Katrina Miller

What a Signal in a Failed Star’s Clouds Means for the Search for Life

on a brown dwarf dozens of light years from us, astronomers have detected trace amounts of a molecule that, on this planet, is made by living things.

this discovery is not life. but it will help astronomers on their quest to find it elsewhere in the galaxy:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/s...

@katrinamillerphd.bsky.social is a science reporter for @nytimes.com who writes about the universe and how the pursuit of understanding it impacts society.

We asked her about covering #astronomy and #physics, shifting from research to journalism, and more: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/10...

1/ I’m Till Eckert, a ProPublica reporter. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been going to the same NY immigration courthouse.

Nearly every time, I see ICE agents arresting immigrants. Today, a woman was slammed to the ground after begging officials not to take her husband away.

Thread 👇

thank you jeanne!!

FASCINATING interview with @katrinamillerphd.bsky.social.

"I really wanted to reach people who had been let down by the education system. I tried to propose a liberal arts math class, but the university wouldn’t let me do it. So I thought, well, I guess I’ll write it." @dreugeniacheng.bsky.social

The Baby Died. Whose Fault Is It? When her son died in utero, a venture capitalist went to extremes to punish her surrogate.

Surrogate pregnancies are increasingly popular in tech circles, and the practice is expected to explode globally in the coming decade. It’s also shockingly unregulated. This is a story about what happens when it goes horribly wrong.

Quakes on Mars Reveal New Features of the Planet’s Interior

the dust-choked solar panels on NASA’s InSight lander prevented further operations in 2022. but the mission’s data continues to reveal new information about Mars, lately how its insides are both like & unlike Earth:

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/s...

You Don’t Need to Be Good at Math to Enjoy It

“I want people to be able to gaze at math,” she said. “You can still enjoy music, even if you can’t play.”

@dreugeniacheng.bsky.social spoke with me about her mission to bring math to the masses & the inspo behind her new book, Unequal:

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/s...

Page One.

@chicago.suntimes.com

Scientists Find a Quadruple Star System in Our Cosmic Backyard

astronomers discovered a quadruple star system: a brown dwarf dancing around another, locked in orbit with two brighter stars also circling each other 💫 the universe is so cool.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/s...

Say Goodbye to Juno, NASA’s Groundbreaking Mission to Jupiter The Juno spacecraft has rewritten the story on Jupiter, the solar system’s undisputed heavyweight

NEW: The White House wants to kill off Juno, NASA's mission to uncover Jupiter's secrets. Fortunately, its legacy is clear.

Juno's a scientist, but also an artist: it revealed Jupiter as a living van Gogh painting hanging in the sky.

Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Uranus Was Hiding a Moon Outside Its Rings

astronomers on tuesday announced that my favorite planet has a new moon! 🌌

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/s...

Trump order gives political appointees vast powers over research grants Researchers are alarmed that the move might upend a long-standing tradition of peer-review for grants.

There are a lot of details in yesterday's sweeping executive order, but the bottom line is that it gives political appointees immense power over scientific grants, which have until now been stewarded by career civil servants and experts.

My reporting:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A Voyage to Bring Norway’s Lighthouses Into the 21st Century More than 2,000 navigational beacons, big and small, oversee the nation’s 60,000-mile-long coast. Now they need an upgrade.

I learned a lot about Fresnel lenses for this amazing series of lighthouse photographs by Michal Siarek: nyti.ms/41qkFCN

oh thank you!

thank you!

Breaking: NSF is suspending roughly 300 grants with UCLA, following a DOJ finding on Tuesday that the university violated Title VI by "creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students."

Judge Declines to Order Trump Administration to Restore Research Cuts

a federal judge ruled against an order that would restore all of the funding terminated by the NSF. some context here:

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/n...

In 1976, Gaillard, Ellis, & Ross published a paper explaining how to search for gluons (then only theoretical) in e+e- collisions.

In 1979 gluons were discovered at DESY using their method.

"Dr. Gaillard left CERN in 1981 after she was passed over for a senior staff position."

This is definitely worth reading

Mary K. Gaillard, 86, Physicist Who Probed the Subatomic Universe, Dies

Mary K Gaillard, a theorist who had a knack for telling experimental physicists where to look, died in her home on May 23 at 86.

Dr. Gaillard was an unpaid scientist at CERN for more than a decade, & the first woman physicist hired & tenured at Berkeley:

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/s...

After Devastating Winter Losses, Another Threat Looms for U.S. Beekeepers

honeybees are harmed by a combination of factors: unpredictable weather, habitat loss, pesticides and disease. but another, potentially worse threat looms: Tropilaelaps, a parasite that could ravage a large part of our food supply. by me & @emilyanthes.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/s...

After Devastating Winter Losses, Another Threat Looms for U.S. Beekeepers

A good NY Times article about beekeeping, Dr. Sammy, and the Tropilaelaps mites [Gift Link]

Written by @katrinamillerphd.bsky.social and @emilyanthes.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/s...

if you are a federal or federally funded scientist interested in going on the record about losing your job and/or project funding, pls shoot me a DM. looking specifically for non-health scientists doing basic (non-applied) research. thank you!

How a Puzzle About Fractions Got Brain Scans Rolling (Gift Article) A story of bowling pins, patterns and medical miracles.

My latest for @nytimes.com -- please repost so your followers can see this for free. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How Two Neuroscientists View Optical Illusions

“We are always constructing a simulation of reality,” a neuroscientist said. “We don’t have direct access to that reality. We live inside the simulation that we create.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/s...

Few Americans pay for news when they encounter paywalls Among adults who have not paid for news in the past year, the most common reason they cite is that they can find plenty of other news articles for free.

In the past year, only 17% of Americans have paid for news, per Pew

The #1 reason they give is that the information is available free elsewhere

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

how to get in touch w me for science-related NYT coverage:

• katrina.miller@nytimes.com
• signal: katrinamiller.04

the more lead time, the better, & we love exclusives. i’m always happy to answer questions you may have about my process, how the press works, etc. before going on the record, too.

2025 NASW Diversity Summer Fellowships celebrate six trainees pursuing science writing internships The National Association of Science Writers congratulates Anna Hu, Annika Inampudi, Celina Zhao, Elizabeth Walsh, Gaea Cabico, and Pratik Pawar on receiving their 2025 NASW Diversity Summer Fellowships.

Congratulations to this year's Diversity Summer Fellows! Led by the NASW Diversity Committee, the program provides supplemental income for six trainees to pursue a chosen internship. We're excited to celebrate the fellows and wish you all many summer adventures in #SciWri.

www.nasw.org/article...

Vera Rubin Scientists Reveal Telescope’s First Images

Smile, universe! It is time for your close-up with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

by @kchang.bsky.social and @katrinamillerphd.bsky.social for the @nytimes.com 🧪🔭 #RubinFirstLook
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/s...