Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sara Emery

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 19d

Tl;dr = No.

www.science.org/content/blog...

Can ChatGPT help science writers?

www.science.org

7 55 230

Reposted by Sara Emery

Darrin Durant @darrinadurant.bsky.social · 19d

Yes critics of hagiography of Kirk are being targeted, but the hagiography goes deeper. Kirk started Professor’s Watchlist to target critics, so we are seeing a continuation of what he started? Kirk’s ‘open debate’ wasn’t that open either.
theconversation.com/after-charli...

After Charlie Kirk’s murder, the US might seem hopelessly divided – is there any way forward?

Trying to change someone’s mind can seem futile. But there are approaches to political discourse that still matter, even if they don’t instantly win someone over.

theconversation.com

2 4

Reposted by Sara Emery

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · Sep 7

I'm back home, and Everything Sucks is hot off the press at HQ.

Putting the first batch into the little free library now!

Print your own here
drive.google.com/file/d/1H9Wz...

Sarah holds up a little zine that says everything sucks with a raccoon and possum saying “let’s do something” with their hands in the air and then between them it says “a zine by sarahmackattack in front of her little free science library with a squid in the bushes

13 69 260

Reposted by Sara Emery

R Subramanian (he/him) @subu.bsky.social · Aug 25

🧪

Colette Heald @coletteheald.bsky.social · Aug 25

Are you interested in biosphere-atmosphere interactions, global modeling, and living in Zurich? If so, this postdoc position might be for you! Please share with any interested colleagues: jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOP...

Postdoctoral Researcher in Atmospheric Chemistry

jobs.ethz.ch

3

Reposted by Sara Emery

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · Aug 25

🔍 Echo chambers in our searches

A new study shows how our search habits + algorithm design can trap us in echo chambers. Users stuck with narrow searches & rarely updated beliefs, but when algorithms offered broader results, belief updating improved.

🔗 doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

#SciComm 🧪 🧠

The narrow search effect and how broadening search promotes belief updating | PNAS

Information search platforms, from Google to AI-assisted search engines, have transformed information access but may fail to promote a shared factu...

doi.org

4 7 19

Sara Emery @saraemery.bsky.social · Aug 26

🧪🦠🌱🌍🧑‍🔬🔬

Jeremy Baskin @jeremybaskin.bsky.social · Aug 25

Faculty opening in Cornell Chemistry at the Assistant Professor level in the area of chemical biology, broadly defined! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30338 #chemjobs

Cornell University, Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Job #AJO30338, WDR-00054776 Assistant Professor - Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, US

academicjobsonline.org

1 4 6

Reposted by Sara Emery

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · Aug 25

“The study authors asked GPT 4o-mini to evaluate the quality of 217 papers. The tool didn’t mention in any of the reports that the papers being analyzed had been retracted or had validity issues.

In 190 cases, GPT described the papers as world leading, internationally excellent, or close to that”

ChatGPT tends to ignore retractions on scientific papers

Study finds the chatbot doesn’t acknowledge concerns with problematic studies

cen.acs.org

14 200 380

Reposted by Sara Emery

Lindsey Cormack @dcinbox.bsky.social · Aug 23

The full write up is here:

Was It Something The Democrats Said?
A Response to Third Way’s Political Language Memo

open.substack.com/pub/dcinboxi...

36 290 910

Reposted by Sara Emery

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · May 1

Scientists who study climate don't automatically attribute all changes to human activity. Rather, we carefully investigate every possible natural factor that could explain the planet's warming.

Could these be the real culprits?

The evidence is in--and the answer is NO.

This thread explains! 🧵

A graphic with an icon of the sun, a wiggly line denoting natural cycles, and a volcano, with a title reading "WHY is climate changing?" created by me. Not fancy, as my graphic design skills lean to function over art!

44 430 1K

Reposted by Sara Emery

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Aug 19

Hey everybody! @drjuliawester.bsky.social and I have a new paper!

We surveyed over 800 scientists, science communicators, and science educators who use social media.

Conclusion: Scientists no longer find Twitter useful or pleasant, and many have switched to Bluesky! 🧪🌎🦑

doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky

Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

doi.org

88 1.2K 3.8K

Reposted by Sara Emery

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Aug 19

1. The philosophy of science sometimes gets an unearned reputation as a purely academic exercise that offers little by way of concrete tools for advancing research.

This is wrong.

And today, as we grapple with how AI is changing the nature of scientific activity, it's desperately wrong.

19 250 810

Sara Emery @saraemery.bsky.social · Aug 14

Currently on the lakeshore limited heading from #ESA2025 back to the finger lakes, NY (after a changeover at Penn station). Took the train up from Sacramento to Portland for ESA2023. More trains to conferences!

6

Reposted by Sara Emery

Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · Aug 1

About a month after announcing that it would stop sharing data that hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on, the Navy now says it will continue distributing it.

In reversal, Defense Department will continue providing crucial satellite weather data

About a month after announcing that it would stop sharing data that hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on, the Navy now says it will continue distributing it.

alaskapublic.org

2 19 39

Reposted by Sara Emery

DrArchivalGenomics @ehekkala.bsky.social · Jul 29

🧪🧬🦠🌎🔬🔭🥼

Aaron Putnam @aaronputnam.bsky.social · Jul 29

My Ph.D. student, Tricia Hall Collins, published the following OpEd in her hometown newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch. Consider giving it a read. 🧪
www.dispatch.com/story/opinio...

Young Ohio scientist: Trump slamming door on my dreams of making the world better |Opinion

President Donald Trump and his administration are crushing my dream as they work deliberately to destroy the American scientific community.

www.dispatch.com

19 48

Reposted by Sara Emery

Erle Ellis @erleellis.bsky.social · Jul 28

Really nice metastudy of citizen science contributing to ecology & biodiversity research @inaturalist.bsky.social @aibsbiology.bsky.social
👀🔎🍄🧪🌎🌐
iNaturalist accelerates biodiversity research academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

iNaturalist accelerates biodiversity research

Abstract. Participatory citizen science is expanding, with iNaturalist emerging as one of the most widely used platforms globally. However, its application

academic.oup.com

3 19 69

Sara Emery @saraemery.bsky.social · Jul 14

love a tephritid!

1 2

Reposted by Sara Emery

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Jul 11

In the past two years, with surprisingly little notice, renewable energy has suddenly become the obvious, mainstream, cost-efficient choice around the world.

4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment

In the past two years, without much notice, solar power has begun to truly transform the world’s energy system.

www.newyorker.com

150 1.1K 4.4K

Reposted by Sara Emery

Stacks Journal @stacksjournal.bsky.social · Jul 9

🦨 Ever wonder how skunks decide where to live in urban landscapes like Chicago?

New research from @masonfidino.bsky.social, @lizalehrer.bsky.social, & @sbmagle.bsky.social from @lpzoo.org used nearly a decade of data to find out! 🦊🌍🧪

A 🧵

1 9 27

Reposted by Sara Emery

BOU @bou.org.uk · Jul 9

Synergies Between Agricultural Production and Shorebird Conservation With Climate Change in the Central Valley, California, With Optimized Water Allocation and Multi-Benefit Land Use | Global Change Biology | onlinelibrary.wiley.... | #ornithology 🪶🌍🧪🌐

5 7

Sara Emery @saraemery.bsky.social · Jul 5

Swum in an ocean, a river and a lake in the past month and it’s fucking great. Dipping myself in bodies of water and dancing to great house/acid house to counteract all the shit that’s out of my control 🌊🏊‍♀️🪩

3

Sara Emery @saraemery.bsky.social · Jul 4

“Trump’s win was the triumph of capitalism and neoliberalism, and he’s going to wreak havoc… I’m saying, as an environmentalist, we have failed to shift the narrative and we are still caught up in the same legal, economic and political systems.” 🤷‍♀️🌍🤞🤦‍♀️😩😭🧪

idonthaveacoolname 🇨🇦 @idonthaveacoolname.bsky.social · Jul 4

‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost: “We have failed to shift the narrative and we are still caught up in the same legal, economic and political systems."

❤️🇨🇦 #nature #austerity #climatechange

www.ipolitics.ca/2025/07/02/i...

‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost - iPolitics

"We have failed to shift the narrative and we are still caught up in the same legal, economic and political systems," said David Suzuki in an exclusive interview with iPolitics. "For me, what we've go...

www.ipolitics.ca

4 22 60

Reposted by Sara Emery

Matthew Holden 🏳️‍🌈 @matthholden.bsky.social · Jul 4

Please share: PhD scholarship opportunity in mathematical ecology on the value of information for improving ecological management, open to international students, with a great team @hugepossum.bsky.social, Katriona Shea, Kate Helmstedt, & me at UQ, Australia 🌍 🧮, study.uq.edu.au/study-option...

The value of information for ecological management

study.uq.edu.au

33 25

Reposted by Sara Emery

Dr Orly Razgour @orlyrazgour.bsky.social · Jul 3

Great opportunity for #PGR / #PhD to join the British Ecological Society Climate Change Ecology Group committee. DM me if you want to chat about the role ⚠️⚠️⚠️🌍

British Ecological Society @britishecologicalsociety.org · Jul 2

🌿Climate Change Ecology Group - Postgraduate Researcher Representative
🗓️Deadline: 31 July

We are looking for two PGR/PhD student reps, who can shape events, support early career researchers, and contribute to our podcast, blog and community activities.

Apply 👉

shorturl.at

2 2

Reposted by Sara Emery

DrArchivalGenomics @ehekkala.bsky.social · Jul 1

As a former #EPA research scientist I join the #DeclarationOfDissent 🧪🧬🦠🌎🔬🔭🥼

Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · Jun 30

NEW: Nearly 300 EPA workers have signed onto a “Declaration of Dissent” against the Trump administration’s climate policies and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s leadership.

This is the second declaration to come out of this administration from angry federal workers.

EPA Staffers Demand Change in ‘Declaration of Dissent’

“Today, we stand together in dissent against the current administration's focus on harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise.”

www.importantcontext.news

18 52

Sara Emery @saraemery.bsky.social · Jul 1

Common generalists make the world go round 🦠 🍎👩‍🌾🌱🌍🧪

Functional Ecology @funecology.bsky.social · Jul 1

📰Published📰How Climate Shapes Soil Health: The Surprising Role of Microbes in Apple Orchards🍎

buff.ly/L7VN94h

🧪🌍

How Climate Shapes Soil Health: The Surprising Role of Microbes in Apple Orchards

Tianyu Feng, Peng Miao, Bangyu Zheng, Wenguang Li, Eakkarin Sukkaew, Yumeng Chen, Jing Wang, Yangxun Peng, Wei Zheng, Bingnian Zhai This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research…

buff.ly

5 17