Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 2h

Does Dolly Parton read Terry Pratchett? Is she this world's Granny Weatherwax?

Photo of icon Dolly Parton with the quote "I ain't dead yet!"

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 7h

For the October #Newscripts, @cenmag.bsky.social's David Padgham wrote a meditation on how science is helping cyclists slide and stick.
cen.acs.org/materials/Sl...

Sliding and sticking with cycling science

Advances in clothing and tires help cyclists manage the various frictions associated with riding

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 7h

The @cenmag.bsky.social science team was up early this morning to report on this year's #ChemNobel. Check out Prachi Patel's excellent story on the prize.

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

It’s a material world after all. And this year’s #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to researchers who created a family of materials that could help solve some of humanity’s most critical problems. Read more: cen.acs.org/people/nobel...

#ChemNobel #Chem #Chemistry #chemsky 🧪

The 2025 chemistry Nobel goes to MOFs
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi win the prize for developing metal–organic frameworks

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 1d

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis have won the 2025 #NobelPrize in Physics for experiments that revealed quantum behavior in electrical circuits, showing that even systems made of billions of atoms can obey the strange laws of the quantum world: cen.acs.org/people/nobel... 🧪

Quantum tunnelling trio win the 2025 physics Nobel
John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis get the award for demonstrating quantum mechanical effects at the macroscale

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

Bri Barbu @bribarbu.bsky.social · 2d

Nobel week is basically the super bowl for science journalists, and @sarahbraner.bsky.social (with @laurahowes.bsky.social & @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social) gave us a strong opening play with their coverage of the med+physio prize!
(did i get the sports metaphor right?)

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

Immunity researchers win the 2025 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi receive the prize for understanding how the immune system is kept in check. Read more: cen.acs.org/people/nobel...

#chemsky #immunosky 🧪

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

Stu Cantrill @stuartcantrill.com · 3d

#NobelPrize week starts tomorrow & the #chemnobel is Wednesday… used to be so much Nobel chat on Tw*tter, but that is not replicated here, alas. Anyway, for the record, I think MOFs will win at some point (maybe this year maybe not). Balasubramanian & Klenerman a good bet for next-gen sequencing too

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 5d

Hey #ChemSky - I'm putting together the #Newscripts holiday gift guide for @cenmag.bsky.social. Have you given or received a great chemistry-themed gift recently? I'd love to know about it and maybe include it on our list. Here's last year's guide for ideas:
cen.acs.org/business/con...

Holiday gift ideas

Chemistry-themed goodies for the scientists in your life

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

Dr. Labcoat Lesbian @ipheliapaine.bsky.social · 12d

What grinds my gears is that US-born scientists can almost always get a job in the US.

But this administration put a ton of scientists out of work. Andddd now they will most likely get snapped up foreign (OUS) companies.

Everything is dumb.

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 13d

Lots of chemists work in the US on H-1B visas. The new $100,000 fee is likely to prevent many brilliant scientists from coming here, which would be a huge loss.

My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social

cen.acs.org/careers/empl...

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 13d

Lots of chemists work in the US on H-1B visas. The new $100,000 fee is likely to prevent many brilliant scientists from coming here, which would be a huge loss.

My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social

cen.acs.org/careers/empl...

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

Lisa Jarvis @lisamjarvis.bsky.social · 15d

Instead of the promised "answer to autism," Trump offered families distorted science, false hope, and dangerous medical advice. My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):

Trump’s Tylenol Briefing Peddled Junk Science

Parents deserve answers about autism — not debunked theories and misinformation.

www.bloomberg.com

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 19d

The #IgNobel Prizes were awarded last night. I hope this inspires scientists to paint more animals with zebra stripes, like squirrels and kangaroo. You can read about the Biology Ig Nobel (in which cows got the zebra treatment) in my latest for @cenmag.bsky.social.
cen.acs.org/education/sc...

2025 Ig Nobel Prizes

10 awards given for achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 20d

Same.

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 21d

Art and science collide on the canvas in this Jackson Pollock painting mystery I wrote about for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

Mystery solved: Jackson Pollock used manganese blue in famous 1948 painting

Scientists discover and characterize previously unidentified pigment in the artist's palette

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 27d

MK-8527 is an oral drug candidate. Plus there are advantages to taking HIV PrEP that doesn’t hang around for 6 months.

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · 27d

There are just two atomic tweaks that differentiate islatravir from MK-8527, but Merck & Co. scientists had to make hundreds of molecules to find the best one for their HIV PrEP candidate. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social:
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Merck & Co. reveals monthly HIV-PrEP pill candidate

MK-8527, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials, could give people a new option

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Sep 8

Cat-ch up on your kitty science and read @rowanwalrath.bsky.social's latest feline-themed #Newscripts column in @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

Chemistry is no catwalk

Are you kitten me? Felines make forays into genomics and publishing

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Sep 2

I've long admired @philipcball.bsky.social's polished and prolific prose. It was great fun to talk to him about his new book on alchemy for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

‘Alchemy still has a sort of cultural cachet; it just seems incredibly romantic’

In his latest book, award-winning science writer Philip Ball delves into alchemy and its place in the history of science and culture

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Aug 22

I learned a bunch from reading Elizabeth Walsh's piece on smelling salts for @cenmag.bsky.social - and here I thought they were just an old remedy from the 1800s for reviving women who'd been tied into their corsets too tightly.
cen.acs.org/safety/happe...

What happens when you inhale smelling salts, and is it safe?

Not just a remedy for fainting, the pungent odor of ammonia gives athletes a performance boost, some believe

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Aug 22

I'm not sure what the average mol wt for small molecule drugs is, but there are certainly some examples here that break the Rule of 5: cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Wrestling with Lipinski’s rule of 5

The chemist introduced the guidelines more than 25 years ago. Drug designers still disagree about their value

cen.acs.org

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Aug 22

13 new clinical candidates debuted at #ACSFall2025 - See them all in this piece @bribarbu.bsky.social and I put together for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Aug 8

Looking for some #Fridayfun? Check out @bribarbu.bsky.social's latest #Newscripts column on adventures in #alchemy. cen.acs.org/education/sc...

Alchemy goes for the gold

Houston museum launches an alchemy game, and lead turns to gold in a particle collider

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Jul 31

I got to write about a new molecular machine this week for @cenmag.bsky.social. This one is from Michael Kathan's lab and it makes catenanes.
cen.acs.org/materials/mo...

This machine is designed to wind

Powered by light and heat, this molecular machine twists catenanes into being

cen.acs.org

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Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Jul 25

Back from 10 days of vacation. Only 381 emails to go through. Seems a little quiet, tbh.

a penguin in an envelope with the words you got mail written on it

Alt: a penguin in an envelope with the words you got mail written on it

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

Dr. Emily Arndt 🏳️‍⚧️ @brachinus.bsky.social · Jul 12

can we update the badge to maybe a set of flasks and a shortpath?? I’ve never even seen a retort flask let alone one being used

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Jul 11

How many members of #chemsky are or were Scouts? Fionna Samuels (@fmorningstar.bsky.social) learned all about the new chemistry merit badge requirements for #Newscripts in @cenmag.bsky.social - she also tried out the cabbage pH indicator experiment herself.

cen.acs.org/education/ou...

Chemistry merit badge gets a new formula

Updated experiments for Scouting America can be done safely at home with easy-to-find materials

cen.acs.org

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Reposted by Bethany Halford

Dr. Labcoat Lesbian @ipheliapaine.bsky.social · Jul 12

I was a GS until I was 17!

Bethany Halford @bethanyhalford.bsky.social · Jul 11

How many members of #chemsky are or were Scouts? Fionna Samuels (@fmorningstar.bsky.social) learned all about the new chemistry merit badge requirements for #Newscripts in @cenmag.bsky.social - she also tried out the cabbage pH indicator experiment herself.

cen.acs.org/education/ou...

Chemistry merit badge gets a new formula

Updated experiments for Scouting America can be done safely at home with easy-to-find materials

cen.acs.org

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