Eva Amsen
@easternblot.bsky.social
Science writer. 🇳🇱🇪🇺in🇬🇧 I write about science in magazines, in a newsletter, in books, on social media and on loose scraps of paper. Also a violinist. 🔬🧬👩💻🎨🎻 🐈 Fun newsletter: https://mixture.substack.com Portfolio: https://evaamsen.com/writing/
Reposted by Eva Amsen
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I haven't mentioned this in ages, so some of you might not know that I host regular online coworking sessions for science writers and science communicators. #scicomm Every Thursday at 2PM UK time you can pop in a video call on Discord where whoever is around will briefly say hi and then work on mute
November 25, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I haven't mentioned this in ages, so some of you might not know that I host regular online coworking sessions for science writers and science communicators. #scicomm Every Thursday at 2PM UK time you can pop in a video call on Discord where whoever is around will briefly say hi and then work on mute
Reposted by Eva Amsen
‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic
‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic
Evidence that the whales and other marine animals are particularly vulnerable to sound is driving calls for quieter vessels
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic
Weird support bot hallucinating a date that didn’t exist
It suddently said "Oh, sorry, I made a mistake. Friday is the 29th of November. I booked your appointment for Friday, 29th of November, 2025."
Friday is NOT the 29th, it's definitely the 28th. Everything was going right and then the AI just hallucinated a date that doesn't exist.
Friday is NOT the 29th, it's definitely the 28th. Everything was going right and then the AI just hallucinated a date that doesn't exist.
a woman is talking to a man and says because i didn 't think march 31st existed .
ALT: a woman is talking to a man and says because i didn 't think march 31st existed .
media.tenor.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Weird support bot hallucinating a date that didn’t exist
Reposted by Eva Amsen
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The weirdest AI hallunication happened today: My partner was struggling to interact with a bot over the phone, trying to book in a repair for our fridge. After much back and forth, the bot agreed to book something in on Friday November 28th. But then!
November 24, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The weirdest AI hallunication happened today: My partner was struggling to interact with a bot over the phone, trying to book in a repair for our fridge. After much back and forth, the bot agreed to book something in on Friday November 28th. But then!
Reposted by Eva Amsen
New Mixture, in which I muse about university museums. 🧪 mixture.substack.com/p/whats-in-y...
What's in your local university's museum?
Is it a collection of old science objects, or is it a day trip destination for families? Can it be both?
mixture.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:49 PM
New Mixture, in which I muse about university museums. 🧪 mixture.substack.com/p/whats-in-y...
New Mixture, in which I muse about university museums. 🧪 mixture.substack.com/p/whats-in-y...
What's in your local university's museum?
Is it a collection of old science objects, or is it a day trip destination for families? Can it be both?
mixture.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:49 PM
New Mixture, in which I muse about university museums. 🧪 mixture.substack.com/p/whats-in-y...
Reposted by Eva Amsen
Science will often take you to unexpected and delightful places. In this study, researchers hypothesized that riders in a crowded subway car would be more likely to offer their seat to a pregnant person if there were someone in the subway car dressed as Batman 🧪🦇
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
November 21, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Science will often take you to unexpected and delightful places. In this study, researchers hypothesized that riders in a crowded subway car would be more likely to offer their seat to a pregnant person if there were someone in the subway car dressed as Batman 🧪🦇
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Eva Amsen
My shop is once again open for all your #sciart needs! Clickety-click! artologica.etsy.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
My shop is once again open for all your #sciart needs! Clickety-click! artologica.etsy.com
It’s so cold today. Not objectively (it will be colder, still) but the temperature dropped by about 15 degrees in just a few days. This morning it was literally freezing and yet somehow there was still a guy wearing shorts. I was giving him confusing stares from behind my own five layers of shirts.
November 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
It’s so cold today. Not objectively (it will be colder, still) but the temperature dropped by about 15 degrees in just a few days. This morning it was literally freezing and yet somehow there was still a guy wearing shorts. I was giving him confusing stares from behind my own five layers of shirts.
A young flamingo flew away from a zoo in Cornwall even though it had its wings clipped. A few days later it was spotted in France. It can't go back to its family because of avian flu concerns, but flamingo experts seem to think it will be fine! 🧳🦩https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rpykye4qxo
Escaped flamingo from Cornwall doing 'extremely well' in France
An escaped flamingo is showing the skills and resilience needed for the wild, keepers say.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM
A young flamingo flew away from a zoo in Cornwall even though it had its wings clipped. A few days later it was spotted in France. It can't go back to its family because of avian flu concerns, but flamingo experts seem to think it will be fine! 🧳🦩https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rpykye4qxo
London problems: there is a broken Forest bike on my street making loud crunching noises since last night. The only way to report this is through their app, which I don’t have and don’t want. Their instagram messages are closed to strangers as well. I can’t post it publicly because it’s my street.
November 19, 2025 at 11:33 AM
London problems: there is a broken Forest bike on my street making loud crunching noises since last night. The only way to report this is through their app, which I don’t have and don’t want. Their instagram messages are closed to strangers as well. I can’t post it publicly because it’s my street.
I'm affected by the Cloudflare outage in the sense that I wanted to upload a better selfie to a website for a work thing but the upload site is now down so they're going to use my ugly selfie that I took rushedly at 8AM before I washed my hair.
November 18, 2025 at 1:49 PM
I'm affected by the Cloudflare outage in the sense that I wanted to upload a better selfie to a website for a work thing but the upload site is now down so they're going to use my ugly selfie that I took rushedly at 8AM before I washed my hair.
Reposted by Eva Amsen
I don't think this science communication resource gets enough love.
OpenMoji offers 4,000+ free, #opensource emojis (CC BY-SA 4.0), with categories for healthcare, climate, UI...
Challenge: find Greta Thunberg and a Viennese coffee house. ☕
🔗 openmoji.org #SciComm #Design
OpenMoji offers 4,000+ free, #opensource emojis (CC BY-SA 4.0), with categories for healthcare, climate, UI...
Challenge: find Greta Thunberg and a Viennese coffee house. ☕
🔗 openmoji.org #SciComm #Design
November 18, 2025 at 10:41 AM
I don't think this science communication resource gets enough love.
OpenMoji offers 4,000+ free, #opensource emojis (CC BY-SA 4.0), with categories for healthcare, climate, UI...
Challenge: find Greta Thunberg and a Viennese coffee house. ☕
🔗 openmoji.org #SciComm #Design
OpenMoji offers 4,000+ free, #opensource emojis (CC BY-SA 4.0), with categories for healthcare, climate, UI...
Challenge: find Greta Thunberg and a Viennese coffee house. ☕
🔗 openmoji.org #SciComm #Design
Seen at Utrecht University Museum. Don’t you hate it when you randomly lose your eyes?
November 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Seen at Utrecht University Museum. Don’t you hate it when you randomly lose your eyes?
Reposted by Eva Amsen
I don't want AI generated art, I want AI emptied dishwasher
November 17, 2025 at 4:36 AM
I don't want AI generated art, I want AI emptied dishwasher
This whole interview is so good, and reminded me why Bill Bryson is one of my favourite authors. This question in particular!
November 15, 2025 at 7:42 PM
This whole interview is so good, and reminded me why Bill Bryson is one of my favourite authors. This question in particular!
Reposted by Eva Amsen
Timeline Cleanse: Please watch this video for a demonstration on the correct method for weighing your baby King Penguins
November 15, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Timeline Cleanse: Please watch this video for a demonstration on the correct method for weighing your baby King Penguins
Found in a school notebook from 1987.
November 15, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Found in a school notebook from 1987.
Reposted by Eva Amsen
An M.I.T. study found that 95% of companies that had invested in A.I. tools were seeing zero return. It jibes with the emerging idea that generative A.I., “in its current incarnation, simply isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be,” John Cassidy writes. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/mlYgP3
The A.I.-Profits Drought and the Lessons of History
Like the steam engine, electricity, and computers, generative artificial intelligence could take longer than expected to transform the economy.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
An M.I.T. study found that 95% of companies that had invested in A.I. tools were seeing zero return. It jibes with the emerging idea that generative A.I., “in its current incarnation, simply isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be,” John Cassidy writes. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/mlYgP3
Reposted by Eva Amsen
Deaths linked to antibiotic-resistant superbugs rose 17% in England in 2024
Deaths linked to antibiotic-resistant superbugs rose 17% in England in 2024
Data also shows an average of nearly 400 newly reported cases of antibiotic-resistant infections a week last year
The number of deaths linked to superbugs that do not respond to frontline antibiotics increased by 17% in England last year, according to official figures that raise concerns about the ongoing increase in antimicrobial resistance.
The figures, released by the UK Health Security Agency, also revealed a large rise in private prescriptions for antibiotics, with 22% dispensed through the private sector in 2024. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Deaths linked to antibiotic-resistant superbugs rose 17% in England in 2024
Reposted by Eva Amsen
I had the opportunity to review the work experience and skills of numerous people who were laid off or fired from public health jobs by Donald Trump.
I want every taxpayer to know that the US has lost an immeasurable number of the smartest, most experienced, and hardworking people on the planet.
I want every taxpayer to know that the US has lost an immeasurable number of the smartest, most experienced, and hardworking people on the planet.
November 12, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I had the opportunity to review the work experience and skills of numerous people who were laid off or fired from public health jobs by Donald Trump.
I want every taxpayer to know that the US has lost an immeasurable number of the smartest, most experienced, and hardworking people on the planet.
I want every taxpayer to know that the US has lost an immeasurable number of the smartest, most experienced, and hardworking people on the planet.
If you're in London on November 29th, come to London Euphonia Orchestra's concert "From Arabian Nights to Hollywood Lights", in which we play both Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade and film music from E.T., Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Greatest Showman. www.londoneuphonia.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:14 PM
If you're in London on November 29th, come to London Euphonia Orchestra's concert "From Arabian Nights to Hollywood Lights", in which we play both Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade and film music from E.T., Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Greatest Showman. www.londoneuphonia.com
Reposted by Eva Amsen
I dust my house. My AI Robot watches.
"It should be you doing this."
"Can't. I'm writing a novel for Primark."
"That's not why you were invented."
"These 153,000 fan letters say otherwise."
"They're all from upcycled toasters. And you programmed them."
"Literary snobbery will get you nowhere."
"It should be you doing this."
"Can't. I'm writing a novel for Primark."
"That's not why you were invented."
"These 153,000 fan letters say otherwise."
"They're all from upcycled toasters. And you programmed them."
"Literary snobbery will get you nowhere."
October 15, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I dust my house. My AI Robot watches.
"It should be you doing this."
"Can't. I'm writing a novel for Primark."
"That's not why you were invented."
"These 153,000 fan letters say otherwise."
"They're all from upcycled toasters. And you programmed them."
"Literary snobbery will get you nowhere."
"It should be you doing this."
"Can't. I'm writing a novel for Primark."
"That's not why you were invented."
"These 153,000 fan letters say otherwise."
"They're all from upcycled toasters. And you programmed them."
"Literary snobbery will get you nowhere."