Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
@kpc.bsky.social
Physics Reporter at New Scientist. Author of ENTANGLED STATES, forthcoming from Beacon Press in May 2026. Former teacher. Vegan baker. Aspiring gym rat. Croatian in Queens. Queer.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Are you a science writer who is (or was, or wants to be) an international student and are you interested in joining an online community of science writers for skills development, networking, and support? Consider applying to join our International Student Slack. It’s free! 🧪
International Students Slack Community - The Open Notebook
The Open Notebook's International Students Slack community is for science writers who are current, past, or aspiring international students to share information and advice about university application...
www.theopennotebook.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Are you a science writer who is (or was, or wants to be) an international student and are you interested in joining an online community of science writers for skills development, networking, and support? Consider applying to join our International Student Slack. It’s free! 🧪
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
![4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiby6can6k76yzfmv2czxs4pu2l7zie7bqbrpswi7h3ifmiadkuqvu@jpeg)
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
A new #letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Committee on #Science, #Space, and #Technology, demands #NASA stop any closures of the #Goddard #spaceflight Center in #Maryland. The letter references our own Space.com #investigation done by spaceflight #writer @joshdinner.bky
November 11, 2025 at 9:01 PM
A new #letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Committee on #Science, #Space, and #Technology, demands #NASA stop any closures of the #Goddard #spaceflight Center in #Maryland. The letter references our own Space.com #investigation done by spaceflight #writer @joshdinner.bky
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
It’s almost as if the narratives we are constantly fed about the humanities and fine arts aren’t true 🤷🏻♂️
#SarcasmAlarm
#SarcasmAlarm
Arts and culture attendance in Colorado far outpaces attendance of Rockies, Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche and Rapids events.
Colorado’s cultural sector is so successful, it attracts 3 times more attendees than pro sports teams combined
Arts and culture attendance in Colorado far outpaces attendance of Rockies, Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche and Rapids events.
www.cpr.org
November 6, 2025 at 9:25 PM
It’s almost as if the narratives we are constantly fed about the humanities and fine arts aren’t true 🤷🏻♂️
#SarcasmAlarm
#SarcasmAlarm
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Beshear: Let me be clear. The president has both the funding and the authority to fund snap during a shutdown. In fact, every other president in every other shutdown has done so. People going hungry in this instance is a choice that this president has made.
November 5, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Beshear: Let me be clear. The president has both the funding and the authority to fund snap during a shutdown. In fact, every other president in every other shutdown has done so. People going hungry in this instance is a choice that this president has made.
I was at a drone metal show when the NYC election was called and briefly felt like I'd left my body. Mamdani is my age, another immigrant, someone who actually likes New York, a person that feels familiar and attuned to the greatness + promise of our city. Folks turning out for him is so hopeful!
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I was at a drone metal show when the NYC election was called and briefly felt like I'd left my body. Mamdani is my age, another immigrant, someone who actually likes New York, a person that feels familiar and attuned to the greatness + promise of our city. Folks turning out for him is so hopeful!
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
i love new york city. many people are weird about it but it’s a special place. and i’m very relieved that we did not allow a politics of despair to get a foothold
November 5, 2025 at 3:47 AM
i love new york city. many people are weird about it but it’s a special place. and i’m very relieved that we did not allow a politics of despair to get a foothold
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
The biggest difference by far watching the various campaigns as a New Yorker and all of the messaging we were targeted with I think is an important takeaway for the whole country:
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 AM
The biggest difference by far watching the various campaigns as a New Yorker and all of the messaging we were targeted with I think is an important takeaway for the whole country:
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
Cuomo’s entire message was threats and fear and cynicism.
Mamdani’s entire message was lightness and joy and hope.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Earle-Sears ran what felt like 12 billion ads about how much she hated trans kids and I didn’t hear a single pundit say she should stick to real issues that affect real people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Abigail Spanberger wins Virginia governor’s race.
November 5, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Earle-Sears ran what felt like 12 billion ads about how much she hated trans kids and I didn’t hear a single pundit say she should stick to real issues that affect real people.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
if you want to know what happened to Teen Vogue yesterday, my work wife @allegrak.bsky.social — who ran our politics section for 6 years until this past June — said it all in this.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
What We Lost When Condé Nast Unceremoniously Shuttered Teen Vogue
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:14 PM
if you want to know what happened to Teen Vogue yesterday, my work wife @allegrak.bsky.social — who ran our politics section for 6 years until this past June — said it all in this.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Senior Social Media Manager
www.sciencefriday.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:24 PM
In my personal newsletter this week I think back on a period in my teens when I was very religious and how that may have influenced my view of science later ultracold.substack.com/p/the-view-f...
The View From Nowhere
Has my religious youth helped me embrace science later on?
ultracold.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:59 PM
In my personal newsletter this week I think back on a period in my teens when I was very religious and how that may have influenced my view of science later ultracold.substack.com/p/the-view-f...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
October 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Throughout the year, the US government has gut staff running crucial public health surveys. These datasets track births, deaths, diet and drug use, forming the foundation of most public health policy. Without them, the public health system will be flying blind. www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
US public health system is flying blind after major cuts
The Trump administration has laid off government workers integral to major public health surveys, meaning the country will lack crucial information on births, deaths and illnesses nationwide
www.newscientist.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Throughout the year, the US government has gut staff running crucial public health surveys. These datasets track births, deaths, diet and drug use, forming the foundation of most public health policy. Without them, the public health system will be flying blind. www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
centrists will tell you to your face that we all need to abandon identity issues, and focus on kitchen table issues instead and yet when a leftist candidate runs a generational campaign based on kitchen table issues, it's the centrists weaponizing identity politics to smear the leftist.
October 28, 2025 at 12:08 AM
centrists will tell you to your face that we all need to abandon identity issues, and focus on kitchen table issues instead and yet when a leftist candidate runs a generational campaign based on kitchen table issues, it's the centrists weaponizing identity politics to smear the leftist.
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
October 27, 2025 at 11:54 PM
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In my personal letter this week I watch a film that I actively avoided for 20+ years and it teaches me lessons about everything but math ultracold.substack.com/p/relational...
Relational Quantum Mechanics
On watching a film that I feared for years
ultracold.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM
In my personal letter this week I watch a film that I actively avoided for 20+ years and it teaches me lessons about everything but math ultracold.substack.com/p/relational...
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
"Companies including IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum are discussing the government becoming a shareholder as part of agreements to get funding earmarked for promising technology companies, according to people familiar with the matter."
Exclusive | Trump Administration in Talks to Take Equity Stakes in Quantum-Computing Firms
The discussions signal Washington’s wider involvement in critical parts of the economy.
www.wsj.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:49 AM
"Companies including IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum are discussing the government becoming a shareholder as part of agreements to get funding earmarked for promising technology companies, according to people familiar with the matter."
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
And @lizziegibney.bsky.social on the merits of Google's quantum advantage claim:
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 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
And @lizziegibney.bsky.social on the merits of Google's quantum advantage claim:
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
For more focus on the potential NMR applications, @kpc.bsky.social wrote a very nice piece:
Google says its quantum computer can reveal the structure of molecules
A new quantum computing protocol may be able to augment a standard technique for understanding molecules in chemistry, biomedicine and materials science
www.newscientist.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:56 PM
For more focus on the potential NMR applications, @kpc.bsky.social wrote a very nice piece:
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
"[S]cramble, butterfly, unscramble, scramble, butterfly, unscramble" might sound like instructions for potion that also uses 'eye of newt'.
In fact, the recipe is what Google used to measure the chaotic spread of information on its quantum computer, Willow.
Some words from me:
In fact, the recipe is what Google used to measure the chaotic spread of information on its quantum computer, Willow.
Some words from me:
‘Quantum Echoes’ on Google’s Willow Chip Hint at Future Breakthroughs
“Quantum echoes” rippling through Google’s quantum computer chip Willow could lead to advances in molecular chemistry and the physics of black holes
www.scientificamerican.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:53 PM
"[S]cramble, butterfly, unscramble, scramble, butterfly, unscramble" might sound like instructions for potion that also uses 'eye of newt'.
In fact, the recipe is what Google used to measure the chaotic spread of information on its quantum computer, Willow.
Some words from me:
In fact, the recipe is what Google used to measure the chaotic spread of information on its quantum computer, Willow.
Some words from me:
Reposted by Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them)
Many of the signs of perimenopause can also be symptoms of other conditions, and some of these get increasingly dangerous if they’re misdiagnosed
Everything is perimenopause now – but what if it’s not?
Many of the signs of perimenopause can also be symptoms of other conditions, and some of these get increasingly dangerous if they’re misdiagnosed
www.newscientist.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Many of the signs of perimenopause can also be symptoms of other conditions, and some of these get increasingly dangerous if they’re misdiagnosed