in October, and scientists think they know why
Sharktober is real in Hawaii — and it's down to the reproductive pattern of predatory tiger sharks, an analysis of 30 years of data reveals.
www.livescience.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:48 PM
There are patterns in unprovoked shark attacks relating to the reproductive behaviour of these epic predators, but it's nothing like in Jaws 3 when a mother shark wreaks havoc to avenge her baby... 🧪 🦑 🦈
www.livescience.com/animals/shar...
www.livescience.com/animals/shar...
Sea turtles may be better able to cope with climate change than we thought. There are concerns that the reptiles face extinction because warmer conditions will make most #turtle eggs develop into females. But the animals have a genetic safety net. 🧪 🦑 🐢
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Sea turtles may be more resilient to global warming than we thought
An “epigenetic” adaptation could prevent large numbers of loggerhead turtles from hatching as female due to climate change – a threat that was feared to lead to population collapse
www.newscientist.com
January 25, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Sea turtles may be better able to cope with climate change than we thought. There are concerns that the reptiles face extinction because warmer conditions will make most #turtle eggs develop into females. But the animals have a genetic safety net. 🧪 🦑 🐢
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Here's an odd one. A decapitated pigeon head on a bench in the middle of Bristol at 11.30am. No sign of the body. Where did it come from? Dropped by a hawk? 🧪 🐦 #birds #nature #hawks #raptors
(apologies for the picture, although I can't apologise for the red-tooth-and-claw nature of nature)
(apologies for the picture, although I can't apologise for the red-tooth-and-claw nature of nature)
January 24, 2026 at 3:32 PM
And a good news story from the US! Californians have been using far less water than suppliers estimated they would. 🧪 💦
TLDR: California has done a great job in reducing demand and the state has managed to decouple water use from population growth.
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
TLDR: California has done a great job in reducing demand and the state has managed to decouple water use from population growth.
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
Californians have been using far less water than suppliers estimated — what does this mean for the state?
Flawed assumptions about water demand mean suppliers in California overestimated future demand by an average of 74% over 20 years — positive news for the drought-embattled state.
www.livescience.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:06 PM
And a good news story from the US! Californians have been using far less water than suppliers estimated they would. 🧪 💦
TLDR: California has done a great job in reducing demand and the state has managed to decouple water use from population growth.
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
TLDR: California has done a great job in reducing demand and the state has managed to decouple water use from population growth.
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
oops, and another story of mine for @newscientist.com that went up yesterday:
A distinct set of microbes has been identified in people with obesity, which might help us spot the condition early and perhaps even lead to some surprising new treatments. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
A distinct set of microbes has been identified in people with obesity, which might help us spot the condition early and perhaps even lead to some surprising new treatments. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Our oral microbiome could hold the key to preventing obesity
A distinct set of microbes has been identified in people with obesity, which might help spot and treat the condition early – but whether it is a cause or effect of the condition isn’t known
www.newscientist.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:59 PM
oops, and another story of mine for @newscientist.com that went up yesterday:
A distinct set of microbes has been identified in people with obesity, which might help us spot the condition early and perhaps even lead to some surprising new treatments. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
A distinct set of microbes has been identified in people with obesity, which might help us spot the condition early and perhaps even lead to some surprising new treatments. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Australia’s extinct giant kangaroos were so big it was thought they could only have walked - it they'd bounced, their tendons would have snapped.
However, measurements of bones from 67 related species hints that these ancient giants could have hopped. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
However, measurements of bones from 67 related species hints that these ancient giants could have hopped. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
Ancient giant kangaroos could have hopped despite their huge size
Long thought to have walked bipedally, like us, Australia’s extinct giant kangaroos have features that indicate they could also have bounced
www.newscientist.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Australia’s extinct giant kangaroos were so big it was thought they could only have walked - it they'd bounced, their tendons would have snapped.
However, measurements of bones from 67 related species hints that these ancient giants could have hopped. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
However, measurements of bones from 67 related species hints that these ancient giants could have hopped. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
A few months at nursery gives a roughly 1-year-old baby more new microbes for its gut microbiome than it has acquired in its WHOLE LIFE up until that point from its family. 🤯
🧪 #microbiome #science
My latest for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪 #microbiome #science
My latest for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Sending babies to nursery completely reshapes their microbiomes
Socializing at a young age helps to develop greater diversity in their microbiota, according to an analysis of baby-to-baby transmission of gut bacteria.
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:57 PM
A few months at nursery gives a roughly 1-year-old baby more new microbes for its gut microbiome than it has acquired in its WHOLE LIFE up until that point from its family. 🤯
🧪 #microbiome #science
My latest for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪 #microbiome #science
My latest for @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This is a fascinating bit of research diving into why some octopuses have larger brains than others. #science #intelligence #evolution
It was great talking to @michael.muthukrishna.com, @pkatz.bsky.social and Robin Dunbar about this for @newscientist.com
🧪 🦑 🧠
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
It was great talking to @michael.muthukrishna.com, @pkatz.bsky.social and Robin Dunbar about this for @newscientist.com
🧪 🦑 🧠
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Octopuses prompt rethink of why animals evolve big brains
A popular idea suggests a link between big brains and a rich social life, but octopuses don't fit the pattern, which suggests something else is going on
www.newscientist.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:03 PM
This is a fascinating bit of research diving into why some octopuses have larger brains than others. #science #intelligence #evolution
It was great talking to @michael.muthukrishna.com, @pkatz.bsky.social and Robin Dunbar about this for @newscientist.com
🧪 🦑 🧠
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
It was great talking to @michael.muthukrishna.com, @pkatz.bsky.social and Robin Dunbar about this for @newscientist.com
🧪 🦑 🧠
www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
The perfect story to take your mind off other news:
Veronika, a cow in Austria, has been documented not only using a tool - a broomstick - but using it in different ways to scratch different parts of her body. 🧪 #animals #animalbehavior #intelligence
www.livescience.com/animals/land...
Veronika, a cow in Austria, has been documented not only using a tool - a broomstick - but using it in different ways to scratch different parts of her body. 🧪 #animals #animalbehavior #intelligence
www.livescience.com/animals/land...
Ever seen a pet cow pick up a broom and scratch herself with it? You have now
A pet cow in Austria started using a broom to scratch herself — the first ever documented case of bovine tool use.
www.livescience.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:08 PM
The perfect story to take your mind off other news:
Veronika, a cow in Austria, has been documented not only using a tool - a broomstick - but using it in different ways to scratch different parts of her body. 🧪 #animals #animalbehavior #intelligence
www.livescience.com/animals/land...
Veronika, a cow in Austria, has been documented not only using a tool - a broomstick - but using it in different ways to scratch different parts of her body. 🧪 #animals #animalbehavior #intelligence
www.livescience.com/animals/land...
In the grand hierarchy of AI mess-ups, where does a police chief admitting AI usage led to an incorrect report that precipitated the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match with Aston Villa rank @stokel.bsky.social?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
Home secretary says she has lost confidence in West Midlands police boss after Israeli fan ban
The local police and crime commissioner - the only person with the power to fire the chief constable - says he will follow
www.bbc.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM
In the grand hierarchy of AI mess-ups, where does a police chief admitting AI usage led to an incorrect report that precipitated the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match with Aston Villa rank @stokel.bsky.social?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
Here's an article I recently wrote for @newscientist.com
The mysterious link between sleep disorders and reductions of a microbe called Faecalibacterium, which breaks down fibre - teasing evidence for an interplay between fibre, the gut microbiome and sleep. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
The mysterious link between sleep disorders and reductions of a microbe called Faecalibacterium, which breaks down fibre - teasing evidence for an interplay between fibre, the gut microbiome and sleep. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Microbiome study hints that fibre could be linked to better sleep
Evidence is mounting that specific gut bacteria are linked to sleep conditions, which may open the doors to dietary recommendations aiming to boost the quality of our slumbers
www.newscientist.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Here's an article I recently wrote for @newscientist.com
The mysterious link between sleep disorders and reductions of a microbe called Faecalibacterium, which breaks down fibre - teasing evidence for an interplay between fibre, the gut microbiome and sleep. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
The mysterious link between sleep disorders and reductions of a microbe called Faecalibacterium, which breaks down fibre - teasing evidence for an interplay between fibre, the gut microbiome and sleep. 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
This news article I wrote went up last week in @nature.com and it really reiterated to me just how important a wide scope is for multi-omics atlases. The more people we can include and the greater the range of ancestries, the more new science will be unveiled 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:53 PM
This news article I wrote went up last week in @nature.com and it really reiterated to me just how important a wide scope is for multi-omics atlases. The more people we can include and the greater the range of ancestries, the more new science will be unveiled 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This is a beautiful, hypnotising bit of footage of a lobate ctenophore from @schmidtocean.bsky.social 🧪 🦑
#MarineLife.
And no, it's not a jellyfish, it's a comb jelly
#MarineLife.
And no, it's not a jellyfish, it's a comb jelly
Here's another great image of it with the lobes open. Those are so delicate. I can't imagine how difficult they are to film like this. @schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 651 #sepacificseamounts #MarineLife
January 8, 2026 at 1:14 PM
This is a beautiful, hypnotising bit of footage of a lobate ctenophore from @schmidtocean.bsky.social 🧪 🦑
#MarineLife.
And no, it's not a jellyfish, it's a comb jelly
#MarineLife.
And no, it's not a jellyfish, it's a comb jelly
Reposted by Chris Simms
Excellent, damning analysis of the video of the killing of Ms Good, from the NYT, including a quick debunking of the “evidence” the President showed other Times reporters last night.
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Excellent, damning analysis of the video of the killing of Ms Good, from the NYT, including a quick debunking of the “evidence” the President showed other Times reporters last night.
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...
Terribly sad. And also so unsurprising. It's like everything the Trump administration represents (e.g. dictatorial action, erosion of democratic norms, instability, terrorising people, excessive force, deception, repression of free speech) distilled into one moment www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
US immigration officer fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis
Trump says the woman was attempting to run over ICE agents. Local leaders disagree.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Terribly sad. And also so unsurprising. It's like everything the Trump administration represents (e.g. dictatorial action, erosion of democratic norms, instability, terrorising people, excessive force, deception, repression of free speech) distilled into one moment www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"I like Taylor Swift, but why is she always dressed in a swimming costume?" asks my 7-year-old daughter #taylorswift #swifties
January 4, 2026 at 11:06 AM
"I like Taylor Swift, but why is she always dressed in a swimming costume?" asks my 7-year-old daughter #taylorswift #swifties
So at what point will the rest of the world feel they need to organise a military strike to capture Donald Trump (and Netanyahu and Putin?) and try them in an international court for various crimes? www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...
January 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM
So at what point will the rest of the world feel they need to organise a military strike to capture Donald Trump (and Netanyahu and Putin?) and try them in an international court for various crimes? www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...