Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · May 10

Nibbles on the bird book, like he knows it’s Migratory Bird Day! Pup and I went on a hike this morning, 12 species total, couple new lifers too: orchard oriole and a yellow warbler 💪🏻

#migratorybirds #migratorybirdday #birding #birdwatching #wildlycurious #scicomm

Adorable beagle dog nibbling on the edge of The Sibley Birder’s Life List & Field Diary

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Reposted by Katy Reiss

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · May 1

BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones

US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

www.nature.com

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · May 6

After 12 years of birding, squinting, and yelling “IS THAT IT?!” into the trees…
I. FINALLY. SAW. A. PAINTED BUNTING. 🐦🎨

No tears. Just victory. And maybe a high five from my kid.

🎥 Watch the madness

#Birding #scicomm #WildlyCurious #BackyardBirding

Birdwatching: The Perfect Hobby for ADHD

YouTube video by Wildly Curious Podcast

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Katy Reiss

Association of Science and Technology Centers @sciencecenters.bsky.social · May 1

New data from ASTC reveals a disconnect: while Americans value science in their daily lives, many don't recognize the critical link between federal investments and the scientific information they rely on.

www.astc.org/astc-news-an...

#SciEngage #ScienceEngagement #SciPol #SciencePolicy

New ASTC survey shows gaps between public support for science and understanding of how science is impacted by federal actions - Association of Science and Technology Centers

New data from the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) reveal that while adults in the United States value science in their daily lives, it is unclear the extent to which they associat...

www.astc.org

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 29

🌋 Antarctica has volcanoes.
🧊 Under the ice? 70°F hidden caves.
🧬 Inside the caves? Strange, possibly undiscovered DNA.

Yeah. It's weirder (and cooler) than you think. ❄️🔥

🎧 Listen to our latest minisode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlmN...

#WildlyCurious #Volcanoes #Antarctica #SciComm

The Hidden Caves Beneath Antarctica's Volcanoes

YouTube video by Wildly Curious Podcast

www.youtube.com

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 25

🌩 Some tropical trees get struck by lightning 100+ times—on purpose.
Their height, water channels, and structure make them natural conductors—rivaling manmade lightning rods.
Nature’s been managing electricity longer than we have.
🔗 www.sciencenews.org/article/trop...
#scicomm #sciencenews #science

Some tropical trees act as lightning rods to fend off rivals

Though being struck by lightning is usually bad, the tropical tree Dipteryx oleifera benefits. A strike kills other nearby trees and parasitic vines.

www.sciencenews.org

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 23

📚 Some medieval books weren’t bound in calfskin… but sealskin.
New research reveals hidden marine DNA in rare manuscripts—reshaping what we know about medieval trade, religion, and ecology.
Sometimes, history is in the materials.
🔗 www.sciencenews.org/article/rare...

Rare books covered with seal skin hint at a medieval trade network

The furry seal skins may have made their way to French monasteries from as far away as Greenland.

www.sciencenews.org

Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 22

Ever dream of flying bagels or dolphin taxis?
(Just us?)
In our latest Wildly Curious, we explore what your brain’s doing during sleep—and why skipping it messes with memory, mood & metabolism. 🧠😴
💭 Weirdest dream you’ve had?
🎧 buff.ly/F7v2X6v
#scicomm #sleep #neuroscience

Why We Sleep, Dream, and Lose Our Minds Without It

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 17

Unicorns were real.
(Just not the sparkly kind.)

Meet the Siberian unicorn—a 1-ton, rhino-like Ice Age beast that walked alongside early humans. 🦏🦄

Would you run... or try to ride it?

🎧 buff.ly/tsl5G8X

#scicomm #iceage #megafauna #paleontology

The Real-Life Unicorn? This Ice Age Discovery Changed Everything!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 17

🦖 Thought Spinosaurus was a dino-swimmer?
New fossil evidence says: more wader than diver.
Turns out, its bones were too light to stay submerged—which makes sense since it was a theropod which gave rise to birds!
Dino plot twist.
🔗 buff.ly/32s4mwQ
#scicomm #paleontology #storytelling #wildlycurious

Could Spinosaurus swim? The fierce dinosaur ignites debate

Researchers are still divided about whether Spinosaurus was a swimmer or a wader. What’s clear is that confirming the first swimming dinosaur would be a game-changer.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 16

🦇 Scientists mic’d up bats to ask:
How do they swarm without crashing?

Turns out, they adjust echolocation in real time—filtering through a chaotic wall of sound with precision.

What other species could teach us something big—if we just listened closely?

🔗 buff.ly/bIH7Uec

#scicomm #science #bats

Bats wearing tiny mics reveal how the fliers avoid rush hour collisions

As thousands of bats launch nightly hunting, the cacophony of a dense crowd should stymie echolocation, a so-called “cocktail party nightmare.”

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Reposted by Katy Reiss

SciAnts Media @sciantsmedia.com · Apr 3

Tonight, we spoke with @thatkaty.bsky.social , scientist, science communicator and zoo specialist for our women in STEM series! Thank you @SqudgeC @ruthfullla.bsky.social @jddoesdev.bsky.social @dostuffmakethings @NGloppy @shenanigans3d for the raids! We passed the love to @mcd00dle.bsky.social !

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 3

Thank you for having me! I had a lot of fun!🦍

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Apr 1

🐶 New study says we may be reading our dogs all wrong.
Turns out, people rely more on the environment than a dog’s body language to judge its mood—which means we’re often guessing based on the scene, not the signals.
Dog lovers, time to brush up. 🔗

You might be reading your dog’s moods wrong

A dog's physical cues often take a back seat to environmental ones, skewing humans' perceptions, a small study suggests.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 14

👏 Clapping isn’t just noise—it’s physics in action!

Scientists found that when hands collide, they expel air at supersonic speeds, creating shock waves that give claps their sharp sound.

Hand position matters too—cupped vs. flat changes the tone. More here: buff.ly/Fl5czuo
#SciComm #ScienceNews

The sound of clapping, explained by physics

The “Helmholtz resonator” concept explains the frequencies of sound produced by clapping the hands together in different configurations.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 13

🦎 Scientists are finding geckos everywhere in Southeast Asia’s karst landscapes—because they keep evolving into new species!
Protecting them means protecting species we haven’t even discovered yet. More here: buff.ly/NWTBjfO
#SciComm #ScienceNews #ScienceCommunication

More new geckos have been found hiding in Southeast Asia’s limestone towers

Nearly 200 new gecko species found in living in karst landscapes reveal the rugged regions as dynamic areas of speciation.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 12

🐧 Iceland’s “Puffling Patrol” is back!

Each year, baby puffins get disoriented by city lights—so locals rescue them, carry them in boxes, and release them safely into the sea.

A heartwarming example of community-led conservation. More here: buff.ly/u33EXUL
#SciComm #ScienceNews

How a puffin patrol in Iceland is saving the iconic seabirds

Light pollution disorients young puffins. The Puffling Patrol helps them find their way to the sea.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 11

🪴 Sundews don’t just trap insects—they have fungal allies helping them digest!

Scientists discovered a fungus living on sundew leaves that speeds up digestion, making these carnivorous plants even more efficient hunters.
Nature loves a good team-up. More here: buff.ly/98eKOAg
#SciComm #ScienceNews

Carnivorous plants eat faster with a fungal friend

Insects stuck in sundew plants’ sticky secretions suffocate and die before being subjected to a medley of digestive enzymes.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 10

🦅 Meet Dearc sgiathanach—the largest Jurassic pterosaur ever found!

Discovered in Scotland, this fossil rewrites what we thought about pterosaur evolution, proving they got BIG much earlier than expected.

Prehistory just got a little wilder. More here: buff.ly/8pe1cw4
#SciComm #ScienceNews

A mysteriously large pterosaur finally has an identity

A Jurassic pterosaur fossil, known to paleontologists for over 160 years, isn’t a new species. It is an odd specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 7

🔭 Citizen scientists are changing astronomy.
By linking their telescopes, amateur astronomers are tracking asteroids, spotting exoplanets, & more—contributing real data to science.

Backyard telescopes are now part of global discovery. More here: buff.ly/hTfcmu4
#SciComm #ScienceNews

Citizen scientists make cosmic discoveries with a global telescope network

On balconies and in backyards, Wi-Fi–enabled telescopes are connecting astronomy enthusiasts across six continents.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 6

🌍 Your trash doesn’t disappear—it just becomes someone else’s problem.

Waste Wars exposes the hidden world of waste trafficking, corruption, and environmental injustice.
Who really pays the price for our waste? Time to rethink what we throw away.
buff.ly/Acvg21b #WasteWars #Sustainability #SciComm

Waste Wars

A globe-trotting work of relentless investigative reporting, this is the first major book to expose the catastrophic reality of the multi-billion-dollar glob...

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Reposted by Katy Reiss

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · Mar 5

Applications are now open for the @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org awards, which honor the best #SciComm work in 2024.

Science communicators, science journalists, and research scientists can all apply in separate categories: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel... 🧪

Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. Applications accepted Feb 28 - March 1, 2025. Science Journalists, Research Scientists, Science Communicators

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 5

🦇 Glow-in-the-dark bat toes?!

Scientists discovered that Mexican free-tailed bats' toe bristles glow turquoise & blue under UV light—and we have no idea why.

Communication? Camouflage? Just a cool bat flex? The mystery glows on. More here:

#scicomm #sciencecommunication #sciencenews

Glow in the Dark Bats - Bat Conservation International

All it takes is some ultraviolet (UV) light to uncover some literal twinkle toes.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 4

🐟 The Fish Doorbell is back!
Each spring, migrating fish in Utrecht’s canals get stuck at a gate—but with a live-streaming camera, you can help.

See fish waiting? Press the virtual doorbell to alert operators & let them through.

More here:

#scicomm #sciencecommunication #sciencenews

The Fish Doorbell — The Fish Doorbell

Did you spot a fish? Press the Fish Doorbell! This alerts our lock operator to let the fish through. The Fish Doorbell is in Utrecht, NL.

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Katy Reiss @thatkaty.com · Mar 4

Glowing bats?! 🦇 I can’t post many videos here but if you check us out on YouTube, we have so many more shorts and full length episodes: buff.ly/vNQN4c2
#SciComm #ScienceNews

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