Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 1d

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Lee Billings @leebillings.bsky.social · 1d

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: This year’s physics Nobel goes to 3 researchers who demonstrated quantum tunneling on a superconducting chip. By bringing this microscopic effect into the macroscale world, they laid important foundations for quantum computing.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

This Year’s Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded to Three Scientists for Work in Quantum Mechanics

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work showing how bizarre microscopic quantum effects can infiltrate our large-scale, everyday world

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 2d

Well it's another pretty garbage Monday, but here is a selection of gorgeous photos of cats from a new photo book "Feline."

Photographer Tim Flach was unsure about working kitties, who are not known for their cooperative nature. “My problem was, how can I do a cat book and come out with dignity?” 😆

See Stunning Feline Photography Revealing the Science of Cats

Tim Flach captures his fascination with the science of cats in stunning photographs from his new book Feline

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 2d

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Lauren J. Young @laurenjyoung.bsky.social · 2d

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to some neat fundamental research on the immune system: peripheral immune tolerance. It's what keeps the body's defense mechanism in check—and could be key to new therapies for autoimmune disorders. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

This Year’s Medicine Nobel Goes to Discovery of Why the Body Doesn’t Attack Itself

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi shared the Nobel prize for their work on peripheral immune tolerance, a process that is key to organ transplants and treatment of autoimmune disease...

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

ProPublica @propublica.org · 2d

#ICYMI: GOP lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027.

A GAO report shows the program has spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says

Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at lea...

www.propublica.org

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Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 5d

Jane Goodall was one of my first scientific idols. She reminded us that the natural world is not simply an object of study but a living, breathing subject: "In a flash of 'outsight' I had known timelessness and quiet ecstasy, sensed a truth of which mainstream science is merely a small fraction."

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Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 7d

On Friday 18 blue state attorneys general BLASTED the Federal Trade Commission, telling it to back off trans youth healthcare and warning of an insidious attempt to reshape the regulation of medicine in the US.

And nobody covered it.

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

State AGs Defend Trans Americans in Stunning Rebuke to Trump’s FTC — Assigned

Eighteen state Attorneys General unite to stand up in defense of trans Americans, in opposition to a Federal Trade Commission investigation into trans healthcare.

www.assignedmedia.org

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Nathan Andrew is opening The Gate - Auld Hornie telt me t’dae’t @feralharp.bsky.social · 8d

As you will gather from the article, it does, in fact, sound like a cartoon villain the size of a piece of string cheese.

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 8d

You NEED to see and hear these cute little barking geckos and I won't let you talk yourself out of it: 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/six-...

Mildly Menacing Mating Calls Lead to Discovery of New Gecko Species

Scientists found new gecko species hidden in plain sight in pristine deserts of southern Africa, thanks to their loud, barking mating calls

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Lizzie O'Leary @lizzieohreally.bsky.social · 9d

My oncologist & pharmacy team at the world class cancer center doesn’t know. The pharmaceutical company that makes it doesn’t know.

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Lizzie O'Leary @lizzieohreally.bsky.social · 9d

I am a well educated, pretty media literate person whose job it is to be professionally annoying. I cannot figure out if my cancer medication, which costs $17k a month (I do not pay anything thanks to a combo of insurance/access programs), is going to be tariffed 100%.

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks to @wxmanms1.bsky.social and @bmcnoldy.bsky.social for chatting with me about this one.

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 8d

Well not only is TS Imelda going to move away from the U.S. (phew), it's doing so because of what is essentially a "flavor" of the Fujiwhara effect that has Imelda making a sharp right turn to follow in Hurricane Humberto's wake. 🧪

(I love hurricanes.)

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

A Hurricane Is Saving the U.S. from a Tropical Storm

In a version of the Fujiwhara effect, Hurricane Humberto is pulling Tropical Storm Imelda eastward and away from the U.S.

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 10d

"After nearly 40 years, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, or ARCUS, will close September 30."

"The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States funded programs that aided Indigenous communities and tracked melting sea ice, among dozens of initiatives."

After Trump cut the National Science Foundation by 56 percent, a venerable Arctic research center closes its doors

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States funded programs that aided Indigenous communities and tracked melting sea ice, among dozens of initiatives.

grist.org

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Scott Waldman @scottpwaldman.bsky.social · 9d

Energy Secretary Wright made tens of millions of dollars as the CEO of a fracking company, so he certainly knows that the natural gas he brought to market is the primary cause of the decline of the coal industry.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."

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Matthew @dlthings.bsky.social · 10d

# of paragraphs for news orgs to mention there's no discernable need to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon

The Guardian: 1st paragraph
BBC: 4th paragraph
AP: 5th paragraph
Time: 6th paragraph
Politico: 8th paragraph
NPR: 9th paragraph
CNN: 10th paragraph
NBC: 12th paragraph
Fox News: never mentions

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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 10d

The first picture that accurately describes what it felt like to be a Georgia Tech student (h/t u/taohid1)

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King with a thousand-yard stare and dirty shoulder pads during a post-game interview

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 10d

Sweet Baby Jesus and Happy Birthday to me.

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katie dzwierzynski @kdzwierzynski.bsky.social · 11d

SIR MIX-O-LOTL

facebook post from brookfield zoo chicago with a picture of an axolotl and the caption:

“And the votes are in...

Please give a warm welcome to our newly named axolotl: Sir Mix-O-Lotl. Thank you to everyone who cast their vote in our naming contest. Stop by The Living Coast to say hi to Sir Mix-O-Lot on your next visit!
Brookfield Zoo Chicago recently took in 20 rescued axolotls that were illegally imported at O'Hare International Airport and seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers. These salamanders were imported from Indonesia and needed professional care to survive. Axolotls are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List).
You can symbolically adopt Sir Mix-O-Lot to support the care, education, and conservation of this critically endangered species at https://bit.ly/4mFQXlh.”

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Tanya Lewis @tanyalewis.bsky.social · 12d

The FDA is conducting "its own review of the evidence" on the safety & effectiveness of abortion drug mifepristone, according to news reports. Yet a wealth of evidence has shown the drug is safe and effective. SCOTUS rejected a case on this last year: www.scientificamerican.com/article/abor...

Abortion Pill Access Is Still Under Threat After SCOTUS Ruling, Legal Experts Warn

“It would be foolish to declare victory” for abortion rights, one expert says of the recent Supreme Court challenge to medication abortion access

www.scientificamerican.com

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 12d

Also, it's not like there's two storms likely to affect the U.S. over the next week...

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 12d

New: There was an "emergency" all-hands meeting inside part of NOAA today basically to tell people they have no idea what to expect re a potential shutdown. "Even less than usual," per one source. There is no guidance yet available and no info on what specifically the OMB memo means. So that's cool.

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 12d

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 12d

New: There was an "emergency" all-hands meeting inside part of NOAA today basically to tell people they have no idea what to expect re a potential shutdown. "Even less than usual," per one source. There is no guidance yet available and no info on what specifically the OMB memo means. So that's cool.

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Reposted by Andrea Thompson

Dr. Katy Croff Bell @katycroffbell.bsky.social · 13d

SPERM WHALE EATING A GIANT SQUID--filmed probably for the first time *ever*!!! 🌊🦑🐳

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 13d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Andrea Thompson @andreatweather.bsky.social · 15d

There were some really excellent entries! It was so hard to judge!

Meghan Bartels @meghanbartels.bsky.social · 15d

We posted some of our favorite #SciAmInTheWild submissions and honestly, these make me so dang happy: www.scientificamerican.com/article/anno...

Announcing the #SciAmInTheWild Photography Contest Short List

To celebrate Scientific American’s 180th anniversary, we invited readers to place our magazine covers in the wild. See our staff’s favorite submissions

www.scientificamerican.com

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Holly Fernandez Lynch @hollylynchez.bsky.social · 15d

We could actually study whether this drug is beneficial as an autism treatment. But so much for gold standard science and "substantial evidence of effectiveness."

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Holly Fernandez Lynch @hollylynchez.bsky.social · 15d

This is bonkers. FDA is going to change leucovorin's label based on a lit review with data on 40 patients w/ cerebral folate deficiency and comparisons to "known natural history."

www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/f...

FDA brings back GSK's leucovorin drug that RFK Jr. touted as autism treatment

The Trump administration is touting leucovorin as a treatment for autism.

www.statnews.com

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Holly Anderson 🍇 @hollyanderson.bsky.social · 15d

We keep to the old ways here

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 15d

IT IS TIME.

It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers

First published on October 9, 2009, this classic by Colin Nissan is our most-read article of all time. We’re celebrating the 16th anniversary of th...

buff.ly

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