Sophie Bushwick
@sophiebushwick.bsky.social
Science & technology journalist, editor, podcast & video host, book reader
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
“We are witnessing nothing less than a clown show at #FDA right now.” People who worked at or rely on the US drug regulator see dysfunctional leadership & soap opera-ish behavior at a key federal agency, @matthewherper.bsky.social & @lizzylawrence.bsky.social report. www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/f...
Experts worry FDA’s credibility is being shredded by scandal and 'soap opera'
Experts worry that the FDA’s credibility is being shredded by scandal and "soap opera."
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:50 PM
“We are witnessing nothing less than a clown show at #FDA right now.” People who worked at or rely on the US drug regulator see dysfunctional leadership & soap opera-ish behavior at a key federal agency, @matthewherper.bsky.social & @lizzylawrence.bsky.social report. www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/f...
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Thanks to @bmcnoldy.bsky.social & @drkimwood.bsky.social for help with this story. We were all struggling to find sufficient words.
“It’s this frustrating combination of, scientifically speaking, we know this is possible, but as humans we are flabbergasted at seeing manifest in this way.” -Kim 🧪
“It’s this frustrating combination of, scientifically speaking, we know this is possible, but as humans we are flabbergasted at seeing manifest in this way.” -Kim 🧪
The Science of How Hurricane Melissa Became So Extreme
A nearly perfect alignment of factors has enabled Hurricane Melissa to become one of the most intense Atlantic storms ever recorded
www.scientificamerican.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Thanks to @bmcnoldy.bsky.social & @drkimwood.bsky.social for help with this story. We were all struggling to find sufficient words.
“It’s this frustrating combination of, scientifically speaking, we know this is possible, but as humans we are flabbergasted at seeing manifest in this way.” -Kim 🧪
“It’s this frustrating combination of, scientifically speaking, we know this is possible, but as humans we are flabbergasted at seeing manifest in this way.” -Kim 🧪
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
This Is What a Venomous Snake Bite Looks Like at 1,000 Frames per Second gizmodo.com/this-is-what...
This Is What a Venomous Snake Bite Looks Like at 1,000 Frames per Second
In a first, scientists recorded high-speed footage from dozens of venomous snakes as they went in for the kill.
gizmodo.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:12 PM
This Is What a Venomous Snake Bite Looks Like at 1,000 Frames per Second gizmodo.com/this-is-what...
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Happy 15th anniversary to The Open Notebook! If this ridiculously generous project has helped you over the years, this is a great time to donate.
Thread from @siricarpenter.bsky.social at @theopennotebook.bsky.social
Thread from @siricarpenter.bsky.social at @theopennotebook.bsky.social
It’s an opportunity for all those in our community who value the work we do to give back and help ensure that we can keep moving forward, even during these most challenging times. We’d be very grateful for your support today
➡️ www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers.... #TON15
➡️ www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers.... #TON15
The Open Notebook's 15th Anniversary - The Open Notebook
For 15 years, The Open Notebook has been the trusted home for journalists worldwide who cover science. What started as an experiment to demystify the craft of science writing has grown into a vital, g...
www.theopennotebook.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Happy 15th anniversary to The Open Notebook! If this ridiculously generous project has helped you over the years, this is a great time to donate.
Thread from @siricarpenter.bsky.social at @theopennotebook.bsky.social
Thread from @siricarpenter.bsky.social at @theopennotebook.bsky.social
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
New: a $60 mod to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses disables the privacy LED light. This is supposed to light when people are filming with the glasses. We bought the mod, verified it works. Now you can never be sure whether someone wearing Meta Ray-Bans is filming you or not
www.404media.co/how-to-disab...
www.404media.co/how-to-disab...
A $60 Mod to Meta’s Ray-Bans Disables Its Privacy-Protecting Recording Light
Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses usually include an LED that lights up when the user is recording other people. One hobbyist is charging a small fee to disable that light, and has a growing list of customers ar...
www.404media.co
October 23, 2025 at 1:01 PM
New: a $60 mod to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses disables the privacy LED light. This is supposed to light when people are filming with the glasses. We bought the mod, verified it works. Now you can never be sure whether someone wearing Meta Ray-Bans is filming you or not
www.404media.co/how-to-disab...
www.404media.co/how-to-disab...
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Can fuel made from aluminum scraps supply the clean heat industry needs? For @technologyreview.com, I got a sneak peak of Found Energy's largest aluminum-water reactor to date.
This startup is about to conduct the biggest real-world test of aluminum as a zero-carbon fuel
We got a sneak peek inside Found Energy’s lab, just as it gears up to supply heat and hydrogen to its first customer.
www.technologyreview.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Can fuel made from aluminum scraps supply the clean heat industry needs? For @technologyreview.com, I got a sneak peak of Found Energy's largest aluminum-water reactor to date.
Kudos to Ari Daniel for the most puntastic kicker I've ever read: "So perhaps one day, humans will benefit from this notion of architectural immunity, inspired not by antibodies — but by ant bodies." 🧪
Some ant architects design a colony to cut the risk of disease. Humans, take note!
One kind of tiny ant can serve as a monumental example for how to keep members of a community safe from pathogens. A new study shows how they do it.
www.npr.org
October 21, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Kudos to Ari Daniel for the most puntastic kicker I've ever read: "So perhaps one day, humans will benefit from this notion of architectural immunity, inspired not by antibodies — but by ant bodies." 🧪
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
It looks like OpenAI is about to announce its AI web browser. OpenAI has a new product announcement livestream set for 1PM ET today 👀 www.theverge.com/news/803481/...
It looks like OpenAI is about to announce its AI web browser
It’s time for the AI browser wars
www.theverge.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It looks like OpenAI is about to announce its AI web browser. OpenAI has a new product announcement livestream set for 1PM ET today 👀 www.theverge.com/news/803481/...
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
YouTuber Doctor Mike thinks medicine needs a better social media strategy www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/d... via @statnews.com
YouTuber 'Doctor Mike' thinks medicine needs a better social media strategy
Trust in public health institutions has been declining for years. Popular YouTuber “Doctor Mike” has some ideas for how to fix that.
www.statnews.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
YouTuber Doctor Mike thinks medicine needs a better social media strategy www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/d... via @statnews.com
This is fascinating! The details someone includes in a story can affect the parts of your brain that will activate to memorize that information 🧪
Your Brain’s Memory of a Story Depends on How It Was Told
Telling the same story in different ways can change the brain networks that the listener uses to form memories
www.scientificamerican.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
This is fascinating! The details someone includes in a story can affect the parts of your brain that will activate to memorize that information 🧪
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
An amateur satellite tracker stumbled across the signal, which is coming from Starshield satellites in a "hidden" part of the radio spectrum.
A classified network of SpaceX satellites is emitting a mysterious signal
An amateur satellite tracker stumbled across the signal, which is coming from Starshield satellites in a "hidden" part of the radio spectrum.
n.pr
October 18, 2025 at 11:32 PM
An amateur satellite tracker stumbled across the signal, which is coming from Starshield satellites in a "hidden" part of the radio spectrum.
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Remember this one? “Humans aren’t very efficient movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom.” Via Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social #CityMakingMath
The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike
A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom
www.scientificamerican.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Remember this one? “Humans aren’t very efficient movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom.” Via Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social #CityMakingMath
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
"Technologies purchased by ICE in recent weeks include spyware that can hack into smartphones remotely and cellphone location software that can enable the tracking of a phone’s movements without a court warrant..."
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
October 17, 2025 at 6:16 PM
"Technologies purchased by ICE in recent weeks include spyware that can hack into smartphones remotely and cellphone location software that can enable the tracking of a phone’s movements without a court warrant..."
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
A decade ago I wanted to find a way to recognize the wonderful images that researchers created -- in the lab and in the field. With some likeminded folks, we got it off the ground. It's worked out beautifully, and I'm proud of it.
#SciArt
news.ncsu.edu/2025/10/a-de...
#SciArt
news.ncsu.edu/2025/10/a-de...
A Decade of Envisioning Research
Celebrate beauty and wonder.
news.ncsu.edu
October 17, 2025 at 5:17 PM
A decade ago I wanted to find a way to recognize the wonderful images that researchers created -- in the lab and in the field. With some likeminded folks, we got it off the ground. It's worked out beautifully, and I'm proud of it.
#SciArt
news.ncsu.edu/2025/10/a-de...
#SciArt
news.ncsu.edu/2025/10/a-de...
"Historically, funding issues have particularly hurt beats like science and health journalism and these new pressures only intensify the crisis..." 🧪
Will Science Journalism Funders Step Up or Retreat?
Amid Trump-era funding turmoil, foundations are finding themselves pulled in many directions to fill in the gaps.
undark.org
October 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM
"Historically, funding issues have particularly hurt beats like science and health journalism and these new pressures only intensify the crisis..." 🧪
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Archaeologists discovered a bunch of Neolithic period worked human bones in canals and moats in southern China. 🏺🧪
5,000 years ago, Stone Age people in China crafted their ancestors' bones into cups and masks
Archaeologists in China found a collection of human bones that showed signs of being "worked" like any other natural material.
www.livescience.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Archaeologists discovered a bunch of Neolithic period worked human bones in canals and moats in southern China. 🏺🧪
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Violence, scientific DRAMA, and misunderstanding!
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
October 16, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Violence, scientific DRAMA, and misunderstanding!
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
Who first asked if woodpeckers get headaches, or if rams are immune to brain damage?
New Paper! I trace the history of human thought on brain injury in head-hitting animals, and it's a wild ride. 🧪 🏺
A thread - 1/🧵
doi.org/10.1002/ar.7...
These "extreme closeup" images of the natural world are stunning!! 🧪 My favorite is the otherworldly photo of algae suspended in a droplet of water
Magnifying the minuscule: Nikon Small World photomicrography 2025 – in pictures
Weevils, spores, slime mold and cells in extreme closeup for the 51st anniversary of the Nikon Small World competition
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
These "extreme closeup" images of the natural world are stunning!! 🧪 My favorite is the otherworldly photo of algae suspended in a droplet of water
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Ancient chewing gum could reveal how early men and women split up their chores | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
Ancient chewing gum could reveal how early men and women split up their chores
Birch bark tar, used as chewing gum and glue, provides rare window into life 6000 years ago
www.science.org
October 15, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Ancient chewing gum could reveal how early men and women split up their chores | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
🧪 Using nearly a decade of high-speed footage, an unsupervised machine learning approach distinguished 9 distinct precipitation types, including varieties of rain, snow, and mixed-phases.
Results could improve weather forecasting and winter driving safety.
news.engin.umich.edu/2025/10/betw...
Results could improve weather forecasting and winter driving safety.
news.engin.umich.edu/2025/10/betw...
Between rain and snow, machine learning finds 9 precipitation types
Leveraging 1.5M minutes of precipitation data and a nonlinear method to handle complex relationships between variables, the team created a new classification system
news.engin.umich.edu
October 15, 2025 at 5:51 PM
🧪 Using nearly a decade of high-speed footage, an unsupervised machine learning approach distinguished 9 distinct precipitation types, including varieties of rain, snow, and mixed-phases.
Results could improve weather forecasting and winter driving safety.
news.engin.umich.edu/2025/10/betw...
Results could improve weather forecasting and winter driving safety.
news.engin.umich.edu/2025/10/betw...
Six years ago, radio telescopes detected ghostly ring-shaped structures in space, dubbed "odd radio circles" or ORCs. Now citizen scientists have found three new ORCs, including twin rings nearly a million light years across
Citizen scientists just discovered the most powerful 'odd radio circle' twins in space we've ever seen
The largest of three newly found ring shaped structures in the cosmos are almost a million light-years across.
www.space.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Six years ago, radio telescopes detected ghostly ring-shaped structures in space, dubbed "odd radio circles" or ORCs. Now citizen scientists have found three new ORCs, including twin rings nearly a million light years across
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports
CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.
www.consumerreports.org
October 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)
www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
Researchers pointed a satellite dish at the sky for 3 years and monitored what unencrypted data it picked up. The results were shocking: They obtained thousands of T-Mobile users' phone calls and texts, military and law enforcement secrets, much more: www.wired.com/story/satell... 🧵👇
Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data
With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypte...
www.wired.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Researchers pointed a satellite dish at the sky for 3 years and monitored what unencrypted data it picked up. The results were shocking: They obtained thousands of T-Mobile users' phone calls and texts, military and law enforcement secrets, much more: www.wired.com/story/satell... 🧵👇
Last week, my time at New Scientist came to an end. It's been a pleasure working with such a talented and dedicated team and taking on brand-new challenges over the past couple years
September 1, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Last week, my time at New Scientist came to an end. It's been a pleasure working with such a talented and dedicated team and taking on brand-new challenges over the past couple years
Reposted by Sophie Bushwick
🔥🧵 Resignation letters from top CDC experts:
"Their desire to please a political base will result in death & disability of vulnerable children & adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc."
- @drdemetre.bsky.social
Thanks for your service.
"Their desire to please a political base will result in death & disability of vulnerable children & adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc."
- @drdemetre.bsky.social
Thanks for your service.
Breaking News: Read three top CDC officials' resignation emails.
The end of an era.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...
The end of an era.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n...
Breaking News: Read three top CDC officials' resignation emails.
The end of an era.
insidemedicine.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 1:21 AM
🔥🧵 Resignation letters from top CDC experts:
"Their desire to please a political base will result in death & disability of vulnerable children & adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc."
- @drdemetre.bsky.social
Thanks for your service.
"Their desire to please a political base will result in death & disability of vulnerable children & adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc."
- @drdemetre.bsky.social
Thanks for your service.