Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 2d

What if you could taste an early flu infection? Chemists report a molecular sensor that, when placed on an infected tongue as a thin film or gum, will release thyme’s main flavor compound, thymol. cen.acs.org/analytical-c... #chemsky 🧪

This molecule turns your tongue into a flu detector

Flu sensor for early screening tastes like thyme if you’re sick

cen.acs.org

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 1d

🐃 Indigenous cattle emit less methane than thought

A new study found yaks and other indigenous bovines produce far less methane than global models predict, suggesting current estimates are overstated.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s43...

#SciComm 🧪 #Methane

Methane emissions from indigenous nitrogen-efficient bovidae are overestimated - Communications Earth & Environment

Indigenous and crossbred bovines produce less methane and consume nitrogen more efficiently than improved bovines, according to a meta-analysis combined with measurements of methane emissions from yaks in China.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Andrew

Allen Institute @alleninstitute.org · 2d

Congrats to Mary Brunkow from @isbscience.org on winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine! Brunkow was honored with collaborators Ramsdell and Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking work on immune system regulation.

A proud moment for science and Seattle!

🔗 www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/h...

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Is Awarded for Work on Immune Systems

www.nytimes.com

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 4d

🥧 Silicone bakeware and chemical exposure

A study found that silicone baking trays release cyclic siloxanes into food and air during baking, with young children facing the highest exposure.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#SciComm #Toxicology 🧪

Silicone bakeware as a source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes via inhalation and baked food consumption

Silicone-based bakeware is widely used due to its heat resistance, flexibility, and non-stick properties. However, concerns have emerged regarding the…

www.sciencedirect.com

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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 5d

What’s the greenest Nobel Prize? Our columnists reflect on how the Nobel prizes—and not just those for science—have recognized green chemistry insights. cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪 #greenchemistry

What’s the greenest Nobel Prize?

Our columnists reflect on how the Nobel prizes—and not just those for science—have recognized green chemistry insights

cen.acs.org

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Andrew @andrew-ecoathome.bsky.social · 4d

First of its kind in Australia: aluminium wine bottle. Non-reactive with wine compounds, lighter than glass, but faces a psychological disadvantage with consumers. www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2... #chemistry #aus #australia #wine #winescience #drinks #sustainability #climatecrisis #climatesolutions

Winery sells country's first drop in an aluminium bottle to cut emissions

A Victorian company releases Australia's first aluminium wine bottles to reduce its carbon footprint, while acknowledging drinkers may take some convincing.

www.abc.net.au

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Andrew @andrew-ecoathome.bsky.social · 4d

Helpful explainer for Australian consumers: what's behind the current recall of many sunscreen brands. theconversation.com/does-my-suns... #Aus #Australia #auspol #sunscreen #suncream #protectorsolar #consumer #consumerprotection #safety #recall #recalls #TGA #chemistry #sun #sunsafety #outdoors

Does my sunscreen actually work? Here’s what’s behind the latest SPF concerns

No wonder consumers are confused about whether sunscreens actually work. Here’s what’s behind the latest news.

theconversation.com

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Andrew @andrew-ecoathome.bsky.social · 4d

Introducing BIRDBASE, which aims to be the world's most comprehensive avian trait ecology database. Article links to open access paper, & data in Excel spreadsheet. phys.org/news/2025-09... #science #environment #ecology #eco #biology #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #openaccess #datascience

BIRDBASE dataset tracks ecological traits for 11,589 species of birds

Çağan Şekercioğlu was an ambitious, but perhaps naive graduate student when, 26 years ago, he embarked on a simple data-compilation project that would soon evolve into a massive career-defining achiev...

phys.org

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Reposted by Andrew

Alliance of Genome Resources @alliancegenome.bsky.social · 4d

Nature has published an article on the crisis facing MODs
Model organism databases face budget cuts and closures www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@zfinmod.bsky.social @xenbase.bsky.social @yeastgenome.bsky.social @mousegenome.bsky.social @ratgenome.bsky.social @geneontology.bsky.social @nature.com

Model organism databases face budget cuts and closures

Beyond the crucial data they contain, these digital archives have provided an important space for academic communities to exchange ideas and resources.

www.nature.com

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Science X / Phys.org @sciencex.bsky.social · 4d

Two solar furnaces in Switzerland are now using concentrated solar energy to recycle steel offcuts from watchmaking, aiming to produce up to 1,000 tonnes of recycled steel annually.

Swiss solar furnaces recycling watchmakers' waste metal

A Swiss company inaugurated two solar furnaces on Friday in a watchmaking city, aimed at melting down and recycling the key industry's steel offcuts by using green energy.

techxplore.com

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Ruth Mottram @ruthmottram.bsky.social · 5d

🚨New paper 🚨@natgeosci.nature.com Greenlandification of Antarctica - comment by me + colleagues @dmidk.bsky.social @eo4cryo.bsky.social + @universityofleeds.bsky.social showing how Antarctica increasingly resembles Greenland- drawing on a mass of work from @esaclimate.bsky.social

rdcu.be/eJiqJ

The Greenlandification of Antarctica

Nature Geoscience - Climate and ice sheet processes in Antarctica increasingly reflect those observed earlier in Greenland. Applying process insights from Greenland can improve projections of...

rdcu.be

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 4d

❄️ A glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented

New evidence shows that glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada disappearance would be the first in recorded geological time.

🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scia...

#SciComm #ClimateCrisis 🧪

Glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are likely disappearing for the first time in the Holocene

The projected loss of glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada is likely unprecedented in at least the past 30,000 years.

doi.org

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James Emerson @norwichbirder.bsky.social · 4d

As well as the aphid galls, I noticed that this poplar leaf had a rust fungus on it. It's a Melampsora sp., but several can be found on this host.

Underside of a poplar leaf - its a pale green but there are small orangey-yellow clusters of a rust fungus

A close-up of part of the poplar leaf showing the yellowy-orange rust fungus

Melampsora rust spores viewed under the microscope. They are pale orange, sausage-shaped spores with some spiny texture visible.

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 4d

🔥 Climate change and wildfire disasters

A global study (1980–2023) found that deadly and costly wildfires have surged since 2015, driven by extreme climate conditions near populated areas.

🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scie...

#SciComm #Climate #Wildfires 🧪

Climate-linked escalation of societally disastrous wildfires

Climate change and land mismanagement are creating increasingly fire-prone built and natural environments. However, despite worsening fire seasons, evidence is lacking globally for trends in socially ...

doi.org

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Andrew @andrew-ecoathome.bsky.social · 9d

Could this solve the "ick factor" of composting toilets? Current trial of a mycelial-based composting toilet, designed for odour minimisation. techxplore.com/news/2025-09... #environment #sustainability #compost #composting #microbe #microbes #mushrooms #bacteria #compost #eco-friendly #waste

World's first mushroom-powered waterless toilet appears in botanical garden

UBC researchers have launched the world's first mushroom-powered waterless toilet, the MycoToilet, at the UBC Botanical Garden. The prototype turns human waste into nutrient-rich compost using mycelia...

techxplore.com

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Andrew @andrew-ecoathome.bsky.social · 9d

Surprising good news: Seafloor species are creating new habitats out of unexploded World War 2 munitions in the Baltic Sea. Article links to open access paper. phys.org/news/2025-09... #ocean #environment #pollution #ecology #science #sciencenews #benthic #openaccess #oceanfloor

Scientists find marine life thriving on World War II explosives in the Baltic Sea

An undersea submersible has spotted crabs, worms and fish thriving on the surfaces of World War II explosives thought to be toxic to marine life.

phys.org

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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 9d

Soils with a variety of microplastics may allow microbes that perform denitrification processes to thrive; this could cause soils to lose nitrogen while the microbes produce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times as potent as carbon dioxide. cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪

Microplastic diversity boosts greenhouse-gas-producing soil microbes

Denitrifying microorganisms grow better in soils with more types of microplastics

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Andrew

Ryosuke Tanaka @ryosuketanaka.bsky.social · 10d

A study on distance estimation in flies from my PhD lab is now on @currentbiology.bsky.social !
www.cell.com/current-biol...

Visual circuitry for distance estimation in Drosophila

Shomar and Wu et al. investigate how visual circuits estimate distance in Drosophila. A high-throughput screen and calcium imaging identified direction-selective and non-direction-selective visual neu...

www.cell.com

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Andrew @andrew-ecoathome.bsky.social · 9d

Wise words

Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️ @spahn711.bsky.social · 10d

🙌

A meme that says "live your life in such a way that if the escalator stops, you don't assume it's because people hate you."

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Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · 13d

🎨 Art in science

A new study argues art can be more than communication: it can generate data, foster dialogue, and co-produce knowledge in environmental research.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#SciComm #SciArt 🧪

The underexplored potential of the arts in environmental social sciences

During the last two decades, there has been a growing focus on art-science collaborations in the field of environmental social sciences. Often still s…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 14d

Up to 98 percent of the energy of an earthquake goes into flash heating rocks, not shaking the ground, new research shows. The finding could help yield better earthquake forecasts

Most of an Earthquake’s Energy Is Released as Heat, Not Shaking

Up to 98 percent of the energy of an earthquake goes into flash heating rocks, not shaking the ground, new research shows. The finding could help yield better earthquake forecasts

www.scientificamerican.com

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Yale Climate Connections @climateconnections.bsky.social · 14d

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the pollen season is now a month longer than it was in 1970. 🤧

Climate change is supercharging fall allergies » Yale Climate Connections

Longer growing seasons and more ragweed pollen mean more sneezing, runny noses, and itchy eyes.

yaleclimateconnections.org

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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 13d

Biodiversity modulates the cross-community scaling relationship in changing environments #allometry #scaling 🌐🧪 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Biodiversity modulates the cross‐community scaling relationship in changing environments

Organismal abundance typically declines with increasing body size, with metabolic theory predicting a universal size–abundance slope of –0.75. Using protist microcosms across gradients of species ric...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Doug Parr @dougparr.bsky.social · 14d

Planetary Boundaries are being breached, as humanity lives beyond Earth's ability to cope

We're already exceeding Climate Change, Land System Change, Freshwater Use, Novel Entities (chemicals, plastics) & others

To that list we can now add Ocean Acidification

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

www.theguardian.com

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Stowers Institute @stowersinstitute.bsky.social · 16d

This beautiful #MicroscopyMonday shows a sea anemone’s tentacle, which contains numerous stinging cells (green) used to ensnare and capture prey. 🔬 (Gibson Lab) #SciSky

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