Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sudden oak death introduced to U.S., study finds

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Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 1d

🪾 Sudden oak death has killed hundreds of thousands of oaks and tanoaks along the Pacific Coast.

🌱 With Moore Foundation support, @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social researchers traced the pathogen to a single European source — informing conservation efforts + commercial trade.

Learn more ⤵️

#Moore25

A genetic analysis of 151 isolates of the Sudden Oak Death pathogen provides new evidence that the commercial plant trade possibly helped introduce the microbe …

The role of philanthropy in advancing diagnostic excellence and the legacy of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 2d

Moore Foundation alumni Karen Cosby, Daniel Yang and Thomas Wang recently authored an article for Diagnosis that discusses the role of philanthropy in advancing diagnostic excellence, and the legacy of the Moore Foundation’s involvement in this space.

Read the full article ⤵️

In America, medical research is largely driven by large investments of federal funding administered by government agencies. However, the problem of diagnostic error falls outside the usual funding cat...

www.degruyterbrill.com

The Power of Connections Havesting Lessons and Strengthening Coalitions for Amazonian Conservation

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 5d

🌿 Last month, the Power of Connections project hosted its third workshop in Manaus, Brazil, focused on Indigenous- and community-led management of natural resources. Leaders from across the Amazon came together to advance collaborative management of forests, rivers and territories. 🌎

Learn more ⤵️

amazonconservationconnections.com

The Future of Amazonia Reflections: Adrian Forsyth, Amazon Conservation

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 6d

Adrian Forsyth, co-founder of Amazon Conservation and conceptual architect of our Andes-Amazon Initiative, is a tropical ecologist and conservationist with 45+ years of experience. Watch this interview from The Future of Amazonia to hear Adrian’s perspective on strategies for ecological protection ⤵️

Dusty structure explains near vanishing of faraway star

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 7d

🌌 A distant star, ASASSN-24fw, mysteriously dimmed by 97% for eight months before returning to its normal brightness. Ohio State researchers identified a massive dust disk and a companion star as the likely culprits of the eclipsing effect, revealing new insights into stellar evolution.

Read more ⤵️

Stars die and vanish from sight all the time, but astronomers were puzzled when one that had been stable for more than a decade almost disappeared for eight months. Between late 2024 and early 2025, o...

news.osu.edu

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 7d

🌿 In 2003, we invested $11M to acquire and support initial stewardship planning of the Cargill Salt Ponds into vibrant wetlands — protecting wildlife habitat and increasing public access to green spaces in the California’s South Bay.

Learn more about this #BayAreaConservation effort ⤵️

#Moore25

Government officials announce transfer of ownership of Cargill Salt-Ponds to the public

Governor Gray Davis, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Interior Secretary Gale Norton today announced that title to 16,500 acres of salt-ponds and salt making rights…

Accelerating the development of quantum materials and tools to understand quantum phenomena

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 8d

Our latest newsletter highlights the new phase of the Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative. Building on 12 years and $188M in investment, we’re committing another $230M over the next decade to advance the field.

Read the newsletter ⤵️

#MoorePhysics #SciencePhilanthropy

mailchi.mp

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 9d

🌊 Through multiple grants — spanning science, ocean monitoring and artificial intelligence — we’re supporting the development of environmental sample processors, automated underwater vehicles, and deep-water imaging tools that push the boundaries of #OceanExploration and engineering. 🛰️
 
#Moore25

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 9d

A new @pewtrusts.org report unpacks the global trade of Pacific tuna, showing how these fisheries connect small island nations, major processing hubs and consumer markets across the globe.

#SustainableSeafood #FoodTransparency #FisheriesManagement

From Ship to Shelf, the Pacific Tuna Trade Is a Complex Global Business

Every year, people catch and consume more than 5 million metric tons of tuna worldwide. But how does all of that fish get from the ocean to people’s sashimi and tuna salad sandwiches?

www.pew.org

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 13d

At The Future of Amazonia, a symposium we hosted in May, Adriana Ramos (@socioambiental.org‬‬‬‬) emphasized the need for Indigenous-led territory management and conservation as the most effective means of protecting the Amazon. 🌳
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Watch the full interview ⤵️

#IndigenousRights #Moore25

The Future of Amazonia Reflections: Adriana Ramos, Instituto Socioambiental

Hard-Fought Treaty to Protect Ocean Life Clears a Final Hurdle

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Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 14d

🌊 The world’s high seas are now set to benefit from stronger conservation through the High Seas Treaty — a framework to establish protected areas, strengthen resource stewardship and protect more of Earth’s oceans by 2030.

Congratulations to everyone who helped make this historic step possible. 🌍

www.nytimes.com

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 16d

🔥 The Western Fire & Forest Resilience Collaborative is tackling unanswered questions about ecologically beneficial fire, and about the fastest moving and most destructive wildfires in the Western U.S. This effort is deepening our understanding of fire behavior and how to build resilience.

#Moore25

Announcing the next phase of the Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 19d

After 12 transformative years and $188 million in grants awarded, we are excited to launch the next phase of the Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative — with a new $230 million commitment over the next decade to continue to advance the field.

Learn more ⤵️

#MoorePhysics #Philanthropy

Quantum materials are systems in which quantum mechanical effects — such as entanglement and topology — manifest at macroscopic scales, giving rise to exotic el…

The Future of Amazonia Reflections: Martín von Hildebrand, ACTO

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Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 20d

“Nature is a communion of subjects — we coexist with it.”

Martín von Hildebrand, secretary general of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, shares deep insights from his five decades of advancing Indigenous rights in the Amazon. 🌎

Watch Martín’s full interview ⤵️

#AmazonConservation

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Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 21d

🎖️ Today, Louie Porta, our Arctic Ocean Initiative program director, received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for being a leading conservationist “who has worked to create and sustain civil society organizations that support a healthy ocean in Canada and around the world.”

🎉 Congrats, Louie!

Science Philanthropy Indicators Report

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 22d

🗞️ The Science Philanthropy Alliance’s recently released 2025 Science Philanthropy Indicators Report reveals how philanthropic investment is reshaping the U.S. research landscape — underscoring philanthropy’s vital role in advancing science and discovery.

Explore the report ⤵️

#SciencePhilanthropy

indicators.sciphil.org

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 23d

In 2014, inspired by Gordon Moore’s own childhood experiences, we partnered with @society4science.bsky.social to reimagine the chemistry set. The goal was simple: ignite curiosity in the next generation through hands-on exploration. 👩‍🔬

Learn more ➡️ www.societyforscience.org/blog/winners...

#Moore25

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Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 26d

🌍 Greenland’s people, environment and way of life show what it means to live in balance with nature. Today, its #MarineConservation landscape is at the center of the Arctic story. The Arctic is home to 5 million people; their future depends on how this fragile environment is managed.

📸: Louie Porta

Asteroid Bennu is a time capsule of materials bearing witness to its origin and transformation over billions of years

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 26d

☄️ Moore grantee Jessica Barnes and her team at @uarizona.bsky.social’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (@uarizonalpl.bsky.social) used the nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometer (NanoSIMS) — a tool built for asteroid/planetary analysis — to study samples from asteroid Bennu.

Learn more ⤵️

Three new papers reveal yet more secrets from samples collected by the University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission from asteroid Bennu.

news.arizona.edu

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Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 27d

🌎 In May, we hosted The Future of Amazonia in Peru — the first of our five-part 25th anniversary symposia series — convening experts to discuss conservation in the Amazon.

🎥 Learn what gives Mariana Montoya (@wcs.org) hope to mitigate threats to the region ⤵️‪‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

#AmazonConservation

The Future of Amazonia Reflections: Mariana Montoya, Wildlife Conservation Society

Unveiling Active Flat Electronic Bands in Kagome Superconductors

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation @moorefound.bsky.social · 28d

⚛️ Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Experimental Investigator Ming Yi and colleagues have shown the first direct experimental proof that the unique patterns of electrons know as active flat electronic bands exist within a special type of material called a kagome superconductor.

Learn more ⤵️

Rice University researchers and collaborators uncovered direct evidence of active flat electronic bands in a kagome superconductor.

www.azoquantum.com