Kristina Killgrove
@killgrove.bsky.social
Staff writer @LiveScience.com
Email: kkillgrove@livescience.com
Web: Livescience.com/author/kristina-killgrove
PhD in anthropology, MA in classical archaeology. Former professor & Roman bioarchaeologist.
I crochet and bake a lot. Time zone: US Eastern
Email: kkillgrove@livescience.com
Web: Livescience.com/author/kristina-killgrove
PhD in anthropology, MA in classical archaeology. Former professor & Roman bioarchaeologist.
I crochet and bake a lot. Time zone: US Eastern
Pinned
Being a science writer right now is like…
9am - Coffee and constitutional crisis!
10am - Read a neat study on 5000-year-old beads.
11am - US science funding is off/on/off/on!
Noon - Email a researcher about Iron Age skeletons.
Afternoon - More constitutional crises and screaming into the void!
9am - Coffee and constitutional crisis!
10am - Read a neat study on 5000-year-old beads.
11am - US science funding is off/on/off/on!
Noon - Email a researcher about Iron Age skeletons.
Afternoon - More constitutional crises and screaming into the void!
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
'There's no reason to ban us from playing': Analysis debunks notion that transgender women have inherent physical advantages in sports www.livescience.com/health/there...
'There's no reason to ban us from playing': Analysis debunks notion that transgender women have inherent physical advantages in sports
A meta-analysis of 52 studies that included over 5,000 transgender people suggests that transgender women's physical fitness after hormone therapy is comparable to that of cisgender women.
www.livescience.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:05 PM
'There's no reason to ban us from playing': Analysis debunks notion that transgender women have inherent physical advantages in sports www.livescience.com/health/there...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Did ancient Greeks let women compete in the Olympics? www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Did ancient Greeks let women compete in the Olympics?
The ancient Olympic games were crowded with male athletes, but were there opportunities for females to compete in sports?
www.livescience.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Did ancient Greeks let women compete in the Olympics? www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Just FYI the moon is also a hellhole. Earth is the only place we can live. The dust on the moon is so fine it’s deadly and some Apollo astronauts were allergic to it. Also no air, just a total bummer for beings that need air.
Oh and before anyone says but the soil has components to make water…
Oh and before anyone says but the soil has components to make water…
Elon Musk (you may recognize him from the Epstein files) has just given up on Mars.
February 9, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Just FYI the moon is also a hellhole. Earth is the only place we can live. The dust on the moon is so fine it’s deadly and some Apollo astronauts were allergic to it. Also no air, just a total bummer for beings that need air.
Oh and before anyone says but the soil has components to make water…
Oh and before anyone says but the soil has components to make water…
This week’s astonishing artifact is a spectacularly decorated pair of King Tut’s sandals. 🧪🏺
Sandals of Tutankhamun: 3,300-year-old footwear that let King Tut walk all over his enemies
Among the sandals discovered in Tut's tomb is a pair whose insoles were decorated with images of the boy king's enemies.
www.livescience.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:29 PM
This week’s astonishing artifact is a spectacularly decorated pair of King Tut’s sandals. 🧪🏺
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
“Researchers from Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and Yale universities recently found that 60 FDA-authorized medical devices using AI were linked to 182 product recalls, according to a research letter published in the JAMA Health Forum in August.”
As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts
Medical device makers have been rushing to add AI to their products. While proponents say the new technology will revolutionize medicine, regulators are receiving a rising number of claims of patient ...
www.reuters.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:42 PM
“Researchers from Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and Yale universities recently found that 60 FDA-authorized medical devices using AI were linked to 182 product recalls, according to a research letter published in the JAMA Health Forum in August.”
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
The Sermon on the Mount, by Beryl Lewis, before 1965, 📸 by @ScottStrazzante
February 9, 2026 at 2:16 AM
The Sermon on the Mount, by Beryl Lewis, before 1965, 📸 by @ScottStrazzante
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Paleo-Inuit people braved icy seas to reach remote Greenland islands 4,500 years ago, archaeologists discover www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Paleo-Inuit people braved icy seas to reach remote Greenland islands 4,500 years ago, archaeologists discover
Archaeological remains on the Kitsissut islands off the coast of Greenland reveal that whole communities regularly journeyed across the dangerous Arctic waters.
www.livescience.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Paleo-Inuit people braved icy seas to reach remote Greenland islands 4,500 years ago, archaeologists discover www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Many students said they were careful to avoid "banned words" in their GRFP applications, but in some cases it was unavoidable. Now they're wondering if these words led to their RWR notifications.
“My project is about bears and ‘black’ is a trigger word,” one Redditor wrote. “Insane.”
“My project is about bears and ‘black’ is a trigger word,” one Redditor wrote. “Insane.”
Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...
Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review” - Eos
Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the p...
eos.org
February 6, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Many students said they were careful to avoid "banned words" in their GRFP applications, but in some cases it was unavoidable. Now they're wondering if these words led to their RWR notifications.
“My project is about bears and ‘black’ is a trigger word,” one Redditor wrote. “Insane.”
“My project is about bears and ‘black’ is a trigger word,” one Redditor wrote. “Insane.”
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
This is a Super Bowl. My favorite of many Superb Owls this year is Baubo, who I got to see in person at a local exhibit this summer!
February 8, 2026 at 3:46 PM
This is a Super Bowl. My favorite of many Superb Owls this year is Baubo, who I got to see in person at a local exhibit this summer!
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Franklin Street, Chapel Hill.
February 8, 2026 at 1:46 AM
Franklin Street, Chapel Hill.
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
ok. does anyone know if it's twice per athlon or every two athlons
February 7, 2026 at 2:44 PM
ok. does anyone know if it's twice per athlon or every two athlons
I put on my bio anth hat to co-write this piece with @nicolanese.bsky.social, our excellent health editor at Live Science. 🧪🏳️⚧️
'There's no reason to ban us from playing': Analysis debunks notion that transgender women have inherent physical advantages in sports
A meta-analysis of 52 studies that included over 5,000 transgender people suggests that transgender women's physical fitness after hormone therapy is comparable to that of cisgender women.
www.livescience.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:44 PM
I put on my bio anth hat to co-write this piece with @nicolanese.bsky.social, our excellent health editor at Live Science. 🧪🏳️⚧️
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went hunting for dinosaur bones in the Dakotas with child sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
RFK Jr.’s Bizarre Trip With Epstein and Ghislaine Exposed in Files
The trip took place on a Native reservation where collecting fossils without explicit tribal permission is considered looting.
trib.al
February 7, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went hunting for dinosaur bones in the Dakotas with child sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.
Great work everyone.
Great work everyone.
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.
Great work everyone.
Great work everyone.
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
I love an Olympics opening ceremony, but I don’t think the Italian bullshit (complimentary) can compete with the level of French bullshit (complimentary) we saw two years ago.
2024 featured a celebration of threesomes; what’s Italy going to do? Have three different prime ministers resign?
2024 featured a celebration of threesomes; what’s Italy going to do? Have three different prime ministers resign?
February 6, 2026 at 7:07 PM
I love an Olympics opening ceremony, but I don’t think the Italian bullshit (complimentary) can compete with the level of French bullshit (complimentary) we saw two years ago.
2024 featured a celebration of threesomes; what’s Italy going to do? Have three different prime ministers resign?
2024 featured a celebration of threesomes; what’s Italy going to do? Have three different prime ministers resign?
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Charles Lyell's book Antiquity of Man was published #OnThisDay in 1863. It argued that humans once lived alongside extinct animals like mammoths, meaning we have a deep past. It also examined the original Neanderthal.
February 6, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Charles Lyell's book Antiquity of Man was published #OnThisDay in 1863. It argued that humans once lived alongside extinct animals like mammoths, meaning we have a deep past. It also examined the original Neanderthal.
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
NEW CHEATING DROPPED www.bbc.com/sport/articl...
Ski jumping: Wada responds to penis injection claims
The World Anti-Doping Agency could investigate if evidence emerges that male ski jumpers are injecting their penises in a bid to improve sporting performance.
www.bbc.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:53 PM
NEW CHEATING DROPPED www.bbc.com/sport/articl...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Breaking, from me: An executive order from Oklahoma's governor directs most of the state's public colleges to "phase out tenure." #AcademicSky #HigherEd @chronicle.com
www.chronicle.com/article/tenu...
www.chronicle.com/article/tenu...
Tenure Will Be Eliminated at Most of Oklahoma’s Public Colleges, Governor Says
Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, directed the state’s two-dozen regional universities and community colleges to phase out the practice. Existing faculty members will be grandfathered in.
www.chronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Breaking, from me: An executive order from Oklahoma's governor directs most of the state's public colleges to "phase out tenure." #AcademicSky #HigherEd @chronicle.com
www.chronicle.com/article/tenu...
www.chronicle.com/article/tenu...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
It's still kind of a mystery how hunter-gatherers and Europe's first farmers dealt with each other. But in this instance, the discovery of a 7,500-year-old deer skull headdress and tools made from antlers suggests that the hunter-gatherers were sharing ideas and technologies with farmers. 🏺🧪🦌
7,500-year-old deer skull headdress discovered in Germany indicates hunter-gatherers shared sacred items and ideas with region's first farmers
The discovery of a deer skull headdress and tools made from antlers at the site of a New Stone Age farming village suggests that hunter-gathers were sharing ideas with the newcomers.
www.livescience.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:50 PM
It's still kind of a mystery how hunter-gatherers and Europe's first farmers dealt with each other. But in this instance, the discovery of a 7,500-year-old deer skull headdress and tools made from antlers suggests that the hunter-gatherers were sharing ideas and technologies with farmers. 🏺🧪🦌
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
Remote region in Greece has one of the most genetically distinct populations in Europe www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Remote region in Greece has one of the most genetically distinct populations in Europe
A genetic analysis of the Deep Maniots living in Greece's southern Peloponnese region has revealed a close-knit, patriarchal community with roots in the Bronze Age.
www.livescience.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Remote region in Greece has one of the most genetically distinct populations in Europe www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
I am not exaggerating: Removing this webpage warning against fake autism "treatments" will kill autistic people.
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
FDA Removes Warning Page About Dangerous Autism Treatments
Autism researchers question motivations for latest HHS changes, including the new IACC
www.medpagetoday.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:35 AM
I am not exaggerating: Removing this webpage warning against fake autism "treatments" will kill autistic people.
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
February 4, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Kristina Killgrove
NEW: Children are developing encephalitis as the South Carolina measles outbreak continues. @emilymullin.bsky.social has more:
Measles Is Causing Brain Swelling in Children in South Carolina
In the ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina that has infected more than 800 people, some children have developed a rare but serious complication called encephalitis.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:26 PM
NEW: Children are developing encephalitis as the South Carolina measles outbreak continues. @emilymullin.bsky.social has more: