Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Aug 14

A new brain-computer interface vocalizes users' inner thoughts to restore speech in people with movement disorders. Read more about how scientists made the device, and their ideas to protect users from their own technology in @science.org 💭

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

Brain device that reads inner thoughts aloud inspires strategies to protect mental privacy

Researchers isolated signals from a brain implant so people with movement disorders could voice thoughts without trying to speak

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

404 Media @404media.co · Aug 14

BREAKING: ICE Adds Random Person to Group Chat, Exposes Details of Manhunt in Real-Time

🔗 www.404media.co/ice-adds-ran...

ICE Adds Random Person to Group Chat, Exposes Details of Manhunt in Real-Time

The texts were sent to a group called “Mass Text” and show ICE using DMV and license plate reader data in an attempt to find their target, copies of the messages obtained by 404 Media show.

www.404media.co

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Aug 14

in my first physics piece for @science.org, i write about super tiny flyers that use light to levitate in earth's upper atmosphere 🌎🌬️

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

Featherweight flyers could ‘levitate’ above Earth indefinitely

Making use of an obscure physics effect to fly, devices could probe the upper atmosphere and explore Mars

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

Keren Landman @landmanspeaking.bsky.social · Aug 8

There’s an active shooter at a building ancross the street from the main CDC HQ in Atlanta.

I just received a photo from inside a CDC office building of a window full of bulletholes.

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · Aug 6

We've been waiting for this report from NSF for many months — results of a survey on sexual harassment at US Antarctic stations. The numbers aren't good, but at least this problem is out in the open & starting to be tackled. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Sexual harassment is rife at US Antarctic research bases, fresh survey finds

More than two-thirds of people polled had witnessed sexual harassment or assault on the ice.

www.nature.com

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Aug 6

Researchers found that low lithium levels are linked to Alzheimer's disease in humans, and restoring it can reverse cognitive decline in mice. For a field still searching for cure, this paper may offer a clever new approach 🧠

Read more about it in @science.org
www.science.org/content/arti...

Could lithium stave off Alzheimer’s disease?

The metal is depleted in brains of people with disease and can reverse memory symptoms in mice, new study shows

www.science.org

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Aug 5

Even if they did, in the hospital environment, parents are thinking about the health of their baby--not about the specific kinds of experiments that could be done with their child's blood. "For research" is very broad-- parents didn't know they were consenting to studies about psychiatric illness.

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Aug 5

Good question! Typically, in research, consent needs to be specific and informed. The oldest participants in the study were born in 1981, nearly twenty years before full genome sequencing was invented. Parents had no way of understanding what their child's blood samples could be used for.

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Aug 4

Last month, 140,000 Danes found out that their genetic data was being used in a massive research project-- without their consent.

I unpacked how this happened, and why it matters for @science.org

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

Blood taken from Danish babies ended up in huge genetic study—without consent

The iPsych project, which investigates the genetics of psychiatric disorders, has sent 140,000 opt-out notices amid backlash

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

Matthew Warren @mattbwarren.bsky.social · Aug 1

Thousands of Danes have just found out that their genetic data has been used in research for more than a decade, without their consent. Great reporting from @inampudi.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

Blood taken from Danish babies ended up in huge genetic study—without consent

The iPsych project, which investigates the genetics of psychiatric disorders, has sent 140,000 opt-out notices amid backlash

www.science.org

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 28

Seeing is believing, especially for your immune system. A new study shows that watching visibly sick people approach you in VR can trigger immune responses the same way a vaccine does @science.org

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

Looking at a sick person in VR can rev up our bodies’ immune systems

New study provides “remarkable” glimpse into how the brain predicts potential infections

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

Jonathan Wosen @jonathanwosen.bsky.social · Jul 25

FDA and NIH are moving away from animal testing. Scientists are split on whether that's a good idea, @marissa-russo.bsky.social and I report for @statnews.com after talking with 10+ researchers across academia and biotech.
www.statnews.com/2025/07/25/n...

NIH, FDA plan to reduce animal testing draws mixed reactions among scientists

As the Trump administration reshapes biomedicine, it wants to change how scientists test drug safety: animal research.

www.statnews.com

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 24

good catch! we are updating now

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 24

Roman inscriptions provide intimate windows into the daily lives of ancient people. But many inscriptions are damaged and difficult to parse.

I wrote about Aeneas, an AI tool that allows historians to fill in the missing gaps of Latin texts for @science.org

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

New AI model helps historians complete damaged Latin texts

By efficiently filling in Roman inscriptions’ missing characters, the new model promises easier glimpses into the lives of ancient people

www.science.org

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 23

& if you were wondering how the researchers developed the vaccine, you can see a picture of a mouse getting flossed @science.org

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 23

In an unorthodox study, researchers invented a special kind of floss that can protect against infectious disease. In the process, they had to do something no scientist had done before-- try to floss a mouse.

My newest in @science.org 🐁🦷

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

Engineers transform dental floss into needle-free vaccine

New method places inactivated viruses directly into mice’s gums

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

🎃 Iva Cheung 🍗 @ivacheung.com · Jul 22

Disproportionately amused by the idea of a long-suffering grad student tasked with flossing mice.

David Grimm @david-grimm.bsky.social · Jul 22

EXCLUSIVE @science.org: In an unorthodox approach to needle-free vaccines, researchers have developed a special kind of floss that can protect against infectious disease. “The results are quite impressive.” Cool story by @annikainampudi.bsky.social

Engineers transform dental floss into needle-free vaccine

New method places inactivated viruses directly into mice’s gums

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

David Grimm @david-grimm.bsky.social · Jul 22

EXCLUSIVE @science.org: In an unorthodox approach to needle-free vaccines, researchers have developed a special kind of floss that can protect against infectious disease. “The results are quite impressive.” Cool story by @annikainampudi.bsky.social

Engineers transform dental floss into needle-free vaccine

New method places inactivated viruses directly into mice’s gums

www.science.org

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 17

Eight healthy babies were born using a controversial "three-parent" IVF treatment aimed at treating an incurable genetic disease, reported in @nejm.org yesterday.

Watch how they did it & read about it in @science.org:
www.science.org/content/arti...

Babies born from ‘three-parent’ IVF look healthy so far, new study finds

Treatment that aims to stop the passing down of defective mitochondria shows early promise

www.science.org

Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 14

I wrote about the importance of adult genetic testing for @science.org last week 🧬✨!

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

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 11

Hi, I'm a reporter for Science Magazine, covering the iPsych scandal. If you're interested in speaking out about your experience, I would love to hear from you. Feel free to DM me or email me [email protected].

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 11

Genetic testing isn't just for babies. A new study looked at the genetic data of adults in the ICU found something surprising.

1 in 4 of the patients in the study had genetic mutations tied to their symptoms—and half had no idea about their diagnosis @science.org

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

Genetic testing of critically ill adults can yield surprises—and reveal disparities in treatment of Black patients

Adults in the ICU often don’t know about the genetic diagnoses related to their symptoms, DNA sequencing study shows

www.science.org

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Annika Inampudi @annikainampudi.bsky.social · Jul 3

Can an adult brain make new neurons? I break down how an AI-powered study may finally settle one of neuroscience’s longest-running debates & what questions still remain for @science.org

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

Genetic evidence that our brains make new neurons in adulthood may close a century-old debate

Cells from human brain tissue have genetic hallmarks of neural progenitors, AI-aided study finds

www.science.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

National Association of Science Writers (NASW) @sciencewriters.org · Jun 24

Congratulations to this year's Diversity Summer Fellows! Led by the NASW Diversity Committee, the program provides supplemental income for six trainees to pursue a chosen internship. We're excited to celebrate the fellows and wish you all many summer adventures in #SciWri.

www.nasw.org/article...

2025 NASW Diversity Summer Fellowships celebrate six trainees pursuing science writing internships

The National Association of Science Writers congratulates Anna Hu, Annika Inampudi, Celina Zhao, Elizabeth Walsh, Gaea Cabico, and Pratik Pawar on receiving their 2025 NASW Diversity Summer Fellowships.

www.nasw.org

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Reposted by Annika Inampudi

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Jun 25

Recent studies have found that those who use large language models like ChatGPT tend to converge around common words and ideas. @chaykak.bsky.social reports on A.I.’s homogenizing effect on writing.

A.I. Is Homogenizing Our Thoughts

Recent studies suggest that tools such as ChatGPT make our brains less active and our writing less original.

www.newyorker.com

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