Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dan Vergano

@danvergano.bsky.social

4.1K followers 1.2K following 930 posts

Senior Editor at Scientific American. - Views expressed in anything I post are my own. They have not been reviewed or approved by Springer Nature. - RT's not endorsements. - Signal: Delta.357 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-vergano-93908b4/

www.linkedin.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 15d

ScienceWriters2025 will take place in Chicago, November 7-9

sciencewriters2025.org

North America's largest gathering of science writers. An important coming together in a pivotal year for science.

Early bird registration ending Oct. 1

1 2 6

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 4h

RFK, Jr., Says Tylenol Use for Circumcision Causes Autism. Here’s Why That Claim Is Flawed

Studies suggesting circumcision rates are linked with autism are “riddled with flaws”

www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-...

RFK, Jr., Cites ‘Truly Appalling’ Studies to Tie Autism to Circumcision and Tylenol

Studies suggesting circumcision rates are linked with autism are “riddled with flaws”

www.scientificamerican.com

2 1

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Mike the Mad Biologist and Tsar of All the Antifas @mikethemadbiol.bsky.social · 10h

Kinsley gaffe, the scientific hypothesis edition.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

7 19

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 13h

Exclusive: FEMA Tells Staff to Name Whistleblowers or Risk Losing Jobs

Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

FEMA Tells Staff to Name Whistleblowers or Risk Losing Jobs

Investigators are looking for staffers who anonymously endorsed an open letter criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts to disaster funding.

www.bloomberg.com

2 30 34

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 1d

The first episode of Collateral Damage, my reported podcast with The Intercept, went up today.

Hope you’ll check it out and, if you enjoy it, give it a favorable rating or review.

Eternal thanks to my producers @lauraflynn.bsky.social and Andrew Stelzer for making it happen.

Ep. 1 Dirty Business: The Atlanta Narcotics Unit’s Deadly Raid on 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

Podcast Episode · Collateral Damage from The Intercept · 10/08/2025 · 55m

podcasts.apple.com

8 89 350

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 12h

Am, J, of Public Health: "The Supreme Court’s 2024–2025 Term: Eroding Public Health, Health Equity, and Access to Justice"

ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10....

"the Supreme Court no longer accepts that its mission includes protecting socially marginalized groups."

The Supreme Court’s 2024–2025 Term: Eroding Public Health, Health Equity, and Access to Justice | AJPH | Vol. 115 Issue 11

American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA)

ajph.aphapublications.org

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 1d

Among other things, we discussed how Fox News and the Murdoch media empire are perhaps the most dangerous force in the world today...

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 1d

Examining the rise of the anti-science movement | Had a fantastic conversation with Major Garrett about my new book w/ @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social, #ScienceUnderSiege, on @cbsnews.com #TheTakeout:
www.cbsnews.com/video/examin...

Examining the rise of the anti-science movement

Critics say Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration have been pushing an anti-science agenda. The new book, "Science Under Siege," argues it's not just the federal governme...

www.cbsnews.com

5 50 170

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Lee Billings @leebillings.bsky.social · 1d

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Quantum tunneling is a big deal—literally. Here’s @dangaristo.bsky.social explaining the science behind yesterday’s announcement of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...

Quantum Tunneling Is a Big Deal. This Year's Nobel Physics Prize Shows Why

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2025 honors scaled-up quantum physics—while sidestepping controversies swirling around quantum computing

www.scientificamerican.com

5 20

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 1d

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

130 270

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 16h

A blizzard that trapped hundreds of trekkers on Mount Everest was truly “off the charts,” experts explain

How an 'Off the Charts' Everest Blizzard Trapped Hundreds

A blizzard that trapped hundreds of trekkers on Mount Everest was truly “off the charts,” experts explain

www.scientificamerican.com

4 19

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 1d

New post at Science Matters, reviewing "The War on Science" a collection of 30+ essays that views the war as having a single source - the left - while neglecting to reckon with longstanding (and accelerating) corporate and political threats from the right.

joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/not-all-wa...

2 7 16

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

140 1.7K 4.5K

Reposted by Dan Vergano

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 1d

"You’re a man. You’re into man stuff, like weed wackers, sports that cause brain damage, and getting hired by your dad’s golf friends. But it’s autumn. And something feels different."

Pumpkin Spice: Now For Men

You’re a man. You’re into man stuff, like weed wackers, sports that cause brain damage, and getting hired by your dad’s golf friends. But it’s autu...

buff.ly

2 22 110

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 1d

"President Donald Trump’s administration is escalating its legal fight against children’s hospitals in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh where doctors have treated transgender youth..."

www.inquirer.com/health/child...

-> PI's @wendyruderman.bsky.social w/ nice example of news catching DOJ screw up

At least one part of Hsiao’s statement related to CHOP appeared to be incorrect.

The statement said the DOJ was “aware of a lawsuit just filed this year that details very concerning allegations of a minor being put on puberty blockers after his first visit and cross-sex hormones after his second with no meaningful assessment.”

The Inquirer was unable to find any such lawsuit filed against CHOP. After a reporter asked for clarification from the DOJ, the declaration was refiled, deleting mention of “a lawsuit just filed.”

Late Tuesday night, lawyers for CHOP filed a motion saying the DOJ has never made these accusations in its separate case seeking to limit the federal subpoena’s scope.

CHOP says the judge in its subpoena case should not consider the new accusations. CHOP lawyers also noted that Hsiao stated, under oath, that the government is aware of a lawsuit, but then replaced the filing, omitting the reference to a lawsuit without explanation.

If the judge intends to consider Hsiao’s statement, CHOP lawyers asked for permission to file a response to it.

1 2

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 1d

"Archaeology and cultural heritage in wartime: Sudan 2023–2025"

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

"brave dedication of Sudanese archaeologists, museum professionals, other NCAM staff and local communities in the protection of archaeological sites, monuments and museums"

Archaeology and cultural heritage in wartime: Sudan 2023–2025 | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

Archaeology and cultural heritage in wartime: Sudan 2023–2025 - Volume 99 Issue 407

www.cambridge.org

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Megha Satyanarayana @megha.bsky.social · 1d

welp, you get what you ask for. joking with coworkers that it's going to be mofs, and i'm really a med chem type so will i be able to do this and lol here it is. the Nobel Prize for chemistry for 2025 goes to the development of metal-organic frameworks.

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

2025 Chemistry Nobel Goes to Molecular Sponges That Purify Water, Store Energy, and Clean Up the Environment

Three scientists, including one from the U.S., share the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing “metal-organic frameworks,” versatile molecular cages that can trap contaminants, store energy and...

www.scientificamerican.com

8 14

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Amanda Montañez @unamandita.bsky.social · 1d

fascinating story about the convergence of traditional Chinese medicine and AI...and tongues! by @luyieve.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-s...

This AI Spots Disease by Reading Your Tongue’s Color

Inspired by principles from traditional Chinese medicine, researchers used AI to analyze tongue color as a diagnostic tool—with more than 96 percent accuracy

www.scientificamerican.com

3 13

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 1d

The U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, an ineffective and often harmful practice targeting LGBTQ+ youth, violates a therapist’s right to free speech

Supreme Court Weighs Ban on Scientifically Discredited ‘Conversion Therapy’

The U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, an ineffective and often harmful practice targeting LGBTQ+ youth, violates a therapist’s right to free speech

www.scientificamerican.com

4 22 60

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 1d

Hey cool the NOAA guy who was found to have violated the agency's code of ethics for his role in Sharpiegate has been confirmed as the head of NOAA.

Senate Confirms ‘Sharpiegate’ Meteorologist to Lead NOAA

www.nytimes.com

21 150 400

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 1d

Six of the nine Nobel Prize winners this year work in the U.S.
Three of the six were born outside the U.S., which is the pattern most years. No country has benefited more from welcoming immigrants from around the world.
www.nobelprize.org

The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org

The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...

www.nobelprize.org

27 450 1.2K

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Jon Walker @jonwalkerpdx.bsky.social · 2d

You beat it by knowing that they are not real. Polygraphs are fake science more like a ouija or a magic amulet than a real test. They only "work" by tricking people into thinking they do so you confess.

Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 2d

“Pentagon Leakers Practice Beating Polygraphs Amid Trump's 'Idiotic' Leak Crackdown”

New, for @zeteo.com tonight, via @andrewperez.bsky.social and me:

zeteo.com/p/trump-hegs...

Pentagon Leakers Practice Beating Polygraphs Amid Trump's 'Idiotic' Leak Crackdown

The president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are waging a war on leakers – but ‘this stuff only works if you let it get to you,’ says one Pentagon official.

zeteo.com

5 16 120

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Andrew Gelman et al. @statmodeling.bsky.social · 3d

When rich people believe, or pretend to believe, stupid things (tennis edition)
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/10/06/w...

When rich people believe, or pretend to believe, stupid things (tennis edition) | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science

statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu

2 5

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 2d

An honest look at the real America from a real reporter.

Penguin Press @penguinpress.bsky.social · 2d

Paper Girl by @bethmacy.bsky.social is on sale today! The Washington Post Raves: "There couldn’t be a timelier book than Beth Macy’s searching and deeply reported Paper Girl… searingly poignant, essential.”

www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...

Review | To understand our divided America, she started with her hometown

In “Paper Girl,” Beth Macy describes returning to Urbana, Ohio, once a key stop on the Underground Railroad, now a place where Confederate flags abound.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 2d

We're seeking passionate law students to join EFF’s legal team as interns! Get involved in fighting for free speech, privacy, and innovation. www.eff.org/about/oppor...

Legal Internship Opportunities

Applications are now open for the Spring 2026 Intern Class, with a deadline of November 1. See below for instructions and a link to the application.EFF’s legal internships provide law students with a

www.eff.org

22 40

Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 2d

Dark Energy Might Be Emerging from the Hearts of Black Holes

A controversial prediction about black holes and the expansion force of the universe could explain a cosmology mystery

www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-d...

Are Black Holes Creating Dark Energy?

A controversial prediction about black holes and the expansion force of the universe could explain a cosmology mystery

www.scientificamerican.com

1 5 17

Reposted by Dan Vergano

Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 2d

An initial recap of a wildly successful joint Day of Action:

www.planetary.org/articles/sav...

300 space advocates rally in D.C. to Save NASA Science

The Save NASA Science Day of Action drew nearly 300 people from across the United States to Washington, D.C., to promote space science and exploration.

www.planetary.org

1 5 9