Humberto Basilio

Always thankful for all the advice you gave me @theopennotebook.bsky.social ❤️

This Fossil Is Rewriting the Story of How Plants Spread across the Planet An enigmatic group of fossil organisms has finally been identified—and is changing the story of how plants took root on land

Scientists have a whole new understanding of how the overlooked lichen helped plants turn Earth's land green. Which means, ahem! Please lichen subscribe to our excellent news stories!!! 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...

The CDC Is Ending its Monkey Research Program. Here's Why That Matters The decision to end the program will affect studies involving some 200 macaques, with the fate of the animals unclear

The CDC is reportedly ending its monkey research program. The decision will impact infectious disease studies, and the fate of 200-or-so monkeys remains unclear.

New on @sciam.bsky.social

www.scientificamerican.com/article/cdc-...

Iran's Capital Is Moving. The Reason is an Ecological Catastrophe The move is partly driven by climate change, but experts say decades of human error and action are also to blame

🚨NEW: Iran will move its capital due to an ecological catastrophe. Experts warn the move won’t help the nearly 10 million people living in Tehran, who will continue to face the impacts of corruption and climate change.

“We saw this coming,” one source told me.

My story @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

CDC Vaccine Website Promotes Anti-Science Claims of Autism Ties The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence

The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence

Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health The National Institutes of Health has canceled funding for at least 383 clinical trials in the last year, affecting some 74,000 participants

Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health

www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...

Sickle cell disease, sleep disorders and lung cancer & much more

A dive into the list of NIH's 383 shelved clinical trials, obtained by Scientific American

CDC Vaccine Website Promotes Anti-Science Claims of Autism Ties The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence

🚨The CDC quietly revised its vaccine website to echoe vaccine–autism claims promoted by RFK Jr.

“It’s a tragedy,” a source told me. “The change signals that truth carries no weight in current or future discussions about vaccines.”

My latest with comment from @ameracadpeds.bsky.social 🧪

Massive Study Finds No Link Between Fluoride in Tap Water and Lower Child IQ Researchers tracked thousands of Americans for decades, finding no links between ingesting recommended levels of fluoride and lower cognitive skills

🚨NEW: A massive new study found no link between exposure to recommended levels of fluoride and IQ decline in children. Over the past year, Health Secretary RFK Junior has claimed that fluoride causes IQ loss, neuro disorders and bone cancer, among other issues.

My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

North America May Soon No Longer Be Officially Measles-Free, Experts Say A meeting of the Pan American Health Organization this week will address the resurgence of measles in the Americas

The U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status in January, if current outbreaks in Utah and Arizona aren't brought under control. @sipappas.bsky.social recently wrote about what that would mean for @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/meas...

A Frozen Woolly Mammoth Reveals the World’s Oldest RNA RNA has been extracted from an ancient woolly mammoth, providing insight into its last moments on Earth

More really cool science news: Scientists have extracted the oldest known RNA!

This is a particularly amazing feat because RNA degrades very quickly. (Also, we learned that Yuka here was a male, not a female as previously thought.) 🧪

(by @humbertobasilio.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social)

Jeffrey Epstein E-mails Reveal Depth of Ties to High-Profile Scientists A trove of e-mails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released by a congressional committee on Wednesday

🚨 Newly released emails show that Jeffrey Epstein had ties to prominent scientists and academics — including physicist Lawrence Krauss, who has been accused of sexual misconduct. Other names are Lawrence Summers and Noam Chomsky.

@danvergano.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)—aka the “mono” virus—can also trigger Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MECFS) and is a risk factor for Multiple Sclerosis.

COVID-19 infection is one of the things that can trigger the reactivation of EBV (others include mold or mycotoxin exposure).

The Virus That Causes Mono May Also Cause Lupus Early findings indicate that Epstein-Barr Virus may also cause the autoimmune disease lupus

🦠NEW: Scientists just confirmed that the “Mono” virus can trigger and sustain lupus — something researchers had suspected for decades, but only based on anecdotal evidence.

My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

IEA Now Predicts Oil and Gas Demand To Rise Beyond 2030, Departing From Previous Forecasts The IEA said weak climate action and energy security fears are effectively delaying peak fossil fuels consumption

🚨BREAKING: Contrary to previous forecasts, the International Energy Agency now says global demand for oil and gas will keep rising until 2025.

Weak climate action and energy security fears are driving the surge.

My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

🚨UPDATE: China is getting ready to bring its astronauts back to Earth. In my latest for @sciam.bsky.social I explain what that could look like:

The Americas Are No Longer Officially Measles-Free Canada lost its official measles elimination status after a year of continuous transmission

Canada lost its official measles elimination status after a year of continuous transmission

The Americas Are No Longer Officially Measles-Free Canada lost its official measles elimination status after a year of continuous transmission

🚨 BREAKING: Canada has lost its measles-free status after a year of continuous transmission — meaning the Americas region is no longer measles-free.

What does this mean?

My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

A Piece of Space Junk Hit Their Ride Home. What Does This Mean for Space Exploration? Three Chinese astronauts will likely return safely to Earth after a reported space-junk strike. But the incident highlights the growing risk of orbital debris

🚨Three Chinese astronauts couldn’t return to Earth after space junk hit their spacecraft. Scientists warn this could be just the first of more accidents caused by orbital debris.

The situation is concerning. “There are a lot of people up there,” one source told me.

My story @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

Heck, I'd take a two-bedroom at 1,080 square feet.

This Cave Holds a Spider Web “Megacity” the Size of Half a Tennis Court The finding is the first documented case of colonial behavior between two solitary species

Scientists found the world’s largest spiderweb inside a sulfur cave on the Albania–Greece border. It’s about half the size of a tennis court—or, you know, a pretty decent studio apartment in Manhattan 🕷️ 🕸️

My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

www.scientificamerican.com/article/worl...

There’s a Monumental Cosmic Map Hidden beneath Mexico’s Oldest Maya Site Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a ritual-based site that may have been built long before the rise of Maya rulers

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a ritual-based site that may have been built long before the rise of Maya rulers

There’s a Monumental Cosmic Map Hidden beneath Mexico’s Oldest Maya Site Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a ritual-based site that may have been built long before the rise of Maya rulers

Last week I traveled across southern Mexico, visiting several Maya archaeological sites. Just when you think the pyramids rising from the jungle are the most impressive sight, archaeologists uncover something even as extraordinary underground

My story for @sciam.bsky.social 🧪

There’s a Monumental Cosmic Map Hidden beneath Mexico’s Oldest Maya Site Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a ritual-based site that may have been built long before the rise of Maya rulers

www.scientificamerican.com/article/arch... "Archaeologists Uncover a Monumental Ancient Maya Map of the Cosmos" -- exciting news from Aguada Fénix, Tabasco! 🏺

FDA Questions Safety of Aluminum in Vaccines. Here's What the Science Says The FDA wants to reevaluate the use of aluminum adjuvants despite a long record of safe use in vaccines

My interview with @humbertobasilio.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social

www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

FDA Questions Safety of Aluminum in Vaccines. Here's What the Science Says The FDA wants to reevaluate the use of aluminum adjuvants despite a long record of safe use in vaccines

Trump's FDA wants to study the safety of aluminum in vaccines, despite decades of evidence showing it's not only safe but also essential to the efficacy of many vaccines. By @humbertobasilio.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

CDC Firings Are ‘Intentional Attack on the American People,’ Ex-Employees Say A quarter of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff is gone after the Trump administration’s latest reductions in force and earlier layoffs

A quarter of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff is gone after the Trump administration’s latest reductions in force and earlier layoffs

Stories by Humberto Basilio Humberto Basilio is a Mexican science journalist covering policy, health, misconduct, archaeology and the environment. His work has been published in the New York Times, National Geographic, Science, ...

Hi Dani! I'm a news reporter for Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com/author/humbe...) I'd love to be added to the Science feed. Thanks so much!

In a First, Pig Liver Helped a Cancer Patient Survive for More Than a Month Surgeons in China transplanted part of pig liver into a patient with an incurable cancerous tumor, and it functioned for more than a month

Surgeons in China transplanted part of pig liver into a patient with an incurable cancerous tumor, and it functioned for more than a month

These Bacteria Invented Their Own Vaccines—Using Viruses New research shows how microbes use napping viruses to vaccinate themselves

New research shows how microbes use napping viruses to vaccinate themselves

The Eclipse Turned Day to Night—And the Birds Went Quiet The “Great North American Eclipse” of April 2024 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study how birds and other wildlife respond to total solar eclipses

The “Great North American Eclipse” of April 2024 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study how birds and other wildlife respond to total solar eclipses