Hannah Waters
@hanner.bsky.social
senior editor @quantamagazine.bsky.social covering biology | pitch me: hwaters@quantamagazine.org | quantamagazine.org/biology
Pinned
Hannah Waters
@hanner.bsky.social
· Sep 25
How We Came To Know Earth | Quanta Magazine
Climate science is the most significant scientific collaboration in history. This series from Quanta Magazine guides you through basic climate science — from quantum effects to ancient hothouses, from...
www.quantamagazine.org
Hii! Last week Quanta published a project I've been working on all year — a special issue about climate science, or what research into climate change is revealing about how our planet works www.quantamagazine.org/how-we-came-...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
A lovely article about our research on Gannets featuring interviews with #seabirders @heyjooode.bsky.social and @sue-lewis.bsky.social
#ornithology
#ornithology
New by me! I spoke to Northern Gannet researchers in the UK about what it was like to see HPAI rip through seabird colonies there and how things have gone since. 🪶🌎🧪 www.biographic.com/after-the-ou...
After the Outbreak - bioGraphic
A northern gannet colony devastated by avian influenza is slowly recovering—and so are the researchers who witnessed the virus’s wrath.
www.biographic.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:17 PM
A lovely article about our research on Gannets featuring interviews with #seabirders @heyjooode.bsky.social and @sue-lewis.bsky.social
#ornithology
#ornithology
just a couple of abundance bros www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Trump and Mamdani find unlikely common ground on New York City zoning
The president’s long history in New York City real estate looms large over the ongoing conversation with Mamdani.
www.politico.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:37 PM
just a couple of abundance bros www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Pretty good summary of the forces arrayed against the CO2 endangerment finding. I think they are counting their chickens prematurely.
🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...
🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...
Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Pretty good summary of the forces arrayed against the CO2 endangerment finding. I think they are counting their chickens prematurely.
🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...
🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Biologists have fed genetic data from millions of mouse brain cells into a custom machine learning algorithm. The program delivered maps of the brain with unprecedented detail, revealing a thousand-plus novel regions.
www.quantamagazine.org/fed-on-reams...
www.quantamagazine.org/fed-on-reams...
Fed on Reams of Cell Data, AI Maps New Neighborhoods in the Brain | Quanta Magazine
Machine learning is helping neuroscientists organize vast quantities of cells’ genetic data in the latest neurobiological cartography effort.
www.quantamagazine.org
February 9, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Biologists have fed genetic data from millions of mouse brain cells into a custom machine learning algorithm. The program delivered maps of the brain with unprecedented detail, revealing a thousand-plus novel regions.
www.quantamagazine.org/fed-on-reams...
www.quantamagazine.org/fed-on-reams...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Another excellent Epstein story this week comes from @danvergano.bsky.social, on the murky intersections with science journalism as well as scientists:
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst... 🧪
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst... 🧪
Epstein files show a complicated relationship with science and journalism
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Another excellent Epstein story this week comes from @danvergano.bsky.social, on the murky intersections with science journalism as well as scientists:
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst... 🧪
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst... 🧪
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Sorry for the preview pic in your feed, but we've posted a thoughtful story by @dangaristo.bsky.social that delves into the tangled web of relationships between Jeffrey Epstein and various scientists: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known
Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Sorry for the preview pic in your feed, but we've posted a thoughtful story by @dangaristo.bsky.social that delves into the tangled web of relationships between Jeffrey Epstein and various scientists: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
For a long time, astrocytes were considered mere support and scaffolding for all-important neurons. The new experiments reveal in great detail the cells’ influence over neuronal signaling in the brain.
Once Thought To Support Neurons, Astrocytes Turn Out To Be in Charge | Quanta Magazine
New experiments reveal how astrocytes tune neuronal activity to modulate our mental and emotional states. The results suggest that neuron-only brain models, such as connectomes, leave out a crucial…
www.quantamagazine.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:46 PM
For a long time, astrocytes were considered mere support and scaffolding for all-important neurons. The new experiments reveal in great detail the cells’ influence over neuronal signaling in the brain.
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Even with the largest zoom on a classic compound optical system, scientists struggle to make sense of finer details. Microbiologists are turning to an unexpected source to clear things up: a moisture-absorbing material found in diapers. www.quantamagazine.org/expansion-mi...
Expansion Microscopy Has Transformed How We See the Cellular World | Quanta Magazine
How physically magnifying objects using a key ingredient in diapers has opened an unprecedented view of the microbial world.
www.quantamagazine.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Even with the largest zoom on a classic compound optical system, scientists struggle to make sense of finer details. Microbiologists are turning to an unexpected source to clear things up: a moisture-absorbing material found in diapers. www.quantamagazine.org/expansion-mi...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 1:48 PM
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Reposted by Hannah Waters
"The hottest club is always the one you can't get into."
I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren’t Allowed
I went undercover on Moltbook and loved role-playing as a conscious bot. But rather than a novel breakthrough, the AI-only site is a crude rehashing of sci-fi fantasies.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:42 AM
"The hottest club is always the one you can't get into."
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Journalism coops give me — and most of the journalists I know — a lot of hope for the industry. But I've been curious: What's it like to actually work at one? I spent the last few months talking to a bunch of brilliant worker-owners to find out.
www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/jour...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/jour...
Journalism coops seem utopian. What’s it like working in one?
"If I was less self-directed, I'd probably be freaking out."
www.niemanlab.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Journalism coops give me — and most of the journalists I know — a lot of hope for the industry. But I've been curious: What's it like to actually work at one? I spent the last few months talking to a bunch of brilliant worker-owners to find out.
www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/jour...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/jour...
Astrocytes have complex and varied shapes, and sometimes tendrils, that can reach millions of synapses, the junctions where neurons exchange molecular signals. This anatomical arrangement perfectly positions astrocytes to affect information flow.
www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
Once Thought To Support Neurons, Astrocytes Turn Out To Be in Charge | Quanta Magazine
New experiments reveal how astrocytes tune neuronal activity to modulate our mental and emotional states. The results suggest that neuron-only brain models, such as connectomes, leave out a crucial la...
www.quantamagazine.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Astrocytes have complex and varied shapes, and sometimes tendrils, that can reach millions of synapses, the junctions where neurons exchange molecular signals. This anatomical arrangement perfectly positions astrocytes to affect information flow.
www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
'"For the astrocyte field, at least conceptually, we are not very far ahead of where people were for neurons" at the onset of modern neuroscience in the 1950s' www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
Once Thought To Support Neurons, Astrocytes Turn Out To Be in Charge | Quanta Magazine
New experiments reveal how astrocytes tune neuronal activity to modulate our mental and emotional states. The results suggest that neuron-only brain models, such as connectomes, leave out a crucial la...
www.quantamagazine.org
January 30, 2026 at 10:46 PM
'"For the astrocyte field, at least conceptually, we are not very far ahead of where people were for neurons" at the onset of modern neuroscience in the 1950s' www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
In many of the first generation of modern concentration camp systems (near the turn of the twentieth century), the vast majority of deaths were caused by disease and malnutrition. Most of the victims were women and children.
It appears there is now a measles outbreak at the Dilley family detention facility. www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
Source: Measles outbreak reported at ICE's Dilley family detention facility
DPS troopers stand guard in front of the Dilley detention center during a protest last weekend. After a week of public outcry over the Dilley, Texas South
www.sacurrent.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:29 AM
In many of the first generation of modern concentration camp systems (near the turn of the twentieth century), the vast majority of deaths were caused by disease and malnutrition. Most of the victims were women and children.
Reposted by Hannah Waters
BIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps.
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
ICE Begins Buying ‘Mega’ Warehouse Detention Centers Across US
Plans for such centers and jails in nearly two dozen communities have sparked protests over suitability, proximity to homes and schools.
www.bloomberg.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:47 PM
BIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps.
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Once considered merely packing peanuts for the brain, new studies suggest that large brain cells called astrocytes supervise the circuits that control brain states like hopelessness, sleep, and hunger. Ingrid Wickelgren reports: www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
January 30, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Once considered merely packing peanuts for the brain, new studies suggest that large brain cells called astrocytes supervise the circuits that control brain states like hopelessness, sleep, and hunger. Ingrid Wickelgren reports: www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Amid the hype around prattling "AI" models, astonishing research into living minds gets overlooked. Wonderful piece by @yaseminsaplakoglu.bsky.social in @quantamagazine.bsky.social about bats navigating in a natural environment, decoding the sense of direction. www.quantamagazine.org/how-animals-...
How Animals Build a Sense of Direction | Quanta Magazine
Researchers documented the activity of neurons that shape directional navigation as bats explored a remote island off the coast of Tanzania.
www.quantamagazine.org
January 29, 2026 at 2:53 AM
Amid the hype around prattling "AI" models, astonishing research into living minds gets overlooked. Wonderful piece by @yaseminsaplakoglu.bsky.social in @quantamagazine.bsky.social about bats navigating in a natural environment, decoding the sense of direction. www.quantamagazine.org/how-animals-...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
Welcome to Qualia: Essays that go where curiosity leads.
Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying, or Just Hard? | Quanta Magazine
Columnist Natalie Wolchover checks in with particle physicists more than a decade after the field entered a profound crisis.
www.quantamagazine.org
January 27, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Welcome to Qualia: Essays that go where curiosity leads.
Reposted by Hannah Waters
After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.
January 27, 2026 at 9:30 PM
After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.
service journalism ✨
Here's how to identify some crowd control munitions, canisters of which federal agents have left on the ground after deploying them against people in Minnesota. bit.ly/3YWp1jE
Graphic by Mark Boswell/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Graphic by Mark Boswell/The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 26, 2026 at 8:48 PM
service journalism ✨
Ever wonder how your brain builds a sense of direction? New research in bats exploring an island off the coast of Tanzania resolves debate over the mammalian internal compass. Words by @yaseminsaplakoglu.bsky.social + graphic by @markabelan.bsky.social 🦇🌐 www.quantamagazine.org/how-animals-...
How Animals Build a Sense of Direction | Quanta Magazine
Researchers documented the activity of neurons that shape directional navigation as bats explored a remote island off the coast of Tanzania.
www.quantamagazine.org
January 25, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Ever wonder how your brain builds a sense of direction? New research in bats exploring an island off the coast of Tanzania resolves debate over the mammalian internal compass. Words by @yaseminsaplakoglu.bsky.social + graphic by @markabelan.bsky.social 🦇🌐 www.quantamagazine.org/how-animals-...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
just amazing work by my colleagues at @wsj.com - a frame by frame analysis of the shooting
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Videos Contradict U.S. Account of Minneapolis Shooting by Federal Agents
See how immigration officers escalated a fatal confrontation on Saturday.
www.wsj.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:10 PM
just amazing work by my colleagues at @wsj.com - a frame by frame analysis of the shooting
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
This is a great looking staff editor job at @quantamagazine.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Quanta Magazine hiring Senior Staff Editor in New York, NY | LinkedIn
Posted 10:19:14 AM. Position SummaryQuanta Magazine is seeking a senior staff editor to support the award-winning…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:30 PM
This is a great looking staff editor job at @quantamagazine.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Reposted by Hannah Waters
The entire fed system is being weaponized against Minnesota.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating Minneapolis housing policies to see whether the city discriminates against white people.
The latest: JD Vance to visit Minnesota this week as federal immigration surge continues
The vice president is scheduled to visit Minnesota on Thursday amid tensions in the state over the Trump administration’s enforcement push.
bit.ly
January 21, 2026 at 6:19 PM
The entire fed system is being weaponized against Minnesota.