Clare Watson
@clarewatson.bsky.social
Science writer & freelance journalist
Words in Nature, ScienceAlert, Cosmos, Australian Geographic, Hakai Magazine, Undark, The Guardian
Words in Nature, ScienceAlert, Cosmos, Australian Geographic, Hakai Magazine, Undark, The Guardian
Reposted by Clare Watson
Had a blast talking at @istaresearch.bsky.social’s Think & Drink last Friday! @clarewatson.bsky.social and I shared how we went from lab bench to newsroom, and why trust, curiosity & scientist voices matter in journalism. Thanks to all who joined!
June 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Had a blast talking at @istaresearch.bsky.social’s Think & Drink last Friday! @clarewatson.bsky.social and I shared how we went from lab bench to newsroom, and why trust, curiosity & scientist voices matter in journalism. Thanks to all who joined!
Reposted by Clare Watson
Hi there 🧪 I've just started my journalism residency @istaresearch.bsky.social
If you're a scientist on campus or visiting Vienna, lmk! I'm the one reading magazines at lunch/on the bus + scribbling notes in talks.
👋 Please say hello & tell me about your work (or favourite hike or restaurant) 🌿
If you're a scientist on campus or visiting Vienna, lmk! I'm the one reading magazines at lunch/on the bus + scribbling notes in talks.
👋 Please say hello & tell me about your work (or favourite hike or restaurant) 🌿
May 20, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Hi there 🧪 I've just started my journalism residency @istaresearch.bsky.social
If you're a scientist on campus or visiting Vienna, lmk! I'm the one reading magazines at lunch/on the bus + scribbling notes in talks.
👋 Please say hello & tell me about your work (or favourite hike or restaurant) 🌿
If you're a scientist on campus or visiting Vienna, lmk! I'm the one reading magazines at lunch/on the bus + scribbling notes in talks.
👋 Please say hello & tell me about your work (or favourite hike or restaurant) 🌿
Reposted by Clare Watson
Panel discussion at ISTA: Renowned science journalists discussed both the challenges and the joys of science journalism.
Thanks to our panelists: @clarewatson.bsky.social, @giorgiag-sciwriter.bsky.social, @jackiesnow.bsky.social, Monika Mondal, Klaus Taschwer & moderator Marlene Nowotny!
Thanks to our panelists: @clarewatson.bsky.social, @giorgiag-sciwriter.bsky.social, @jackiesnow.bsky.social, Monika Mondal, Klaus Taschwer & moderator Marlene Nowotny!
May 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Panel discussion at ISTA: Renowned science journalists discussed both the challenges and the joys of science journalism.
Thanks to our panelists: @clarewatson.bsky.social, @giorgiag-sciwriter.bsky.social, @jackiesnow.bsky.social, Monika Mondal, Klaus Taschwer & moderator Marlene Nowotny!
Thanks to our panelists: @clarewatson.bsky.social, @giorgiag-sciwriter.bsky.social, @jackiesnow.bsky.social, Monika Mondal, Klaus Taschwer & moderator Marlene Nowotny!
Reposted by Clare Watson
Do warning labels on tobacco products alter (would be) smokers’ behaviour?
@clarewatson.bsky.social discusses past, present and future of tobacco-related health communication with Lucy Popova: buff.ly/4dvhi1H
@clarewatson.bsky.social discusses past, present and future of tobacco-related health communication with Lucy Popova: buff.ly/4dvhi1H
The tussle over cigarette warning labels, and the hazy future of vaping
Regulatory hurdles, industry objections and legal fights have gone on for decades over traditional tobacco. What’s in store for the next generation of smoking?
buff.ly
September 27, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Do warning labels on tobacco products alter (would be) smokers’ behaviour?
@clarewatson.bsky.social discusses past, present and future of tobacco-related health communication with Lucy Popova: buff.ly/4dvhi1H
@clarewatson.bsky.social discusses past, present and future of tobacco-related health communication with Lucy Popova: buff.ly/4dvhi1H
Reposted by Clare Watson
Hakai is one of my favourite places to write for. If you know of an organization that might want to help fund it, reach out! 🧪
The effort to save @hakaimagazine.com is fully underway. So far, we've lined up commitments worth about half of what we need to keep publishing. Ideally, we want one or two more large foundations or donations to give us a solid floor before we throw the doors to reader donations.
September 4, 2024 at 8:06 PM
Hakai is one of my favourite places to write for. If you know of an organization that might want to help fund it, reach out! 🧪
This beautiful multimedia essay, a compilation of the unexpected poetry of PhD acknowledgments, will surely make you smile.
From being lost for words to outpourings of thanks, Tabitha Carvan has captured it all; the very human side of #science 🧪
science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
From being lost for words to outpourings of thanks, Tabitha Carvan has captured it all; the very human side of #science 🧪
science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
The unexpected poetry of PhD acknowledgements
We read hundreds and hundreds of PhD acknowledgements. What we found was a kind of poetry in the science.
science.anu.edu.au
July 14, 2024 at 11:41 PM
This beautiful multimedia essay, a compilation of the unexpected poetry of PhD acknowledgments, will surely make you smile.
From being lost for words to outpourings of thanks, Tabitha Carvan has captured it all; the very human side of #science 🧪
science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
From being lost for words to outpourings of thanks, Tabitha Carvan has captured it all; the very human side of #science 🧪
science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
Reposted by Clare Watson
TIL that menstrual products are based on the same principles they have been for aeons: absorb, and hope like hell it doesn't get saturated.
So researchers are testing a molecule that gels menstrual blood into a solid so it doesn't leak or spill.
So researchers are testing a molecule that gels menstrual blood into a solid so it doesn't leak or spill.
These period pads solidify blood to prevent leaks
They’re filled with a seaweed-derived product that forms a gel and is biodegradable. They’re filled with a seaweed-derived product that forms a gel and is biodegradable.
www.nature.com
July 10, 2024 at 8:46 PM
TIL that menstrual products are based on the same principles they have been for aeons: absorb, and hope like hell it doesn't get saturated.
So researchers are testing a molecule that gels menstrual blood into a solid so it doesn't leak or spill.
So researchers are testing a molecule that gels menstrual blood into a solid so it doesn't leak or spill.
Reposted by Clare Watson
While we have known for a few years now that ants treat each other's wounds, we're only just learning how astonishingly complex and precise ant medical care can be: some species perform life-saving amputations on each other! 🧪 #wildlife #nature #AmWriting
These Ants Perform Life-Saving Operations on Injured Nestmates, Similar to Humans
The world's tiniest surgeons?
www.sciencealert.com
July 9, 2024 at 1:04 AM
While we have known for a few years now that ants treat each other's wounds, we're only just learning how astonishingly complex and precise ant medical care can be: some species perform life-saving amputations on each other! 🧪 #wildlife #nature #AmWriting
Reposted by Clare Watson
An Australian organization is taking “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to heart by using trash to clean up ghost gear.
By @clarewatson.bsky.social
hakaimagazine.com/news/using-t...
By @clarewatson.bsky.social
hakaimagazine.com/news/using-t...
Using Trash to Track Other Trash | Hakai Magazine
An Australian organization is taking “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to heart with its ghost net clean-up program.
hakaimagazine.com
June 6, 2024 at 5:24 PM
An Australian organization is taking “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to heart by using trash to clean up ghost gear.
By @clarewatson.bsky.social
hakaimagazine.com/news/using-t...
By @clarewatson.bsky.social
hakaimagazine.com/news/using-t...
Reposted by Clare Watson
This was a fun little science ditty about how genomic analysis has revealed the German cockroach is not in fact German, but a canny and adaptable hitchhiker from South Asia who took advantage of human trade and wars to travel and thrive around the world.
#science #entomology #genomics #cockroach
#science #entomology #genomics #cockroach
The origin of the cockroach: how a notorious pest conquered the world
Genomic analysis suggests the common kitchen vermin spread from Europe to the world. But it wasn't originally found in Europe. Genomic analysis suggests the common kitchen vermin spread from Europe to...
www.nature.com
May 20, 2024 at 10:04 PM
This was a fun little science ditty about how genomic analysis has revealed the German cockroach is not in fact German, but a canny and adaptable hitchhiker from South Asia who took advantage of human trade and wars to travel and thrive around the world.
#science #entomology #genomics #cockroach
#science #entomology #genomics #cockroach
We have 3 grants on offer to support SJAA members and I'd be happy to answer any Qs having received a few in the past.
With SJAA's support, my stories have ended up in @hakaimagazine.com @natureportfolio.bsky.social + taken me to Colombia for #WCSJ2023, an experience still paying dividends today.
With SJAA's support, my stories have ended up in @hakaimagazine.com @natureportfolio.bsky.social + taken me to Colombia for #WCSJ2023, an experience still paying dividends today.
Are you a student or early-career #ScienceJournalist based in Aus with a pitch up your sleeve?
A staff journalist with a story idea that requires travel? Or is there a professional development opportunity you'd like to snap up?
Our grant applications close next week! sjaa.org.au/opportunitie...
A staff journalist with a story idea that requires travel? Or is there a professional development opportunity you'd like to snap up?
Our grant applications close next week! sjaa.org.au/opportunitie...
SJAA Grants Program: Applications, Criteria and Everything You Need To Know – Science Journalists Association of Australia
sjaa.org.au
April 24, 2024 at 2:29 AM
We have 3 grants on offer to support SJAA members and I'd be happy to answer any Qs having received a few in the past.
With SJAA's support, my stories have ended up in @hakaimagazine.com @natureportfolio.bsky.social + taken me to Colombia for #WCSJ2023, an experience still paying dividends today.
With SJAA's support, my stories have ended up in @hakaimagazine.com @natureportfolio.bsky.social + taken me to Colombia for #WCSJ2023, an experience still paying dividends today.
Are you a student or early-career #ScienceJournalist based in Aus with a pitch up your sleeve?
A staff journalist with a story idea that requires travel? Or is there a professional development opportunity you'd like to snap up?
Our grant applications close next week! sjaa.org.au/opportunitie...
A staff journalist with a story idea that requires travel? Or is there a professional development opportunity you'd like to snap up?
Our grant applications close next week! sjaa.org.au/opportunitie...
SJAA Grants Program: Applications, Criteria and Everything You Need To Know – Science Journalists Association of Australia
sjaa.org.au
April 24, 2024 at 2:23 AM
Are you a student or early-career #ScienceJournalist based in Aus with a pitch up your sleeve?
A staff journalist with a story idea that requires travel? Or is there a professional development opportunity you'd like to snap up?
Our grant applications close next week! sjaa.org.au/opportunitie...
A staff journalist with a story idea that requires travel? Or is there a professional development opportunity you'd like to snap up?
Our grant applications close next week! sjaa.org.au/opportunitie...
Great reporting here by @elandhuis.bsky.social, providing a greater understanding of the difficulties with #ClinicalTrials of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like #Alzheimers #ALS while presenting new ideas about how those trials could better measure a drug's effect on disease progression.
What if disease-modifying therapies for #Alzheimers were evaluated by "time saved" rather than slowed rates of cognitive decline?
My first piece for Nature Index
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
My first piece for Nature Index
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Researchers call for a major rethink of how Alzheimer’s treatments are evaluated
An approach that aims to quantify how long a drug can delay or halt the progression of disease is gathering steam. An approach that aims to quantify how long a drug can delay or halt the progression o...
www.nature.com
April 12, 2024 at 4:56 AM
Great reporting here by @elandhuis.bsky.social, providing a greater understanding of the difficulties with #ClinicalTrials of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like #Alzheimers #ALS while presenting new ideas about how those trials could better measure a drug's effect on disease progression.
Reposted by Clare Watson
In the Spencer Gulf of Australia, seagrass meadows stash truckloads of heavy metals in the coast's muddy depths. But if something were to happen to the seagrass—a marine heatwave perhaps—it could die and release the toxins back into the sea.
By Clare Watson.
hakaimagazine.com/news/seagras...
By Clare Watson.
hakaimagazine.com/news/seagras...
Seagrass Can Stash Away Dangerous Heavy Metals | Hakai Magazine
In Australia’s largest estuary, humble seagrass is the thin green line between safety and heavy-metal contamination.
hakaimagazine.com
February 26, 2024 at 6:41 PM
In the Spencer Gulf of Australia, seagrass meadows stash truckloads of heavy metals in the coast's muddy depths. But if something were to happen to the seagrass—a marine heatwave perhaps—it could die and release the toxins back into the sea.
By Clare Watson.
hakaimagazine.com/news/seagras...
By Clare Watson.
hakaimagazine.com/news/seagras...
After decades of neglect, it's an exciting time for endometriosis research. In the past year, a flurry of studies have been published that could radically change our understanding of the condition, and how to treat it.
Learn as much as I did writing my latest story! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learn as much as I did writing my latest story! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Surge in endometriosis research after decades of underfunding could herald new era for women’s health - Nature Medicine
Advances in organoids and the role of the microbiome and diet are leading to new diagnostics and treatments for endometriosis, motivating a precision health approach to this long-neglected disease.
www.nature.com
February 9, 2024 at 6:10 AM
After decades of neglect, it's an exciting time for endometriosis research. In the past year, a flurry of studies have been published that could radically change our understanding of the condition, and how to treat it.
Learn as much as I did writing my latest story! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learn as much as I did writing my latest story! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Clare Watson
I think my favorite genre of life is accidental dumb faces. #Birds like this white faced heron are experts at these. Who else has more examples? Bonus points if it's your study species! 🧪
February 1, 2024 at 10:40 PM
I think my favorite genre of life is accidental dumb faces. #Birds like this white faced heron are experts at these. Who else has more examples? Bonus points if it's your study species! 🧪
Reposted by Clare Watson
If you’re a reporter who’s been laid off, and you’ve got a great climate accountability story in the tank that you’re not going to be able to get published now, shoot me a pitch: emilyatkin (at) heated (dot) world. Let’s get your work published and let’s get you paid!
January 25, 2024 at 9:56 PM
If you’re a reporter who’s been laid off, and you’ve got a great climate accountability story in the tank that you’re not going to be able to get published now, shoot me a pitch: emilyatkin (at) heated (dot) world. Let’s get your work published and let’s get you paid!
Reposted by Clare Watson
Crabs evolved (and disappeared) multiple times over the last 250 million years. @clarewatson.bsky.social digs into a conundrum that is taxing taxonomists: buff.ly/41FKq0O
Evolution Keeps Making Crabs, And Nobody Knows Why
This is so weird.
buff.ly
January 16, 2024 at 2:14 PM
Crabs evolved (and disappeared) multiple times over the last 250 million years. @clarewatson.bsky.social digs into a conundrum that is taxing taxonomists: buff.ly/41FKq0O
Reposted by Clare Watson
Delighted to hear my paper w/ @rahmstorf.bsky.social & @naomioreskes.bsky.social, which showed Exxon predicted global warming w/ breathtaking accuracy years before it attacked climate science & scientists, was the second most talked-about climate article of 2023! www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-the...
Analysis: The climate papers most featured in the media in 2023 - Carbon Brief
Using Altmetric data, Carbon Brief has compiled a list of the 25 most talked-about climate-related papers that were published in 2023.
www.carbonbrief.org
January 11, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Delighted to hear my paper w/ @rahmstorf.bsky.social & @naomioreskes.bsky.social, which showed Exxon predicted global warming w/ breathtaking accuracy years before it attacked climate science & scientists, was the second most talked-about climate article of 2023! www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-the...
Reposted by Clare Watson
Amplifying good news in conservation!
First up, endangered western swamp turtles have survived for several years after an experimental relocation to see if they can survive south of their current range.
🐢
#climateRescue
🌏🧪
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01...
First up, endangered western swamp turtles have survived for several years after an experimental relocation to see if they can survive south of their current range.
🐢
#climateRescue
🌏🧪
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01...
'Is that a dinosaur?': One of Australia's rarest reptiles found in regional WA years after relocatio...
A WA wildlife carer says she nearly "wet her pants" with excitement, after an endangered western swamp tortoise was found on a dirt track near her home town of Northcliffe.
www.abc.net.au
January 8, 2024 at 1:10 AM
Amplifying good news in conservation!
First up, endangered western swamp turtles have survived for several years after an experimental relocation to see if they can survive south of their current range.
🐢
#climateRescue
🌏🧪
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01...
First up, endangered western swamp turtles have survived for several years after an experimental relocation to see if they can survive south of their current range.
🐢
#climateRescue
🌏🧪
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01...
Reposted by Clare Watson
2023 is truly an abnormal year in an abnormal period for the world's climate.
"Unusual" under sells what's happening.
www.theage.com.au/environment/...
"Unusual" under sells what's happening.
www.theage.com.au/environment/...
October 24, 2023 at 10:36 PM
2023 is truly an abnormal year in an abnormal period for the world's climate.
"Unusual" under sells what's happening.
www.theage.com.au/environment/...
"Unusual" under sells what's happening.
www.theage.com.au/environment/...
Reposted by Clare Watson
You have to read this. The incredible story of George Cove, an early 1900s solar energy pioneer who was KIDNAPPED and forced to abandon his work - potentially holding renewable energy back by decades. 🤯
theconversation.com/if-the-first... <- by Sugandha Srivastav.
theconversation.com/if-the-first... <- by Sugandha Srivastav.
If the first solar entrepreneur hadn't been kidnapped, would fossil fuels have dominated the 20th ce...
The 1909 incident may have cost the industry decades of progress – and the planet huge amounts of damaging carbon emissions.
theconversation.com
October 17, 2023 at 9:13 AM
You have to read this. The incredible story of George Cove, an early 1900s solar energy pioneer who was KIDNAPPED and forced to abandon his work - potentially holding renewable energy back by decades. 🤯
theconversation.com/if-the-first... <- by Sugandha Srivastav.
theconversation.com/if-the-first... <- by Sugandha Srivastav.
Reposted by Clare Watson
Spectacular finalists list for the UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing for 2023:
Jo Chandler - 'Buried treasure'
Lauren Fuge - 'Point of view'
Rebecca Giggs - 'Noiseless messengers'
Amalyah Hart - 'Model or monster'
Nicky Phillips - 'Trials of the heart'
Helen Sullivan - 'A city of islands'
Jo Chandler - 'Buried treasure'
Lauren Fuge - 'Point of view'
Rebecca Giggs - 'Noiseless messengers'
Amalyah Hart - 'Model or monster'
Nicky Phillips - 'Trials of the heart'
Helen Sullivan - 'A city of islands'
October 17, 2023 at 12:38 AM
Spectacular finalists list for the UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing for 2023:
Jo Chandler - 'Buried treasure'
Lauren Fuge - 'Point of view'
Rebecca Giggs - 'Noiseless messengers'
Amalyah Hart - 'Model or monster'
Nicky Phillips - 'Trials of the heart'
Helen Sullivan - 'A city of islands'
Jo Chandler - 'Buried treasure'
Lauren Fuge - 'Point of view'
Rebecca Giggs - 'Noiseless messengers'
Amalyah Hart - 'Model or monster'
Nicky Phillips - 'Trials of the heart'
Helen Sullivan - 'A city of islands'
I've jumped into writing math & physics stories lately, and it's been a lot of fun!
Turns out there's an element of number theory in genetic errors; a strange link between zebra stripes and sperm; and ultracold atoms can react as one! @sciencealert.bsky.social
www.sciencealert.com/scientists-d...
Turns out there's an element of number theory in genetic errors; a strange link between zebra stripes and sperm; and ultracold atoms can react as one! @sciencealert.bsky.social
www.sciencealert.com/scientists-d...
Scientists Discover 'Pure Math' Is Written Into Evolutionary Genetics
Nature at its beautiful best.
www.sciencealert.com
October 6, 2023 at 3:37 AM
I've jumped into writing math & physics stories lately, and it's been a lot of fun!
Turns out there's an element of number theory in genetic errors; a strange link between zebra stripes and sperm; and ultracold atoms can react as one! @sciencealert.bsky.social
www.sciencealert.com/scientists-d...
Turns out there's an element of number theory in genetic errors; a strange link between zebra stripes and sperm; and ultracold atoms can react as one! @sciencealert.bsky.social
www.sciencealert.com/scientists-d...