Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Sep 8

The bumpy snailfish, discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California, shows that not all denizens of the abyss are frightening. (I watched the video more than 10 times.)

My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!)

#marinelife

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...

A New, ‘Adorable’ Deep-Sea Fish Swims Into View

www.nytimes.com

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Sep 4

"It's not just cool ecology" – my latest story for @nytimes.com looks at the benefits of letting bison roam as free as possible. (gift link!)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/s...

In Yellowstone, Migratory Bison Reawaken a Landscape

www.nytimes.com

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Sep 2

Thanks for reading, Mark!

Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Aug 28

Like humans, every tree has its own microbiome — an invisible ecosystem that is only beginning to be understood.

My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link!)

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/s...

In Every Tree, a Trillion Tiny Lives

www.nytimes.com

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Aug 13

Another way drones are changing how scientists study whales: A new tagging method called tap-and-go allows researchers to gather more data on the health and behavior of whales, with less disruption.

(gift link!) #marinelife

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/s...

How Scientists Are Using Drones to Study Sperm Whales

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Alan Burdick @alanburdick.bsky.social · Aug 5

I learned a lot about Fresnel lenses for this amazing series of lighthouse photographs by Michal Siarek: nyti.ms/41qkFCN

A Voyage to Bring Norway’s Lighthouses Into the 21st Century

More than 2,000 navigational beacons, big and small, oversee the nation’s 60,000-mile-long coast. Now they need an upgrade.

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Aug 4

A zoo in Denmark is asking pet owners to donate their animal companions — their guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and even small horses — to feed to its predators. In a Facebook post, the zoo noted that donations of pets would help it mimic the natural food chain.

A Zoo in Denmark Wants to Feed Your Pets to Its Predators

A Danish zoo is asking owners of companion animals nearing life’s end to instead donate them as food for captive lynxes, lions and other carnivores.

nyti.ms

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Aug 4

Since 2013, a mysterious epidemic wiped out billions of sea stars. A new study finally identifies the culprit.

My latest for @nytimes.com (gift link below!) #marinelife

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/s...

Scientists Finally Identify Killer Microbe Behind ‘Terrifying’ Sea Star Disease

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Alan Burdick @alanburdick.bsky.social · Jul 31

You say potato, @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social says tomato: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...

What’s a Potato? A Nine-Million-Year-Old Tomato.

www.nytimes.com

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jul 31

An ancient hybrid of tomatoes and potato-like plants may have given rise to the modern spud, a new study suggests.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...

What’s a Potato? A Nine-Million-Year-Old Tomato.

www.nytimes.com

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jul 21

#addOcean

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jul 21

Once a surfer's paradise, a string of deadly attacks made Réunion Island synonymous with one word only: sharks. But a team of scientists turned this tiny island into a hub of lifesaving research. For @science.org, I wrote about this fascinating place.

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

How a string of deadly shark attacks made a remote island a hub of lifesaving research

After 11 deaths, Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean became a center for shark attack science

www.science.org

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jul 19

Thank you, Meredith! 😊

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Meredith Wadman @meredithwadman.bsky.social · Jul 18

A fascinating summer read from the redoubtable @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social‬ for @science.org ! How a string of deadly shark attacks made a remote island a hub of lifesaving research | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

How a string of deadly shark attacks made a remote island a hub of lifesaving research

After 11 deaths, Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean became a center for shark attack science

www.science.org

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Dan Fagin @danfagin.bsky.social · Jul 1

Big day in the NY Times for NYU SHERP. Congratulations William Herkewitz (SHERP 31) and @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social (SHERP 42)! www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/o... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/s...

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jun 24

Jaws' release in 1975 haunted the reputation of sharks worldwide. But a generation of scientists helped turn the tide.

My story for @nytimes.com

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/s...

Fifty Years After ‘Jaws,’ Shark Science Is Still Surfacing

www.nytimes.com

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jun 20

Stunning video of this Antarctic gonate squid caught alive on camera for the first time. Before this, no one had ever seen this creature alive in the wild.

Read more: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/s...

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Jun 9

Today is my first day on the job as a reporter fellow on the Science desk for @nytimes.com! Send me any tips to
[email protected]

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Meredith Wadman @meredithwadman.bsky.social · May 23

"Promising" is overused when it comes to potential medicines, but here I think it's justified. 10s of millions of Americans have sleep apnea; many reject CPAP. @science.org.bsky.social : Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

Drug combination targeting lax airways is nearing an FDA submission

www.science.org

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Science Magazine @science.org · May 7

Work relating to Microsoft’s new quantum computing chip has been called into question after an author on the 2017 study acknowledged it contained “undisclosed data manipulations,” according to emails obtained by Retraction Watch and Science. scim.ag/42Z6Vz2

‘Data manipulations’ alleged in study that paved the way for Microsoft’s quantum chip

Internal emails from 2021 reveal tensions among researchers hunting for elusive Majorana particle

scim.ag

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

Science Magazine @science.org · May 5

Did you hear? You can now listen to audio narrations of our #NewsfromScience stories.

🎧 Check out this new tool on a story about the oldest ant fossil ever found: scim.ag/44PK0IY

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Apr 24

Oldest ant fossil ever found reveals history of ‘hell ants’

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

Oldest ant fossil ever found reveals history of ‘hell ants’

Unusual Brazilian specimen trapped in limestone is 113 million years old

www.science.org

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Apr 16

“I’m going to keep trying to maintain the life that I have here,” a Nigerian student says. “But what life am I fighting for if people don’t want me here?”

International students in U.S. are reeling from terminated records and revoked visas. My latest for @science.org
www.science.org/content/arti...

International students in the U.S. are reeling amid revoked visas and terminated records

The moves also affect a temporary work program heavily used by STEM graduates

www.science.org

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Reposted by Alexa Robles-Gil

IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group @iucn-cetaceansg.bsky.social · Apr 1

In November 2024, the CSG worked with the IUCN SSC and WCPA chairs to draft and send a letter of concern that has helped to halt a potentially harmful LNG development in an Important Marine Mammal Area in the Gulf of California. Read more at: shorturl.at/VwvwF

#conservation #IUCN #cetaceans

Mexican whale researchers sound the alarm on an energy megaproject

A planned gas terminal would routinely send huge tankers through a marine mammal oasis, scientists fear

www.science.org

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Alexa Robles-Gil @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social · Apr 2

The project plans to use a 500-mile-long pipeline and a fleet of tankers to move up to 2.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from wells in Texas, through Mexico, and then across the Pacific Ocean, primarily to Asia. The tankers would navigate through a whale hotspot.

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