Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

Oxygen makes Earth special. It's seen as the secret ingredient that allowed life here to thrive. But what if it didn't?

What if oxygen actually made things a whole lot harder?

sciencespectrumu.com/why-oxygen-d...
#Scicomm #Biology #Evolution #Life #Science #Geology #ScienceCommunication #Oxygen

Why Oxygen Doesn’t Mark the Dawn of Complex Life

It was the beginning of a major new problem

sciencespectrumu.com

November 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

How many ways are there to wear a sea sponge? Check out these dolphins for some fun fashion!
#Ocean #Dolphins #Seasponge #environment #wildlife #VitaminSea
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Male dolphins spotted donning sea-sponge wigs to attract females

Scientists observe male humpback dolphins parading sea sponges on their heads to impress females off Western Australia's northern coast.

www.abc.net.au

October 30, 2025 at 12:56 AM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

90% of marine life lives where the light reaches- so what happens when it begins to fade?
sevenseasmedia.org/ocean-darken...
@sevenseas-media.bsky.social
#scicomm #ocean #climatechange #marine #conservation #marineconservation #environment #underwater #marinelife #oceanaction #saveourseas

Ocean Darkening is Causing Marine Habitats to Shrink

90% of marine life lives where the light reaches— so what happens as it begins to fade? Just below the ocean’s surface, the sun’s rays break to illuminate seemingly infinite deep blue— here, sunlight ...

sevenseasmedia.org

July 30, 2025 at 2:39 AM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

90% of marine life lives where the light reaches- so what happens when the light begins to fade?
curlews-eye.webflow.io/posts/ocean-...
#scicomm #ocean #ecology #climate #climatechange #marine #conservation #marineconservation #environment #science #underwater #marinelife #oceanaction #saveourseas

Ocean darkening is causing marine habitats to shrink

curlews-eye.webflow.io

July 17, 2025 at 10:57 PM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

Ancient walrus DNA from Arctic ivory relics holds secrets of landmark moment in human history
medium.com/illumination... #sciencecommunication #science #scicomm #AncientHistory #archaeology #Greenland #Arctic #history #walrus #ArcticTrade #arcticcircle #Genetics #biology #Humans #vikings #inuit

When and where did the first humans meet ‘full circle’ around the world?

Answers have been found within the ivory teeth of ancient walrus DNA

medium.com

May 28, 2025 at 11:19 PM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

Check out how sea sponges can uncover mysteries of the deep and help safeguard unexplored wonders of the #Ocean
www.currentconservation.org/mysteries-of...

#Scicomm #Seasponge #deepsea #conservation #sciencecommunication #eDNA #marinebiology #Porifera #sponge #CurrentConservation #Biology #coral

Mysteries of the deep sea captured by the mouth of a sponge | Current Conservation

Current Conservation Mysteries of the deep sea captured by the mouth of a sponge

www.currentconservation.org

May 17, 2025 at 12:23 AM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

Oxygen's untold story...
medium.com/write-under-...
#Poetry #Scicomm #Earth #evolution #poem #Ode #Nature #Life #Oyxgen #sciencecommunication #antioxidant #detox #verse #VerseOfTheDay #WriteUnderTheMoon

An Ode to Oxygen

The untold story

medium.com

March 19, 2025 at 10:39 PM

Reposted by Olivia Hewitt

Science Friday

@scifri.bsky.social

Scientists have discovered how to attach bioluminescence to a key piece of cellular machinery.

In today's episode, how “RNA lanterns” could help us understand how viruses and memories work.

Listen here🎧:

https://buff.ly/4aSeV8I

Researchers made “RNA lanterns” by tagging mouse RNA with the enzyme that makes fireflies glow.

February 6, 2025 at 10:15 PM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

Well this is very exciting!

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · Feb 6

Rock and dust samples brought back from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu contain organic matter, including amino acids and all five DNA and RNA nucleobases, according to two papers in Nature Astronomy and Nature.
https://go.nature.com/40SlwfF
https://go.nature.com/3CC6ZLO
🔭 🧪

This figure illustrates molecules and minerals discovered in samples of near-Earth asteroid Bennu, which were delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in September 2023. The upper left panel depicts precursor molecules like ammonia and formaldehyde, while the upper right depicts salts and clays. These early ingredients mixed with water inside the parent body to undergo chemical reactions and synthesize organic molecules, shown at bottom. The lower right panel depicts nucleobases, the genetic components of DNA and RNA, while the lower left depicts amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The Bennu samples contain all five of the nucleobases that are found in DNA and RNA, and 14 of the 20 amino acids that life uses to build proteins. Credit: NASA

February 6, 2025 at 3:50 AM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

Most of us eat too much salt that's hidden in processed foods. If food manufacturers switched to potassium salt we could all better protect our health & manufacturers still protect their profit margins with potassium-salty foods instead #Salt #SciComm #WHO #Health #processedFood #food #potassium

Why the WHO has recommended switching to a healthier salt alternative

It’s a positive step, but there will be a few challenges to realising the full benefits to public health.

theconversation.com

January 31, 2025 at 12:39 AM

Reposted by Olivia Hewitt

Prof Sam Illingworth

@samillingworth.com

Tired of being asked to be a 'Net Zero Hero'? 🦸‍♂️

My new @uk.theconversation.com article explains why focusing on individual action can distract from other climate solutions. 🌎

It's time for systemic change! ➡️

🔗 theconversation.com/you-dont-hav...

#ClimateAction #ClimateChange 🧪 #SciComm

You don’t have to be a net zero hero – how focus on personal climate action can distract from systemic problems

Shifting the blame for the climate crisis onto individuals hides the larger issue. True progress demands systemic accountability from governments and corporations.

theconversation.com

January 28, 2025 at 7:16 PM

Olivia Hewitt

@oliviahewitt.bsky.social

During Earth's last runaway global-scale pollution, there was an entire ecological shift in the biology of Life...
#scicomm #sciencecommunication #oxygen #antioxidants #freeradicals #biology #environment #evolution #Earth #pollution #climatechange #gases #chemistry

Oxygen – Earth's first great poisonous polluter

curlews-eye.webflow.io

January 23, 2025 at 11:23 PM

Reposted by Olivia Hewitt

The Guardian

@theguardian.com

Australian oysters’ blood could hold key to fighting drug-resistant superbugs, researchers find

Protein found in Sydney rock oysters’ haemolymph can kill bacteria and boost some antibiotics’ effectiveness, scientists discover * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast…

www.theguardian.com

January 20, 2025 at 9:18 PM

Reposted by Olivia Hewitt

Charles Thistlethwaite

@charlest.bsky.social

Research by Holli-Anne Passmore, an associate professor of psychology at Concordia University of Edmonton, indicates that simply noticing nature, even briefly, significantly enhances positive emotions such as joy, connectedness, hope, and gratitude.

www.cbc.ca/radio/thecur...