Davide Castelvecchi
@castelvecchi.bsky.social
Writer at Nature magazine, covering physical sciences, technology, mathematics, and energy. DMs are disabled courtesy of the UK's so-called Online Safety Act
Pinned
Very excited to be at my first World Conference of Science Journalists in Tshwane, South Africa, today to talk about covering quantum technology. Many thanks to the Unesco International Year of Quantum Science and Technology which sponsored this event @wcsj2025.bsky.social
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Cheaper solar, ev, batteries etc mean India is way faster than China to reach similar stage -- Excellent news as rollout continues in other countries
🥁 India Is Electrifying Faster Than China 🥁
Read our story on @ember-energy.org's analysis. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Read our story on @ember-energy.org's analysis. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 22, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Cheaper solar, ev, batteries etc mean India is way faster than China to reach similar stage -- Excellent news as rollout continues in other countries
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
‘Terrible things are happening outside… Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return… to find their families gone.’
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
ICE detains five-year-old Minnesota boy arriving home, say school officials
Superintendent says Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway and sent to Texas
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:43 AM
‘Terrible things are happening outside… Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return… to find their families gone.’
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
The Ed Miliband hate-fest in the UK press continued last year.
Predominantly right-wing newspapers published an incredible 112 editorials attacking the energy secretary.
That's two editorials a week, and more than twice as many as 2024, calling him a "crazed" "zealot" suffering with “eco insanity”
Predominantly right-wing newspapers published an incredible 112 editorials attacking the energy secretary.
That's two editorials a week, and more than twice as many as 2024, calling him a "crazed" "zealot" suffering with “eco insanity”
January 19, 2026 at 9:56 AM
The Ed Miliband hate-fest in the UK press continued last year.
Predominantly right-wing newspapers published an incredible 112 editorials attacking the energy secretary.
That's two editorials a week, and more than twice as many as 2024, calling him a "crazed" "zealot" suffering with “eco insanity”
Predominantly right-wing newspapers published an incredible 112 editorials attacking the energy secretary.
That's two editorials a week, and more than twice as many as 2024, calling him a "crazed" "zealot" suffering with “eco insanity”
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
👇🧪
Burning wood damages our #Climate.
👍 Planting a new tree is great but...
👎 ...it takes decades of growth before that new tree is mature enough to absorb the carbon emitted from the one burnt last night.
#WoodBurning #AirPollution
👍 Planting a new tree is great but...
👎 ...it takes decades of growth before that new tree is mature enough to absorb the carbon emitted from the one burnt last night.
#WoodBurning #AirPollution
Wood Is Not a Carbon-Neutral Energy Source
Treating it as such – and supporting it with subsidies, as the UK and many other EU member states do – is a flawed path to climate action.
chathamhouse.org
January 19, 2026 at 10:33 PM
👇🧪
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
SCOOP from Douglas Macmillan
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:46 PM
SCOOP from Douglas Macmillan
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
The credulity of this headline is infuriating.
A) they're not removing that feature, they're geoblocking it. Hello VPNs.
B) it'll take no time at all for Grok to be tricked into creating nudes and other sexualised images of real people, just as most such safeguards can be circumvented.
A) they're not removing that feature, they're geoblocking it. Hello VPNs.
B) it'll take no time at all for Grok to be tricked into creating nudes and other sexualised images of real people, just as most such safeguards can be circumvented.
Elon Musk's X to block Grok from undressing images of real people
Grok will no longer allow users to remove clothing from images of real people in jurisdictions where it is illegal.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 9:40 AM
The credulity of this headline is infuriating.
A) they're not removing that feature, they're geoblocking it. Hello VPNs.
B) it'll take no time at all for Grok to be tricked into creating nudes and other sexualised images of real people, just as most such safeguards can be circumvented.
A) they're not removing that feature, they're geoblocking it. Hello VPNs.
B) it'll take no time at all for Grok to be tricked into creating nudes and other sexualised images of real people, just as most such safeguards can be circumvented.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
As various groups roll out their analyses of 2025 temperature records today (spoiler alert: it’s hot) , NOAA and NASA are not holding the joint press conference they usually do to announce their recap. Data will be released but without the open chance to talk to agency experts that usually exists.
January 14, 2026 at 1:51 PM
As various groups roll out their analyses of 2025 temperature records today (spoiler alert: it’s hot) , NOAA and NASA are not holding the joint press conference they usually do to announce their recap. Data will be released but without the open chance to talk to agency experts that usually exists.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.
ICE in St. Paul: Man roughly detained at gas station, Border Patrol chief jeered in Midway Target
Videos and photos show a prevalence of federal agents in St. Paul recently.
trib.al
January 13, 2026 at 6:07 PM
A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
As Wikipedia turns 25, Jimmy Wales talks to us about his new book, the importance of scientific transparency and the rise of artificial intelligence. Good to know that he still has faith in humans when it comes to sourcing facts!
🧪
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
January 12, 2026 at 11:00 PM
As Wikipedia turns 25, Jimmy Wales talks to us about his new book, the importance of scientific transparency and the rise of artificial intelligence. Good to know that he still has faith in humans when it comes to sourcing facts!
🧪
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🧪
@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Plugging again for @minnesotareformer.com, which is free to read with no paywalls or ads. You don't even have to "make an account."
It's still a small team, but worth adding to your list of media.
It's still a small team, but worth adding to your list of media.
January 13, 2026 at 6:03 AM
Plugging again for @minnesotareformer.com, which is free to read with no paywalls or ads. You don't even have to "make an account."
It's still a small team, but worth adding to your list of media.
It's still a small team, but worth adding to your list of media.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
New research suggests that the x-ray light coming from the Milky Way’s central black hole Sagittarius A* has changed dramatically in the span of just a few hundred years
The Milky Way’s Central Black Hole May Have Appeared Shockingly Different Just a Few Hundred Years Ago
New research suggests that the x-ray light coming from the Milky Way’s central black hole Sagittarius A* has changed dramatically in the span of just a few hundred years
www.scientificamerican.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:57 PM
New research suggests that the x-ray light coming from the Milky Way’s central black hole Sagittarius A* has changed dramatically in the span of just a few hundred years
"A lot of people in the US are very upset about the rhetoric directed towards Greenland. But scientists who work there feel it very personally... we want to let our colleagues and friends in Greenland know we’re thinking about them right now."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:20 PM
"A lot of people in the US are very upset about the rhetoric directed towards Greenland. But scientists who work there feel it very personally... we want to let our colleagues and friends in Greenland know we’re thinking about them right now."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Since 2015, the amount of Sargassum in the northern Sargasso Sea has decreased by more than 90%.
The Northern Sargasso Sea Has Lost Much of Its Namesake Algae - Eos
There’s less than a tenth as much Sargassum as there was a few years ago, a shift that may be linked to increasing sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.
eos.org
January 9, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Since 2015, the amount of Sargassum in the northern Sargasso Sea has decreased by more than 90%.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
It's all Gamergate these days. The original online radicalising conspiracy for angry men. If you don't think it was significant, you don't understand it.
Whenever people (correctly) argue that Gamergate was a pivotal event in the development of the modern right, I always get the sense that a lot of people who object are doing so out of a sense of embarrassment that something so stupid could be so significant
January 10, 2026 at 11:19 AM
It's all Gamergate these days. The original online radicalising conspiracy for angry men. If you don't think it was significant, you don't understand it.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
We live in a much more dangerous and unpredictable world. We must prepare for disaster and manage large-scale human movement
Climate migration is inevitable; we are unprepared
We must face up to the inevitability of climate migration and find ways to manage global human mobility for everyone's benefit, writes Gaia Vince
As the climate crisis develops, conditions in many p...
www.bmj.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:09 AM
We live in a much more dangerous and unpredictable world. We must prepare for disaster and manage large-scale human movement
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:35 PM
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
This is a shockingly bad piece, doing very little to actually inform readers about the current state of quantum computers. Don't let your economics editor write about cutting-edge science and technology! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Inside the sub-zero lair of the world's most powerful quantum computer
Faisal Islam gets rare access to Willow - Google's quantum computer.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 9:40 AM
This is a shockingly bad piece, doing very little to actually inform readers about the current state of quantum computers. Don't let your economics editor write about cutting-edge science and technology! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Minneapolis public schools canceled classes officials after Roosevelt High School said armed Border Patrol officers came on school property during dismissal Wednesday and began tackling people, handcuffed two staff members and released chemical weapons on bystanders
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Minneapolis schools cancel classes after Border Patrol clash disrupts dismissal at Roosevelt
Minneapolis schools closed for the week citing safety concerns after an encounter involving armed Border Patrol agents near Roosevelt High School.
www.mprnews.org
January 8, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Minneapolis public schools canceled classes officials after Roosevelt High School said armed Border Patrol officers came on school property during dismissal Wednesday and began tackling people, handcuffed two staff members and released chemical weapons on bystanders
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Absolutely fucking tremendous from the FT.
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter
A look inside Elon Musk’s big tent
www.ft.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Absolutely fucking tremendous from the FT.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
"Marco Rubio, we salute you!"
A real thing that was said by the CBS Evening News anchor tonight.
A real thing that was said by the CBS Evening News anchor tonight.
January 7, 2026 at 1:02 AM
"Marco Rubio, we salute you!"
A real thing that was said by the CBS Evening News anchor tonight.
A real thing that was said by the CBS Evening News anchor tonight.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
This is a thread of major media outlets falsely anthropomorphising the "Grok" chatbot program and in doing so, actively and directly removing responsibility and accountability from individual people working at X who created a child pornography generator (Elon Musk, Nikita Bier etc)
#1: Reuters
#1: Reuters
January 2, 2026 at 8:02 PM
This is a thread of major media outlets falsely anthropomorphising the "Grok" chatbot program and in doing so, actively and directly removing responsibility and accountability from individual people working at X who created a child pornography generator (Elon Musk, Nikita Bier etc)
#1: Reuters
#1: Reuters
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Please journalists read this
A good point that media outlets misreport this story if they give agency to the AI Grok itself - which generates contradictory statenents whenever prompted to do so
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
Grok Can't Apologize. Grok Isn't Sentient. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been “undressing” women and children in public. Journalists are letting xAI off the hook by pretending the bot is responsible.
www.readtpa.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Please journalists read this
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
A piece on the research trying to fill the very, very large gap between life-support systems and terraforming www.economist.com/science-and-...
January 1, 2026 at 2:44 PM
A piece on the research trying to fill the very, very large gap between life-support systems and terraforming www.economist.com/science-and-...