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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

@rpocisv.bsky.social

5K followers 530 following 38 posts

Science journalist at @ksjatmit.bsky.social + @science.org | @theopennotebook.bsky.social Español Editorial Director | Views my own | he/him

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · Apr 18

I'm thrilled to share that I'll be a 2025-26 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT @ksjatmit.bsky.social. I'll be reflecting on the state of science and journalism today, learning from top researchers and from amazing colleagues. I'm super excited for this experience! ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/04...

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · 21d

Revolutionary techniques using traces of environmental DNA are analyzing entire ecosystems “from microbes to whales.” Learn more in @rpocisv.bsky.social's 2019 story: knowmag.org/3IcQbxZ

A world in a bottle of water

Revolutionary techniques using traces of environmental DNA are analyzing entire ecosystems “from microbes to whales”

knowmag.org

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Federico Sánchez Quinto @fsanchezquinto.bsky.social · Sep 5

Great podcast by @rpocisv.bsky.social and colleagues from Science @science.org about our recent publication about recovery mitogenomes from Basin of Mexico Columbian mammoths. Its a not miss! 👇

Sar Crespi @boron110.bsky.social · Aug 28

What we can learn from a mother lode of Mexican mammoths w/ @rpocisv.bsky.social this week on the @science.org podcast
Listen here 🎧 www.science.org/content/podc...

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Science Magazine @science.org · Sep 3

A military megaproject led to Mexico’s biggest paleontological discovery—and is now reshaping what we know about mammoths.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/45PD8M0

Map showing locations where high-quality mtDNA samples have been recovered from mammoths. The dot size corresponds to the approximate number of samples recovered. Columbian mammoths recently discovered in Mexico are the first from a tropical area to yield mtDNA; the Basin of Mexico location is the largest dot on the map and the furthest south. Columbian mammoths in North America descend from a 1-million-year-old steppe mammoth discovered in Krestovka, Russia, with additional ancestry from woolly mammoths.

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Jeffrey Perkel (he/him) @jperkel.bsky.social · Aug 29

Mammoths in Mexico! A fascinating read by @rpocisv.bsky.social @science.org on the discovery and analysis of a massive Pleistocene fossil trove beneath an airport in Mexico City. 🧬 🦣 🇲🇽 www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Mammoths in Mexico? Huge bone trove reveals giant beasts thrived in warmth, too

Fossils found while building airport contain first mammoth DNA from tropical location

www.science.org

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Federico Sánchez Quinto @fsanchezquinto.bsky.social · Aug 29

shorturl.at/KE6Ux

Mammoths in Mexico? Huge bone trove reveals giant beasts thrived in warmth, too

Fossils found while building airport contain first mammoth DNA from tropical location

shorturl.at

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Federico Sánchez Quinto @fsanchezquinto.bsky.social · Aug 29

Thrilled to share our study sequencing genetic data from tropical mammoths 🏝️🦣. First DNA recovered from Columbian mammoths southern than USA shorturl.at/xjIvy. Thanks to all collaborators, you were key to this success! See below a fantastic note covering the paper by the great @rpocisv.bsky.social 👇

Columbian mammoth mitogenomes from Mexico uncover the species’ complex evolutionary history

Paleogenomic studies suggest that Mammuthus columbi derives from an ancient hybridization between Mammuthus primigenius and Mammuthus trogontherii. While its habitat spanned from North to Central Amer...

shorturl.at

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Federico Sánchez Quinto @fsanchezquinto.bsky.social · Aug 29

La historia de cómo secuenciamos los mamtus 🦣 más tropicales 🏝️ secuenciados al momento la pueden leer aquí 👇https://shorturl.at/KE6Ux. Redactadó por el gran @rpocisv.bsky.social. Muchas gracias Rodrigo por cubrir con tanto entusiasmo la nota sobre nuestro trabajo.

Mammoths in Mexico? Huge bone trove reveals giant beasts thrived in warmth, too

Fossils found while building airport contain first mammoth DNA from tropical location

shorturl.at

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Sar Crespi @boron110.bsky.social · Aug 28

What we can learn from a mother lode of Mexican mammoths w/ @rpocisv.bsky.social this week on the @science.org podcast
Listen here 🎧 www.science.org/content/podc...

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · Jun 5

Bed bugs have always our urban companions.

Populations of the bed bug that associates with people appear to have surged as human societies shifted from nomadic to more settled lifestyles

@rpocisv.bsky.social reports in @science.org 👇
www.science.org/content/arti...

www.science.org

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · May 29

A new study of bedbug genomes traces their success back to early civilization, and claims that they may be the first urban pest. More in my story for @science.org. www.science.org/content/arti...

Bedbugs may be the first urban pest

A new study of the insects’ genomes traces their success back to early civilization

www.science.org

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · May 16

Massive DNA sequencing effort reveals how colonization shaped Brazil’s genetic diversity. My new story in @science.org. www.science.org/content/arti...

Massive DNA sequencing effort reveals how colonization shaped Brazil’s genetic diversity

New study identifies thousands of new variants related to diseases

www.science.org

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · May 12

In the largest ever study of Tenochtitlan obsidian, researchers found that the Aztec empire sought obsidian from far and wide to make ritual jewelry and basic tools, revealing complex trade networks and ritual preferences. More in my story in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Aztec empire sought obsidian from far and wide to make ritual jewelry and basic tools

Largest ever study of Tenochtitlan obsidian reveals complex trade networks and ritual preferences

www.science.org

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Marc Naguib @marcnaguib.bsky.social · May 9

www.science.org/content/arti...

Chimpanzee drumming may give clues to the roots of rhythm

Behavior is more complex than scientists realized, could reveal origins of musicality

www.science.org

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Amanda Heidt @scattercushion.bsky.social · May 6

As a hugeeeeee fan of TON, this is very exciting news to get to share. I live in perpetual yearning for the day they ask me to do a Day in the Life article.

The Open Notebook @theopennotebook.bsky.social · May 6

🧪 @claudia-lopez.bsky.social brought together a group of reporters, including @scattercushion.bsky.social, @usha.bsky.social, @martinaigini.bsky.social @nicolakimjones.bsky.social and others to ask what advice they have for tackling major reports in their respective beats.

Roundtable: Reporting on Reports—How Journalists Harness Hundred-Page Documents - The Open Notebook

Reports, often published by leading institutions and organizations, are goldmines for science journalists—packed with data, insights, and leads that can spark compelling stories. These offer journalis...

www.theopennotebook.com

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

The Open Notebook @theopennotebook.bsky.social · May 9

¿Cuánto prerreporteo es buena práctica y cuánto es una exageración? Bueno, depende, pero esta guía con @mxeliramos.bsky.social, @adithi-r1.bsky.social, Emiliano Rodríguez Mega, y otros puede ayudarte a encontrar tu respuesta. #TONenEspañol 🧪

¿Qué es el prerreporteo, y realmente necesito hacerlo? - The Open Notebook

Muchos reporteros dudan en invertir tiempo o dinero en una posible historia sin garantía de remuneración, pero pasan por alto el prerreporteo —o desarrollar una historia antes de que sea aceptada para...

www.theopennotebook.com

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · May 9

Chimpanzee drumming may give clues to the roots of rhythm, my latest in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Chimpanzee drumming may give clues to the roots of rhythm

Behavior is more complex than scientists realized, could reveal origins of musicality

www.science.org

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Science Magazine @science.org · May 9

Scientists “blow up” brains 16 times their size to map neurons with superfine detail.

Learn more: scim.ag/42Uyv1K

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · May 7

Can't see tiny neurons and their many connections? No problem, just "blow them up"! My latest for @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Scientists ‘blow up’ brains 16 times their size to map neurons with superfine detail

Method—which uses a light microscope—offers a powerful, cost-effective alternative to electron microscopy

www.science.org

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Reposted by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Katherine Stiles @katherinestiles.org · May 7

“Deciphering the brain’s wiring is one of neuroscience’s toughest challenges. […] But in a new Nature study published today, researchers offer a clever approach: Instead of struggling to ‘see’ tiny cell structures in a chunk of mouse brain, just make them bigger.”
@rpocisv.bsky.social ‣ @science.org

Scientists ‘blow up’ brains 16 times their size to map neurons with superfine detail

Method—which uses a light microscope—offers a powerful, cost-effective alternative to electron microscopy

www.science.org

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · May 7

Meet a worm that can stretch like an accordion! Found off the coast of a Spanish estuary, worm can contract its body to one-fifth its original length. More in my story for @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Meet a worm that can stretch like an accordion

Found off the coast of a Spanish estuary, worm can contract its body to one-fifth its original length

www.science.org

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Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · Apr 21

Thanks!

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · Apr 20

Merci, Jean!

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · Apr 20

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · Apr 19

Thanks!

Rodrigo Pérez Ortega @rpocisv.bsky.social · Apr 19

Thanks!!!