Amber X. Chen
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amberonradio.bsky.social
Amber X. Chen
@amberonradio.bsky.social
🌟 Student Journalist at UC Berkeley 🌟
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
"Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild" after the L.A. Fires. Uprooter @amberonradio.bsky.social for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social

www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
After the L.A. Fires, Locals Turn to Native Plants to Help Shield Homes From Flames and Clean Contaminated Soil
Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild
www.smithsonianmag.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
In Illinois, educators and advocates are working together to bring comprehensive, community-based climate education to classrooms.

Read more in my first piece for
@insideclimatenews.org
insideclimatenews.org/news/2010202...
Illinois Wants Climate Education in Schools. Now Teachers Need to Figure Out How to Make It Happen. - Inside Climate News
It’s the seventh state to pass a law requiring climate education in public schools. The requirement will kick in next fall.
insideclimatenews.org
October 20, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Another great dispatch here from @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social fellow @amberonradio.bsky.social, on how native species can help Altadena recover after the fires. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
After the L.A. Fires, Locals Turn to Native Plants to Help Shield Homes From Flames and Clean Contaminated Soil
Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild
www.smithsonianmag.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
What are the environmental impacts of data centers? @amberonradio.bsky.social answers that question as A.I. increases the demand for more and more of them. @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It
The demand for data centers is growing faster than our ability to mitigate their skyrocketing economic and environmental costs
www.smithsonianmag.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Can scrolling on your mobile phone really cause "brain rot"? @amberonradio.bsky.social digs into the science in this in-depth feature. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu... @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social
Can You Really ‘Rot’ Your Brain by Scrolling Too Much on Your Smartphone?
While that message has been spread on social media, researchers are just beginning to understand how the devices affect the mind
www.smithsonianmag.com
September 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
And that's a wrap on the 2025 #MassMediaFellows and #MMF50th! 🎉 The last 10 weeks have flown by and the fellows will soon be taking flight after spending two days back in DC with panels and presentations on what could be next for them with their newly gained #SciComm skills!
August 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Congratulations to our contributors @alexmusicwrites.bsky.social @amberonradio.bsky.social for completing the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship!
And that's a wrap on the 2025 #MassMediaFellows and #MMF50th! 🎉 The last 10 weeks have flown by and the fellows will soon be taking flight after spending two days back in DC with panels and presentations on what could be next for them with their newly gained #SciComm skills!
August 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Scientists at MIT have created a prothesis that is directly integrated with muscle and bone. @amberonradio.bsky.social reports on the innovation. @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
This New Bionic Knee Is Changing the Game for Lower Leg Amputees
Scientists have developed a prosthesis that is directly integrated with muscle and bone in order to improve movement
www.smithsonianmag.com
August 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Got to cover some really cool prosthetic technology coming out of MIT for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
This New Bionic Knee Is Changing the Game for Lower Leg Amputees
Scientists have developed a prosthesis that is directly integrated with muscle and bone in order to improve movement
www.smithsonianmag.com
August 5, 2025 at 1:17 PM
In my latest feature for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social, I spoke to archaeologists on a new study that suggests that people in Southeast Asia have been chewing the psychoactive betel nut for thousands of years.
@aaasmassmedia.bsky.social
www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
Were Humans in Thailand Getting High Off Betel Nuts 4,000 Years Ago?
Scientists believe they have found the earliest biochemical evidence of people chewing the popular psychoactive plant
www.smithsonianmag.com
August 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
People from South Asia to the Pacific Islands munch on betel nut to get high. @amberonradio.bsky.social reports on a new study that suggests they've been doing so for several thousand years. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu... @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social
Were Humans in Thailand Getting High Off Betel Nuts 4,000 Years Ago?
Scientists believe they have found the earliest biochemical evidence of people chewing the popular psychoactive plant
www.smithsonianmag.com
August 1, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
As interest in Deep Sea Mining grows, scientists raise alarms about the potential ecological consequences, which could affect everything from sponges to whales.

The long-term impact of these extractions remains uncertain.

www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
As Interest in Deep-Sea Mining Grows, Scientists Raise Alarms About the Possible Ecological Consequences
Gathering minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from the seabed could affect everything from sponges to whales. The long-term effects of these extractions remain uncertain
www.smithsonianmag.com
July 23, 2025 at 9:44 AM
For @smithsonianmag.bsky.social, I wrote about the environmental harms of deep-sea mining.

Companies looking to mine the deep-sea claim that the practice is sustainable, while its minerals are needed to build more renewable technologies. Scientists disagree.
www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
As Interest in Deep-Sea Mining Grows, Scientists Raise Alarms About the Possible Ecological Consequences
Gathering minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from the seabed could affect everything from sponges to whales. The long-term effects of these extractions remain uncertain
www.smithsonianmag.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
📣 Congratulations, @amberonradio.bsky.social, on your 2025 @aaas.org #MassMediaFellows selection!👏

#ICMYI #SciComm
This news is hot off the press! We are so excited to present the 2025 #MassMediaFellows! These 17 scientists will spend their summer writing, reporting, and working on their #SciComm skills in news outlets across the country! Learn more about the #MMF50th class here: www.aaas.org/news/aaas-ma...
May 6, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Meet the 2025 Class of Mass Media Fellows! Our 50th anniversary class includes 17 early career collegiate scientists who will use their scientific knowledge & communication skills to report news to the general public at outlets nationwide. Learn more about the Fellows: www.aaas.org/page/current...
April 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
This news is hot off the press! We are so excited to present the 2025 #MassMediaFellows! These 17 scientists will spend their summer writing, reporting, and working on their #SciComm skills in news outlets across the country! Learn more about the #MMF50th class here: www.aaas.org/news/aaas-ma...
April 24, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
This week, the #SEJSpotlight is on @amberonradio.bsky.social, a freelance journalist, writing fellow at The Nation and student at UC Berkeley, focusing on environmental justice and the intersection of climate change and politics. Learn more and connect with Amber: www.sej.org/sejspotlight...
January 28, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
Hi new followers! I'm the Politics Director @teenvogue.bsky.social, and 1/2 of our small but mighty politics team. We run reporting, opeds + explainers/guides by + for young people navigating these ~chaotic~ times.

We cover education, labor, US history + government, social justice advocacy + more.
January 24, 2025 at 3:20 PM
In my latest for @lapublicpress.bsky.social, I spoke to and gathered testimony from over 30 Altadena residents — many of whom shared with me that they never received Wireless Emergency Alerts from LA County ordering them to evacuate. lapublicpress.org/2025/01/alta...
Altadena residents question why evacuation warnings came so late
For many, warning of the approaching firestorm came either very late or not at all. The county is now investigating.
lapublicpress.org
January 27, 2025 at 12:44 PM
For @teenvogue.bsky.social, I spoke to students who have lost homes and schools to the LA fires about the future of their education.

~ 20 schools have been severely damaged or completely leveled by the Eaton and Palisades fires. www.teenvogue.com/story/school...
Your School Burned to the Ground. What Happens Now?
A growing number of students are losing their schools to environmental disasters.
www.teenvogue.com
January 27, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
“I lost pretty much all of my belongings, so it’ll be difficult to attend school," Dayton Johansen, a junior, tells
@amberonradio.bsky.social

He + his friend rushed back to Pasadena to assist Eaton Fire Relief, a youth-led coalition working to clear burned houses www.teenvogue.com/story/school...
January 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Amber X. Chen
@leximcmenamin.bsky.social wrote this beautiful commentary on Octavia Butler + the LA fires: www.teenvogue.com/story/la-fir...

+ @amberonradio.bsky.social reported out a piece on what happens when your school burns down: www.teenvogue.com/story/school...
Black Sci-Fi Writer Octavia Butler Predicted the Dystopia of the LA Fires by Studying History
This week, her hometown of Pasadena has seen at least 5 killed and 5 schools burned to ash.
www.teenvogue.com
January 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
For @theguardian.com, I visited Altadena Girls — a new organization focused on fire relief for teen girls.

“I want these girls to feel confident in themselves again and to feel normalcy in a time where nothing else is normal for them."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Clothes, toiletries – and a free stylist: the LA teen creating a space for peers amid the fires
Avery Colvert created Altadena Girls, an organization now with celebrities sending products, eateries reaching out to cater and a surplus of volunteers
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2025 at 11:54 PM