Jacob Aron
@jjaron.bsky.social
News editor at New Scientist. I read a lot of books, and recommend the best ones to you
Pinned
Jacob Aron
@jjaron.bsky.social
· Nov 15
I used to share book recommendations on the other place but got out of the habit this year as engagement massively dropped off. Thinking about putting together my top 10 list for this year though, so as a test, like this, and for each like I'll recommend something great I read in the past 5 years
Reposted by Jacob Aron
They've historically been named after physicists/astronomers/mathematicians: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Not sure where/why it started but not that weird a name in the context of previous names.
Not sure where/why it started but not that weird a name in the context of previous names.
List of eponyms of Nvidia GPU microarchitectures - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 5, 2026 at 10:39 PM
They've historically been named after physicists/astronomers/mathematicians: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Not sure where/why it started but not that weird a name in the context of previous names.
Not sure where/why it started but not that weird a name in the context of previous names.
This is a weird name, no? As far as I know Vera Rubin was not notable for work in computing
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduces the Vera Rubin architecture, its next-gen AI platform. The GPU is named Rubin and the CPU is Vera
January 5, 2026 at 10:29 PM
This is a weird name, no? As far as I know Vera Rubin was not notable for work in computing
"vaccines are good" continues to be a popular genre of story for us at New Scientist, but obviously that's a somewhat self-selecting audience. We really shouldn't be having to write "no really, this is why vaccines are good" stories as well, but here we are
InFURiating that we all have to write/think/talk about vaccines this much, outside of celebrating new successes (HPV vax largely *eliminating* cervical cancer, my god), this shit was settled as one of the great scientific and public health triumphs EVER and now these dipshits are trying to ruin it
January 5, 2026 at 10:25 PM
"vaccines are good" continues to be a popular genre of story for us at New Scientist, but obviously that's a somewhat self-selecting audience. We really shouldn't be having to write "no really, this is why vaccines are good" stories as well, but here we are
Reposted by Jacob Aron
Wrote about an obvious and yet profoundly underappreciated aspect of the AI boom: its total narrative capture by Elon Musk's X nymag.com/intelligence...
January 5, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Wrote about an obvious and yet profoundly underappreciated aspect of the AI boom: its total narrative capture by Elon Musk's X nymag.com/intelligence...
Sustainable aviation fuel just ain't going to happen - it's a nice fiction that allows the industry to continue with business as usual
ICYMI…the most gobsmacking fact from this reporting—>how much land will be needed to produce sustainable aviation fuel
“The maximum amount of land that we’ve converted to cropland in a single year (roughly 1.8 million acres), would have to be quadrupled every year for the next 30 years,” said Limb.
“The maximum amount of land that we’ve converted to cropland in a single year (roughly 1.8 million acres), would have to be quadrupled every year for the next 30 years,” said Limb.
This summer, I was reporting on the recent honeybee collapse and a source in North Dakota shared their concerns that if sustainable aviation fuel takes off, it could make it even harder to raise honeybees.
Gift link to my @bloomberglp.bsky.social story
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link to my @bloomberglp.bsky.social story
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 5, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Sustainable aviation fuel just ain't going to happen - it's a nice fiction that allows the industry to continue with business as usual
Reposted by Jacob Aron
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
January 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
Reposted by Jacob Aron
I'm starting to get the emails. Reporters: please see my comments below.
It's the most magical time of the year — when estimates of last year's global average temperature anomaly come out. Time to dust off my "last year was hot" auto-response.
January 5, 2026 at 6:20 PM
I'm starting to get the emails. Reporters: please see my comments below.
Finally caught up on #TheTraitors and this secret traitor stuff is kind of nonsense right?
January 5, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Finally caught up on #TheTraitors and this secret traitor stuff is kind of nonsense right?
Avatar wishes it could match these memes
now that i’ve seen lord of the rings, i can truly appreciate all the memes
January 5, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Avatar wishes it could match these memes
Reposted by Jacob Aron
An explorer and a glaciologist are kite-skiing across Antarctica with a ground-penetrating radar to gather data that will help understand the past and future of the ice sheet
The duo kite-skiing 4000 kilometres across Antarctica for science
An explorer and a glaciologist are kite-skiing across Antarctica with a ground-penetrating radar to gather data that will help understand the past and future of the ice sheet
www.newscientist.com
January 5, 2026 at 6:42 PM
An explorer and a glaciologist are kite-skiing across Antarctica with a ground-penetrating radar to gather data that will help understand the past and future of the ice sheet
In 2014, I wrote a story about a rare exoplanet alignment, an exosyzygy, due to take place in 2026. At the time it seemed impossibly far off, but now here we are - and unfortunately, astronomers haven't been granted time with a telescope to observe this event, so we're going to miss it!
Rare exoplanet alignment set for 2026 – but we are likely to miss it
An exosyzygy – an alignment of three celestial objects around another star – is predicted to happen later this year, but it seems likely that we won't see it happen
www.newscientist.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:03 PM
In 2014, I wrote a story about a rare exoplanet alignment, an exosyzygy, due to take place in 2026. At the time it seemed impossibly far off, but now here we are - and unfortunately, astronomers haven't been granted time with a telescope to observe this event, so we're going to miss it!
Reposted by Jacob Aron
i would suggest an online safety act that can’t deal with CSAM on a widely used social network frequented by most westminster public figures isn’t doing a very good job of keeping anybody safe online
January 5, 2026 at 2:55 PM
i would suggest an online safety act that can’t deal with CSAM on a widely used social network frequented by most westminster public figures isn’t doing a very good job of keeping anybody safe online
Reposted by Jacob Aron
With a storage capacity of 36 petabytes, a DNA-based cassette tape can hold every song every recorded, and it could be on the market within five years
The cassette tape made a comeback in 2025 thanks to a DNA upgrade
With a storage capacity of 36 petabytes, a DNA-based cassette tape can hold every song every recorded, and it could be on the market within five years
www.newscientist.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:13 PM
With a storage capacity of 36 petabytes, a DNA-based cassette tape can hold every song every recorded, and it could be on the market within five years
Reposted by Jacob Aron
If this was a twist in a murder mystery you'd be like "oh fuck off that's not a thing"
January 5, 2026 at 11:07 AM
If this was a twist in a murder mystery you'd be like "oh fuck off that's not a thing"
Reposted by Jacob Aron
“If a woman dares to show herself in public in any way, then she can and will be sexually harassed with the aid of genAI-driven tools that can easily turn her face into highly realistic pornography” is an absolute red-alarm human rights disaster
The end goal of Grok sexual harassment is to make women afraid to be visible. It’s a punishment for daring to exist in a way the perpetrators can’t control. There’s no one solution to this, because the problem isn’t just technological. It’s cultural. It’s misogyny. This is just one expression of it.
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 AM
“If a woman dares to show herself in public in any way, then she can and will be sexually harassed with the aid of genAI-driven tools that can easily turn her face into highly realistic pornography” is an absolute red-alarm human rights disaster
Reposted by Jacob Aron
Very good article on this writer realising exactly what a good editor does, and crucially, why.
The Role of the Editor by Sylvia Leatham
Where art meets commerce: the role of the editor. Sylvia Leatham reflects on lessons learned over the two-and-a-half-year process of editing her debut novel for a commercial market. My debut novel, Chaos Theory, was released in September 2025 with…
Where art meets commerce: the role of the editor. Sylvia Leatham reflects on lessons learned over the two-and-a-half-year process of editing her debut novel for a commercial market. My debut novel, Chaos Theory, was released in September 2025 with…
The Role of the Editor by Sylvia Leatham
Where art meets commerce: the role of the editor. Sylvia Leatham reflects on lessons learned over the two-and-a-half-year process of editing her debut novel for a commercial market. My debut novel, Chaos Theory, was released in September 2025 with digital-first publisher Storm Publishing. A quirky romantic comedy with a speculative fiction twist, the book follows the adventures – in life and love – of Irish tourism executive Maeve McGettigan, as she navigates the chaos created by a new workplace robot called Kobi.
www.writing.ie
January 5, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Very good article on this writer realising exactly what a good editor does, and crucially, why.
I wonder if there is another way we could boost the population
January 4, 2026 at 10:08 PM
I wonder if there is another way we could boost the population
Reposted by Jacob Aron
Thinking back to this superb piece of trolling by the editor of the Guardian letters page in 2015.
January 4, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Thinking back to this superb piece of trolling by the editor of the Guardian letters page in 2015.
The AI photo is laughably bad!
January 4, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The AI photo is laughably bad!
Guardian one again failing the "don't just report what one AI dude says" challenge www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
World ‘may not have time’ to prepare for AI safety risks, says leading researcher
AI safety expert David Dalrymple said rapid advances could outpace efforts to control powerful systems
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Guardian one again failing the "don't just report what one AI dude says" challenge www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Difficult decision. I wouldn't want to be the editor making this call
(Semafor) - The New York Times and Washington Post learned of a secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin Friday night — but held off publishing what they knew to avoid endangering US troops ..
@semafor.com
www.semafor.com/article/01/0...
@semafor.com
www.semafor.com/article/01/0...
January 4, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Difficult decision. I wouldn't want to be the editor making this call
It's the Bin Laden raid photo with added "are we trending yet?"
Several of the photos have Twitter up on a screen in the background but I can’t make out what search term appears
January 3, 2026 at 6:21 PM
It's the Bin Laden raid photo with added "are we trending yet?"
Reposted by Jacob Aron
with all of the stories about the rise of solar energy we’ve seen in the last few months it kind of feels like America is doing regime change in order to secure the rights to billions of dollars in blockbuster gift cards
January 3, 2026 at 2:09 PM
with all of the stories about the rise of solar energy we’ve seen in the last few months it kind of feels like America is doing regime change in order to secure the rights to billions of dollars in blockbuster gift cards
I had no idea this happened
So in all the Discourse™ this morning I'm not seeing any mention of the obvious historical precedent here -- the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. This feels eerily similar. Are there historians comparing the two, yet?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...
United States invasion of Panama - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 3, 2026 at 2:31 PM
I had no idea this happened