Davide Castelvecchi
@castelvecchi.bsky.social
Writer at Nature magazine, covering physical sciences, technology, mathematics, and energy. DMs are disabled courtesy of the UK's so-called Online Safety Act
Pinned
‘Mind blowing’: quantum computer untangles the mathematics of knots
Algorithms for studying knots and other topological objects could have a quantum advantage.
www.nature.com
Are topology and quantum physics a match made in heaven?
This latest @quantinuum.bsky.social result is the most complete implementation yet of a quantum algorithm for studying knots. But there is much more to this ... my latest story @nature.com — and monster 🧵 ahead
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This latest @quantinuum.bsky.social result is the most complete implementation yet of a quantum algorithm for studying knots. But there is much more to this ... my latest story @nature.com — and monster 🧵 ahead
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
November 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
This week's column is on Billionaire Brain: the condition which seems to prevent extremely rich people from perceiving the utterly bleeding obvious.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I wish we could ignore Bill Gates on the climate crisis. But he’s a billionaire, so we can’t | George Monbiot
Money talks – and his essay denouncing ‘near-term emissions goals’ at Cop30 mostly argues the case for letting the ultra-rich off the hook
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:19 AM
This week's column is on Billionaire Brain: the condition which seems to prevent extremely rich people from perceiving the utterly bleeding obvious.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
We often forget how far we have come: Today almost 3/4 of EU electricity generation is from non-fossil energy sources.
It is not long ago that fossil fuels dominated the EU's electricity mix.
This year their share is approaching 1/4 of EU electricity generation.
Source is @ember-energy.org
It is not long ago that fossil fuels dominated the EU's electricity mix.
This year their share is approaching 1/4 of EU electricity generation.
Source is @ember-energy.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
We often forget how far we have come: Today almost 3/4 of EU electricity generation is from non-fossil energy sources.
It is not long ago that fossil fuels dominated the EU's electricity mix.
This year their share is approaching 1/4 of EU electricity generation.
Source is @ember-energy.org
It is not long ago that fossil fuels dominated the EU's electricity mix.
This year their share is approaching 1/4 of EU electricity generation.
Source is @ember-energy.org
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
this is the craziest thing I've read in a long time???? Meta projected that 10% of its revenue last year, $16 billion, came from scams. Meta intentionally charges the scammers MORE and knows that people who click on scams are more likely to see more of them www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 7, 2025 at 5:13 AM
this is the craziest thing I've read in a long time???? Meta projected that 10% of its revenue last year, $16 billion, came from scams. Meta intentionally charges the scammers MORE and knows that people who click on scams are more likely to see more of them www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Funny how it used to be nuclear energy that was promised to be “too cheap to meter”.
Australians to get at least three hours a day of free solar power - even if they don’t have solar panels
- "what’s good for the planet is good for your pocket”
Story by @adammorton.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
- "what’s good for the planet is good for your pocket”
Story by @adammorton.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Australians to get at least three hours a day of free solar power - even if they don’t have solar panels
Labor announces ‘solar sharer’ program for households in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Funny how it used to be nuclear energy that was promised to be “too cheap to meter”.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies
Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.
www.theatlantic.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:15 PM
NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
It's possible we might not need billionaire opinions on absolutely everything all the time
billmckibben.substack.com/p/climate-ga...
billmckibben.substack.com/p/climate-ga...
Climate Gates
Maybe we don't need billionaire opinions on everything
billmckibben.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:25 PM
It's possible we might not need billionaire opinions on absolutely everything all the time
billmckibben.substack.com/p/climate-ga...
billmckibben.substack.com/p/climate-ga...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
We strongly condemn @CondéNast’s consolidation plans for Teen Vogue, a move that is clearly designed to blunt the award-winning magazine’s insightful journalism at a time when it is needed the most. More from our statement:
November 3, 2025 at 11:24 PM
We strongly condemn @CondéNast’s consolidation plans for Teen Vogue, a move that is clearly designed to blunt the award-winning magazine’s insightful journalism at a time when it is needed the most. More from our statement:
My latest — this was a collective effort with colleagues Xiaoying You, @marilenharo.bsky.social, MohanaBasu, Jeff Tollefson, and @celestebiever.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How to fight climate change without the US: a guide to global action
With the US government absent from the COP30 global climate summit, it will be up to others to avert catastrophe.
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:41 AM
My latest — this was a collective effort with colleagues Xiaoying You, @marilenharo.bsky.social, MohanaBasu, Jeff Tollefson, and @celestebiever.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A great selection here from science gourmet @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social
November 3, 2025 at 1:50 PM
A great selection here from science gourmet @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
ICE detained a Virginia mom while she was driving her 16yo daughter to school bc she couldn’t recall her SS#.
“The agent got flustered and lunged at her,” said her daughter.
ICE arrested her even after she showed proof of legal status.
“I want this video out there because I want my mother home.”
“The agent got flustered and lunged at her,” said her daughter.
ICE arrested her even after she showed proof of legal status.
“I want this video out there because I want my mother home.”
November 1, 2025 at 11:43 PM
ICE detained a Virginia mom while she was driving her 16yo daughter to school bc she couldn’t recall her SS#.
“The agent got flustered and lunged at her,” said her daughter.
ICE arrested her even after she showed proof of legal status.
“I want this video out there because I want my mother home.”
“The agent got flustered and lunged at her,” said her daughter.
ICE arrested her even after she showed proof of legal status.
“I want this video out there because I want my mother home.”
And in fact it’s not an image of the Sun, but of the Sun’s core — that’s where the neutrinos are created
Image of the Sun.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
November 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
And in fact it’s not an image of the Sun, but of the Sun’s core — that’s where the neutrinos are created
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
One of the world’s largest industrial heat pumps is coming to Boston.
A 35MW system will use energy from the Charles River and deliver steam to heat more than 70 million square feet of buildings across Boston and Cambridge — hospitals, schools, homes, and businesses alike.
A 35MW system will use energy from the Charles River and deliver steam to heat more than 70 million square feet of buildings across Boston and Cambridge — hospitals, schools, homes, and businesses alike.
October 31, 2025 at 12:01 PM
One of the world’s largest industrial heat pumps is coming to Boston.
A 35MW system will use energy from the Charles River and deliver steam to heat more than 70 million square feet of buildings across Boston and Cambridge — hospitals, schools, homes, and businesses alike.
A 35MW system will use energy from the Charles River and deliver steam to heat more than 70 million square feet of buildings across Boston and Cambridge — hospitals, schools, homes, and businesses alike.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
In a shocking reality check, @wired.com is not, in fact, bankrolled by “donations from far left organizations.”
We actually rely on an amazing and growing audience of subscribers to support our journalism, so please subscribe to WIRED if you don’t already.
We actually rely on an amazing and growing audience of subscribers to support our journalism, so please subscribe to WIRED if you don’t already.
October 28, 2025 at 11:03 PM
In a shocking reality check, @wired.com is not, in fact, bankrolled by “donations from far left organizations.”
We actually rely on an amazing and growing audience of subscribers to support our journalism, so please subscribe to WIRED if you don’t already.
We actually rely on an amazing and growing audience of subscribers to support our journalism, so please subscribe to WIRED if you don’t already.
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Democracy dies in tackiness
Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.
'Washington Post' editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties
Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.
n.pr
October 28, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Democracy dies in tackiness
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Reporting this story, the same details kept appearing in police investigations around Europe: the perpetrators turned out to have been recruited and offered cash over Telegram.
European authorities are increasingly open in saying who is responsible: Russia.
www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...
European authorities are increasingly open in saying who is responsible: Russia.
www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...
From pigs’ heads to arson plots: how Russia’s hybrid war is sowing chaos across Europe
The trail from a Normandy pig farm has helped expose Russia’s campaign of sabotage across Europe aimed at inflaming division, spreading fear and weakeing support for Ukraine
www.irishtimes.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reporting this story, the same details kept appearing in police investigations around Europe: the perpetrators turned out to have been recruited and offered cash over Telegram.
European authorities are increasingly open in saying who is responsible: Russia.
www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...
European authorities are increasingly open in saying who is responsible: Russia.
www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
AI is helping map millions of tiny earthquakes, writes @alexwitze.bsky.social An AI-based quake catalog was 5x more complete than the human-made one & was made in a day rather than months. Here's a terrific (hype-free) look at ways the tech is changing seismology knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
AI is changing our understanding of earthquakes
Machine learning is expanding scientists’ catalogs of quakes and refining maps of underground faults. It also promises to improve quake forecasts.
knowablemagazine.org
October 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
AI is helping map millions of tiny earthquakes, writes @alexwitze.bsky.social An AI-based quake catalog was 5x more complete than the human-made one & was made in a day rather than months. Here's a terrific (hype-free) look at ways the tech is changing seismology knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
The economic argument doesn't even add up if you consider externalities
October 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
The economic argument doesn't even add up if you consider externalities
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
“Medical staff did not give her any food, water, or pain medication for several hours. Much later that evening, after a significant loss of blood, Lucia was transported to an emergency room approximately an hour away, with her arms and legs shackled.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Pregnant women describe miscarrying and bleeding out while in ICE custody, advocates say
The ACLU and other groups are pressing for ICE to identify and release all pregnant women in custody and to stop detaining anyone known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing.
www.nbcnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:39 AM
“Medical staff did not give her any food, water, or pain medication for several hours. Much later that evening, after a significant loss of blood, Lucia was transported to an emergency room approximately an hour away, with her arms and legs shackled.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Davide Castelvecchi
Another day, another claim of quantum advantage -- this time, with hints of (someday) doing something useful 🧪⚛️
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Google claims ‘quantum advantage’ again — but researchers are sceptical
The firm says it has solved a problem on a quantum processor faster than a classical computer, and is optimistic about future scientific applications.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Another day, another claim of quantum advantage -- this time, with hints of (someday) doing something useful 🧪⚛️
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...