Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 1h

Archaeologist Kristina Douglass is 1 of 11 scientist MacArthur Fellows this year. "For me, this award is a loud affirmation that the principles of community which have guided my work are not only valued, but essential to the way we must do science." #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Kristina Douglass performing Afro-Brazilian dance at the Malagasy Independence Day celebrations in Befandefa, southwest Madagascar, June 26, 2025, as part of a project to integrate embodied practices, like dance, into research and climate science. Credit: NGO VaeVae

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 2d

It took decades for the work of Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi—the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology—to have clinical relevance. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Continued support for blue-sky research is essential to fuel the breakthroughs of tomorrow.
Carola Vinuesa, Francis Crick Institute

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 6d

Insects have long been thought of as "little robots," so their welfare hasn't been considered when it comes to scientific experiments. That's changing. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

a bumble bee is playing with toys on a yellow table

ALT: a bumble bee is playing with toys on a yellow table

media.tenor.com

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 8d

Will-o’-the-wisps, the fleeting flames occasionally seen above swamps and graveyards, may be tiny lightning bursts jumping between microscopic bubbles of methane. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

a girl with red hair is holding a blue object in her hand

ALT: a girl with red hair is holding a blue object in her hand

media.tenor.com

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 9d

This stop-motion video made from 7 years of pictures of the young star IM Lup is the first of a star’s disk winding up to form planets. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 12d

There’s more to sighing than simply forcing open any of the little air sacs in your lungs that have collapsed—the act actually helps prevent them from collapsing. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

marie from the aristocats is looking out of a window with her paws crossed .

Alt: Marie from the aristocats is looking out of a window and sighing

media.tenor.com

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 13d

Aw thank you! It makes me so happy to hear that!!

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 13d

Putting together a daily newsletter is a lot of work! But still, I don't outsource any of the writing to LLMs—and a recent experiment from the SciPak team confirms why. That and more from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

ScienceAdviser: Why this newsletter doesn’t use ChatGPT

Today in Science and science: Gene therapy slows Huntington disease, two volcanoes compete for magma, and more

www.science.org

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Reposted by Christie Wilcox

GRC Venoms @grcvenom.bsky.social · 14d

Exciting news 🐍🕷️🐝🐠🐜🦂!!

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Christie Wilcox (@nerdychristie.bsky.social), renowned science writer and communicator, will serve as the Keynote Mentor & Speaker at our upcoming Venom Evolution, Function, and Biomedical Applications Gordon Research Seminar (GRS)

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 14d

Awkward as it might look, sideways locomotion might have fueled the diversification of crabs and allowed them to conquer new habitats. That story and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 16d

Sure, everyone was obsessed with pizza rat. But have you heard about pizza lizard? That Ig Nobel-winning research and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Male rainbow lizard (Agama agama). Photo: Sergio Boscaino via Wikimedia Commons

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 19d

The yellow fever mosquito has conquered the world—and that's kind of our fault. That story and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti Amy E. Lockwood/CDC

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 20d

Where have all the wildebeests gone? A new AI analysis suggests half as many animals as previous counts. That story and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 21d

Talk about a buzzkill: Mosquitoes seem to be especially attracted to people who drink beer, smoke pot, and share their bed with someone else. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Festivalgoers lined up to find out just how much mosquitoes want to bite them. Photo: Sara Lynn Blanken

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 22d

This footage of a teeny hydra was taken with a microscope that's about the size of a grape. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · 28d

Steven McKnight was driving to Montana when he received the call about winning a #LaskerAward. "I was flabbergasted. I probably should have pulled over," he told me. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Lasker Award winner Steven McKnight Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center

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Reposted by Christie Wilcox

Christiana Fogg @cnfogg.bsky.social · Sep 8

That time I was subject of scientific study, and not an editor.....🏃‍♀️🧪

Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 29

In this edition of #ScienceAdviser, Science Immunology Senior Editor @cnfogg.bsky.social talks about how her love of running led her to be the subject of science—rather than the editor of it. Plus more of the best from @science.org and science: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Christiana Fogg, 11.7 miles into the 2024 Stone Mill 50-miler. Photo: Dan Reichmann, MCRRC

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thumbs are cool and all, but have you ever thought about how important thumbnails are? They just might have been the key to rodents' evolutionary success. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Anderson Feijó examining rodents in the collections of the Field Museum. CREDIT: Field Museum

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Sep 3

Bubbles can be pretty powerful—potent enough to propel this little bot more than a meter into the air! That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 29

In this edition of #ScienceAdviser, Science Immunology Senior Editor @cnfogg.bsky.social talks about how her love of running led her to be the subject of science—rather than the editor of it. Plus more of the best from @science.org and science: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 28

Ebony and ivory really are a perfect harmony—African forest elephants consume the tree's fruit, and in return, their fecal matter disperses and helps protect seedlings. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

The seeds of the valuable African ebony tree (Diospyros crassiflora, left) rely on African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis, right) for more than dispersal. (Left) Vincent Deblauwe/IITA, CBI, UCLA; (Right) Richard Rosomoff

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 27

I feel like this beautiful bot needs the right symphony accompanying it. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Reposted by Christie Wilcox

Irena Feng @irenafeng.bsky.social · Aug 21

A party in my mailbox today 🥳 Thanks @nerdychristie.bsky.social @science.org for the daily newsletters and the fun free socks!! #ScienceAdviser

a pair of brown socks with a cartoon tardigrade wearing a party hat on the ankle

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 15

When Science's @martinenserink.bsky.social reported from Guinea during a health crisis 10 years ago, the silver linings were easy to spot. Not so much this time around. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

There is a lot of talk about a “new architecture” in global health, but when you ask people what it would look like, nobody seems to know.
—Martin Enserink

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Aug 15

I keep staring at this video showing the movement of aerosols in the atmosphere. It's so mesmerizing! That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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