Frank Swain
@frank-swain.bsky.social
Freelance science writer | Managing Editor at CORDIS | frankswain.com
A very telling word in this BBC article on the latest vibes-based UPF field; what does it mean to have 'good' in a food? What is the unit of good? Is UPF simply a moralising frame of food choices? (yes)
November 19, 2025 at 2:37 PM
A very telling word in this BBC article on the latest vibes-based UPF field; what does it mean to have 'good' in a food? What is the unit of good? Is UPF simply a moralising frame of food choices? (yes)
Great work by @rowhoop.bsky.social, pictured here in the studio
November 16, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Great work by @rowhoop.bsky.social, pictured here in the studio
The EU experienced its worst fire season on record in 2025 - over a million ha burned, most of it in Iberia. I mapped every fire on the peninsula over the summer, using viirs satellite data.
October 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
The EU experienced its worst fire season on record in 2025 - over a million ha burned, most of it in Iberia. I mapped every fire on the peninsula over the summer, using viirs satellite data.
Can any geologists tell me why the earthquake in Afghanistan has this interesting shakemap? Why the concentric circle at the edge - why isn't the amount of shaking a straight linear relationship to the epicentre?
September 2, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Can any geologists tell me why the earthquake in Afghanistan has this interesting shakemap? Why the concentric circle at the edge - why isn't the amount of shaking a straight linear relationship to the epicentre?
Latest figures are in
August 19, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Latest figures are in
2025 is on track to be the worst year for wildfires in Europe in over a decade (perhaps worst on record). Climate change is deadly real.
August 19, 2025 at 10:17 AM
2025 is on track to be the worst year for wildfires in Europe in over a decade (perhaps worst on record). Climate change is deadly real.
Checking on the European Wildfire Map: took me a moment to realise what happened in Northern Ireland last week 👀
July 15, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Checking on the European Wildfire Map: took me a moment to realise what happened in Northern Ireland last week 👀
who had "the ground is exploding" on their climate crisis bingo card?
July 4, 2025 at 7:21 AM
who had "the ground is exploding" on their climate crisis bingo card?
However, ground moisture conditions are just one element of fire risk, and not enough to predict long-term fire danger. EFFIS weekly forecasts are publicly available: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and...
June 26, 2025 at 8:49 AM
However, ground moisture conditions are just one element of fire risk, and not enough to predict long-term fire danger. EFFIS weekly forecasts are publicly available: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and...
The summer ahead could be bad for fires, with much of central and eastern Europe under drought conditions joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/european-and...
June 26, 2025 at 8:46 AM
The summer ahead could be bad for fires, with much of central and eastern Europe under drought conditions joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/european-and...
I just donated to Wikipedia, a last bastion of verifiable, human-written knowledge online. They didn't rip-off millions of writers and artists to make it. And it's free. That's got to be worth a few euros: donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ways_to...
June 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I just donated to Wikipedia, a last bastion of verifiable, human-written knowledge online. They didn't rip-off millions of writers and artists to make it. And it's free. That's got to be worth a few euros: donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ways_to...
pay attention researchers, this is how you do a scientific illustration (Chirlmin Joo at TUDelft)
May 12, 2025 at 12:41 PM
pay attention researchers, this is how you do a scientific illustration (Chirlmin Joo at TUDelft)
imagine opening your Atlantic feature with the admission that you're entirely unqualified to write on the topic. the giddying level of self-assuredness needed to write that and hit send
April 14, 2025 at 10:18 AM
imagine opening your Atlantic feature with the admission that you're entirely unqualified to write on the topic. the giddying level of self-assuredness needed to write that and hit send
friendly reminder to check your smoke alarm batteries
April 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
friendly reminder to check your smoke alarm batteries
obsessed with Jiankui He's social media form
April 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
obsessed with Jiankui He's social media form
never feel so validated as when I'm researching something so hard that google starts to wonder if I'm human
March 31, 2025 at 2:05 PM
never feel so validated as when I'm researching something so hard that google starts to wonder if I'm human
@jjaron.bsky.social told you Europe wants rocket scientists
March 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
@jjaron.bsky.social told you Europe wants rocket scientists
Finally: there's no point planning for total collapse. You will, at best, last a few days before you're in the same situation as everyone else.
March 27, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Finally: there's no point planning for total collapse. You will, at best, last a few days before you're in the same situation as everyone else.
Almost a million hectares of Ukraine burned in 2024 - more than 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 the forest fire impact of 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗨 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱. The fires were concentrated along the frontline, showing how war is driving environmental destruction. Full report: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
March 26, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Almost a million hectares of Ukraine burned in 2024 - more than 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 the forest fire impact of 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗨 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱. The fires were concentrated along the frontline, showing how war is driving environmental destruction. Full report: joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
see you and raise you
March 20, 2025 at 1:47 PM
see you and raise you
huh... so if I cut 100% of my alcohol intake, my absolute risk of alcohol-related cancer declines by just 3%? Pass the corkscrew! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
March 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
huh... so if I cut 100% of my alcohol intake, my absolute risk of alcohol-related cancer declines by just 3%? Pass the corkscrew! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
"we do not know for sure what is going on"
February 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
"we do not know for sure what is going on"