Amanda Heidt
@scattercushion.bsky.social
🏜️ Southwest National Parks Editor, SFGate |✨ Freelance Science Journalist |👩🔬 Once-Upon-A-Time Scientist | 📰 Clips in Nature, Science, The New York Times, Nat Geo, NPR, et al. | Signal: aheidt.16 | 🏳️🌈 She/Her | amandaheidt.com
Pinned
Amanda Heidt
@scattercushion.bsky.social
· Nov 18
👋 Excited to see so many faces, new and old, joining us here! To (re)introduce myself:
- I'm a freelance science journalist based in Utah🏜️;
- I love backpacking, rock climbing, SCUBA, & mountaineering🧗♀️;
- I have a dog (Goose) & an axolotl (Lenjamin)🐕;
- Let's chat GBBO, romantasy, & gardening🥧.
- I'm a freelance science journalist based in Utah🏜️;
- I love backpacking, rock climbing, SCUBA, & mountaineering🧗♀️;
- I have a dog (Goose) & an axolotl (Lenjamin)🐕;
- Let's chat GBBO, romantasy, & gardening🥧.
🧪 I've been deep in the cancer space in recent months, including this feature, out in the most recent issue of @nature.com, on cancer dormancy and how it can lead to metastasis decades after a person has ostensibly been declared cancer-free.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why cancer can come back years later — and how to stop it
Researchers are targeting dormant tumour cells that might explain why some cancers reappear long after successful treatment.
www.nature.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:13 PM
🧪 I've been deep in the cancer space in recent months, including this feature, out in the most recent issue of @nature.com, on cancer dormancy and how it can lead to metastasis decades after a person has ostensibly been declared cancer-free.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
🏜️ An autopsy report in the last hour confirms that a mountain lion killed a hiker near Rocky Mountain National Park --- the first mount lion-associated fatality in the state in decades. Her death follows a handful of incidents in recent months in which the large cats threatened hikers.
Autopsy shows mountain lion killed Colorado hiker near national park
Numerous other encounters with the large cats preceded the fatal attack.
www.sfgate.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:04 PM
🏜️ An autopsy report in the last hour confirms that a mountain lion killed a hiker near Rocky Mountain National Park --- the first mount lion-associated fatality in the state in decades. Her death follows a handful of incidents in recent months in which the large cats threatened hikers.
🧪 New year, same 'ol me. Following last year's piece about early career scientists and their hopes and fears for the future, I cast an even wider net, inviting people in Australia, South Korea, Germany, South Africa and China to share their career journeys.
Pandemic PhDs: graduates anxious, but optimistic, about the future
Five early-career scientists from around the world share how lingering COVID-19 pandemic shadows and ripples from US academic disruptions have affected them.
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:10 PM
🧪 New year, same 'ol me. Following last year's piece about early career scientists and their hopes and fears for the future, I cast an even wider net, inviting people in Australia, South Korea, Germany, South Africa and China to share their career journeys.
🏜️Why is the southwest parks reporter covering the ocean, you ask? Because I was once a marine biologist, and sometimes I get to dip my (metaphorical and literal) toe back into things. Congrats to all involved, this is exciting news to someone who watched wasting syndrome sweep through back in 2013.
Sunflower star recovery project in California hits major milestone
Their return could help reverse a decade of kelp forest die-offs along the coast.
www.sfgate.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:34 PM
🏜️Why is the southwest parks reporter covering the ocean, you ask? Because I was once a marine biologist, and sometimes I get to dip my (metaphorical and literal) toe back into things. Congrats to all involved, this is exciting news to someone who watched wasting syndrome sweep through back in 2013.
It's a risky time to come forward, so I especially appreciate the folks who spoke with me for this story. Some of the policies in here are happening across the NPS, but Yose is feeling the pinch especially hard due to upcoming changes in how their hourly rates are calculated.
The Trump admin keeps squeezing Yosemite's overworked rangers
Trump administration policies are upending Yosemite employees' careers and wages.
www.sfgate.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:46 PM
It's a risky time to come forward, so I especially appreciate the folks who spoke with me for this story. Some of the policies in here are happening across the NPS, but Yose is feeling the pinch especially hard due to upcoming changes in how their hourly rates are calculated.
😎Stephen Colbert referenced our parks coverage for 10 whole seconds last night, including my piece on how Trump may have run afoul of the law by putting his face on the America the Beautiful pass and @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social’s follow-up on the resulting lawsuit!
youtube.com/watch?v=rc90...
youtube.com/watch?v=rc90...
youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:52 PM
😎Stephen Colbert referenced our parks coverage for 10 whole seconds last night, including my piece on how Trump may have run afoul of the law by putting his face on the America the Beautiful pass and @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social’s follow-up on the resulting lawsuit!
youtube.com/watch?v=rc90...
youtube.com/watch?v=rc90...
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
Early details about the gathering were scarce, a leaked agenda stated that the goal was to discuss future national parks planning that would keep with “the goals of the NPS, Department of the Interior, and President Trump’s agenda.”
via @scattercushion.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
via @scattercushion.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Inside Utah's secret meeting to decide the fate of its national parks
Discussions focused on increasing visitation, even as national park budgets falter.
www.sfgate.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Early details about the gathering were scarce, a leaked agenda stated that the goal was to discuss future national parks planning that would keep with “the goals of the NPS, Department of the Interior, and President Trump’s agenda.”
via @scattercushion.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
via @scattercushion.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
I read some of the coverage of this story and was left with about a million questions. So I used my millennial powers for good and tracked Lisa Frazee down on Facebook to satisfy my (and hopefully your) curiosity.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
A woman found her cat in the ashes of the Dragon Bravo Fire
Lisa Frazee had to leave her pet during a wildfire evacuation at the Grand Canyon.
www.sfgate.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I read some of the coverage of this story and was left with about a million questions. So I used my millennial powers for good and tracked Lisa Frazee down on Facebook to satisfy my (and hopefully your) curiosity.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
I did a bad job sharing this one out, but my latest is a doozy.
Changes to the America the Beautiful passes prioritize U.S. citizens.
Trump's face on new national park passes outrages conservationists
Changes to the America the Beautiful passes prioritize U.S. citizens.
bit.ly
November 27, 2025 at 4:10 PM
I did a bad job sharing this one out, but my latest is a doozy.
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
breaking news: COP30 talks have been evacuated after a massive fire broke out inside the venue in brazil
COP30 evacuated after fire breaks out
Thousands of people are attending the UN climate talks in Brazil.
www.bbc.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM
breaking news: COP30 talks have been evacuated after a massive fire broke out inside the venue in brazil
I keep a particular meme shortcutted for responding to lengthy criticisms about my work. (Which is NOT to say I won't engage with legitimate concerns. I'm 👀 at you, guy who argued I was being funded by woke leftists b/c I used the word "diversity" too much in a story about the Cambrian Explosion.)
November 18, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I keep a particular meme shortcutted for responding to lengthy criticisms about my work. (Which is NOT to say I won't engage with legitimate concerns. I'm 👀 at you, guy who argued I was being funded by woke leftists b/c I used the word "diversity" too much in a story about the Cambrian Explosion.)
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
Happy International Day of LGBTQIA+ People In STEM!
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
November 18, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Happy International Day of LGBTQIA+ People In STEM!
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
🏜️ The lesser-visited side of the Grand Canyon is closing two weeks earlier than planned due to winter weather and lingering damage from the Dragon Bravo fire.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim closed until 2026
The park is still recovering from a wildfire on the North Rim earlier this year.
www.sfgate.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:22 PM
🏜️ The lesser-visited side of the Grand Canyon is closing two weeks earlier than planned due to winter weather and lingering damage from the Dragon Bravo fire.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
Science/health/environmental journalists: Join us for an amazing year at MIT. 🔭🧪2026 applications are open! Deadline is Jan. 9. Please share widely. ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/11...
KSJ Opens Application Cycle for 2026-27 Fellowships
Applications for KSJ's Academic-Year Fellowship and the Africa and Middle East Fellowship will open November 15 and close January 9.
ksj.mit.edu
November 15, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Science/health/environmental journalists: Join us for an amazing year at MIT. 🔭🧪2026 applications are open! Deadline is Jan. 9. Please share widely. ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/11...
My first byline in my new role for @sfgate.com, and I got to go report in my own backyard! I promise the next one will be more uplifting.
On Nov. 12, @sfgate.com visited the park and found a dozen examples painted on and carved into the park’s famed red rocks.
via @scattercushion.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
via @scattercushion.bsky.social
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Damage at Arches National Park remains, even with the shutdown over
Graffiti was found near a popular landmark in the Utah park.
www.sfgate.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:05 PM
My first byline in my new role for @sfgate.com, and I got to go report in my own backyard! I promise the next one will be more uplifting.
Aurora over Moab tonight. I've been waiting my whole life to see this. 🌌
November 12, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Aurora over Moab tonight. I've been waiting my whole life to see this. 🌌
🧪Fun #sourcerequest: Have you, a scientist, read the book Microbe Hunters, and if so, did it leave a lasting impact on you? This book--perhaps the first popular science text--is turning 100 next year, and I'm covering it for @nautil.us! Also interested in speaking with medical or science historians.
November 4, 2025 at 4:38 PM
🧪Fun #sourcerequest: Have you, a scientist, read the book Microbe Hunters, and if so, did it leave a lasting impact on you? This book--perhaps the first popular science text--is turning 100 next year, and I'm covering it for @nautil.us! Also interested in speaking with medical or science historians.
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
"Science is being destroyed across many agencies" say federal researchers.
For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’
From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:58 PM
"Science is being destroyed across many agencies" say federal researchers.
For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
🏜️Today is the day! I have officially started at @sfgate.com and am on the hunt for stories about our southwest national parks. If you've got a tip, know of an iconic local in your town, or otherwise wanna chat public lands, I'm at amanda.heidt@sfgate.com.
November 3, 2025 at 9:10 PM
🏜️Today is the day! I have officially started at @sfgate.com and am on the hunt for stories about our southwest national parks. If you've got a tip, know of an iconic local in your town, or otherwise wanna chat public lands, I'm at amanda.heidt@sfgate.com.
🧪I've been doing a lot of reporting on cancer recently, and the first to run is this feature for @nature.com on the intersection between nanorobotics and oncology. Read on to learn about biohybrid robots (a sperm cell that delivers cancer drugs!?) and what we can expect in the coming years.
How nanobots are accelerating cancer-targeting therapies
The near-invisible robots have yet to make it to a clinical trial, but scientists are already using them as a way to diagnose and treat various cancers.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:37 PM
🧪I've been doing a lot of reporting on cancer recently, and the first to run is this feature for @nature.com on the intersection between nanorobotics and oncology. Read on to learn about biohybrid robots (a sperm cell that delivers cancer drugs!?) and what we can expect in the coming years.
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
Look at this point if Richard Dawkins thinks you've got good ideas about how science needs to be run, you...should look hard in the mirror and reconsider your ideas.
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
Nature journal accused of abandoning science for social justice
The publisher has defended its efforts to boost the diversity of researchers after it came under attack from Richard Dawkins and other academics
www.thetimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Look at this point if Richard Dawkins thinks you've got good ideas about how science needs to be run, you...should look hard in the mirror and reconsider your ideas.
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
Reposted by Amanda Heidt
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for th...
www.thecrimson.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero