Gemma Conroy

Which diseases will you have in 20 years? This AI accurately predicts your risks A modified large language model called Delphi-2M analyses a person’s medical records and lifestyle to provide risk estimates for more than 1,000 diseases.

Want to know what your disease risk will look like decades from now? This new AI tool has the answer. My latest for @nature.com 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

People’s brains aged faster during the COVID pandemic — even the uninfected Study of nearly 1,000 people showed that brain ageing was not linked to infection status, but cognitive decline was.

The pandemic seemed to age people’s brains faster, but cognition only worsened in those who had an infection. My latest for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory The decision means that the US biomedical agency has to restore funding to hundreds of research projects, but the government will likely appeal.

After ruling the NIH grant cuts were illegal yesterday, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee on the bench since 1985, ended the hearing with a blistering 15-minute speech.

I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵

Clever Cockatoos Have Figured Out How to Drink From Water Fountains

While the world falls apart, a bunch of cockatoos have figured out how to use drinking fountains. My latest for @nytimes.com 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/s...

Mice grow bigger brains when given this stretch of human DNA Finding adds to the bigger picture of how humans developed such large brains.

When given a certain human enhancer, mice grow bigger brains than usual. This offers one possible explanation for why humans evolved such large brains. My latest for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘I don’t have the bandwidth’: how to juggle dating alongside a PhD Is lasting love more likely if you date only other scientists? How much should you talk about your research on a first date? Researchers lift the lid on their experiences of when science meets affairs...

Can you find love at the lab bench? Should you mention your research on y our dating profile? I spoke to science PhDs about their dating experiences. My latest for @nature.com 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Cells are swapping their mitochondria. What does this mean for our health? Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.

Ah yes, mitochondria. They don’t really go anywhere right? Wrong. Researchers have been seeing these tiny energy factories move between cells, which could have implications for our health. We might even harness this process to treat disease. My latest for @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

‘I was told to toughen up’: is academia getting resilience all wrong? Being repeatedly told to bounce back and develop a thicker skin can mask a toxic lab culture.

Resilience can only be a good thing right? Not when ‘toughing it out’ means enduring a toxic culture. My latest for @nature.com 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Scientists will not be silenced’: thousands protest Trump research cuts Researchers at Stand Up for Science rallies voice defiance against the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration.

🚨🧪 We’ve been talking to scientists at rallies today across the country in DC, Boston, Seattle, and NJ. Here’s why scientists are “Dismayed, depressed, disgusted” and what they’re doing about it

🧵 ⤵️ for more
#StandUpforScience #StandUpforScience2025
@nature.com

US universities curtail PhD admissions amid Trump science funding cuts Nature talks to prospective students left in limbo as some institutes withdraw offers and put applications on hold.

“If we don’t get this hiring freeze lifted...the impact will be felt by the American people in the form of delayed treatments and therapies for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease."

The latest on the dismantling of US science, from @dangaristo.bsky.social

China research on next-generation computer chips is double the US output Leading efforts in fields such as optical physics could stymie US export controls designed to stifle the country’s microchip industry.

China is leading the world in research into new kinds of computing chips, data from @csetgeorgetown.bsky.social suggests. If the research can be commercialised, the US won't be able to use export controls to hold back Chinese AI. My story here: www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪🤖

Record-breaking neutrino is most energetic ever detected Although still under construction, the sea-floor KM3NeT detector spotted a neutrino 20 times more powerful than any previously detected.

"We had to convince ourselves that it wasn’t something strange or weird with the telescope”
How @km3net.bsky.social discovered the most energetic neutrino ever (a mini 🧵)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Despair is not an option’ — how scientists can help protect federal research Government scientists in the US must be clear-eyed and continue to serve the public.

"The scientific community must be clear-eyed about the path ahead." - Gretchen Goldman of @ucsusa.bsky.social on Trump 2.0 in @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How China created AI model DeepSeek and shocked the world Government policies, generous funding and a pipeline of AI graduates have helped Chinese firms create advanced LLMs.

DeepSeek has taken the tech world by storm. Here’s how the little-known Chinese startup did it. My latest with @smritimallapaty.bsky.social and @lizziegibney.bsky.social 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Do I need to lead this lifestyle to succeed?’ The mental health crises that forced faculty members to change tack The pressures faced by lab leaders to be excellent researchers, teachers, managers, accountants and mentors can exact a heavy toll.

Latest from the Nature Careers Podcast 🔊 ‘Do I need to lead this lifestyle to succeed?’ The mental health crises that forced faculty members to change tack

https://go.nature.com/3Wzdi9P

‘Never seen anything like this’: Trump’s team halts NIH meetings and travel In an unprecedented move, research-grant reviews have been suspended indefinitely at the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research.

‘Never seen anything like this’: Trump’s team halts NIH meetings and travel

In an unprecedented move, research-grant reviews have been suspended indefinitely at the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research.
#AcademicSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Gemma Conroy | Science Journalist I’m a freelance science journalist based in Sydney, Australia.I have written stories for The New York Times, Nature, Scientific American, New Scientist, Smithsonian, Hakai Magazine, Audubon, among oth...

Hi Dani, I’m a freelance reporter for Nature. I’d love to be added to the science feed. Here is my website gemmaconroy.com thanks!

Retractions caused by honest mistakes are extremely stressful, say researchers A survey highlights the emotional toll of retractions for authors and what could be done differently.

Not all retractions happen because of dodgy practices. Researchers whose papers are retracted due to an honest mistake often find the ordeal extremely stressful. My latest for @nature.com 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll The research community has flocked to the social-media platform Bluesky. Tell us about your experience.

My first post on Bluesky is about .... Bluesky. Tell us why you use it? Has it replaced X for you? What do you miss about X?

🧪

Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll The research community has flocked to the social-media platform Bluesky. Tell us about your experience.

Nature is keen to find out how scientists are using Bluesky and whether it has become their go-to soc media platform. Do you use Bluesky? Has it replaced X for you? Tell us about it: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A Woman With a Rare Gene Mutation Fights to Avoid Her Mother’s Fate A mutant gene is coming to steal Linde Jacobs’s mind. Can she find a way to stop it?

Linde Jacobs’s mother died after a genetic mutation gradually laid waste to her brain. Now the same gene is coming for her own mind. Can she find a way to stop it?

Humans evolved for distance running – but ancestor ‘Lucy’ didn’t go far or fast 3D models of Australopithecus afarensis suggest the muscular adaptations that made modern humans better runners.

It turns out ‘Lucy’ could run on two legs, but she was no match for modern humans. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

First sighting of ‘neutrino fog’ sparks excitement – but is it bad news for dark matter? Ultra-sensitive detectors have observed neutrinos from the Sun, whose signals mimic those expected to be produced by elusive dark matter.

Scientists have glimpsed the first signs of the ‘neutrino fog’. Is this the beginning of the end for dark matter experiments?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Governments are banning kids from social media: will that protect them from harm? Australia is the latest nation to introduce restrictions, but evidence about whether they will work is limited.

Australia has banned social media for kids under 16. Other governments are considering similar measures. What’s the evidence these bans will work? www.nature.com/articles/d41...