Robin Lloyd

Bongo Cat Hit the bongos like Bongo Cat!

sound on: bongo.cat (works nicely on computer keyboard but might work on phone keyboard too)

Resuming U.S. Nuclear Tests Would Only Help China, One Expert Says “The only countries that will really learn more if testing resumes are Russia and to a much greater extent China,” Jeffrey Lewis says

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: At least one nuclear-weapons expert (one of many, I’d reckon) is baffled by Trump’s call to “immediately” resume U.S. nuclear tests.

An enlightening convo with @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social, courtesy of @danvergano.bsky.social.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum...

What Is Burevestnik, Russia’s New Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile? Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed his nation conducted a successful flight of a nuclear-powered cruise missile. Here’s how that missile might work

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Vladimir Putin claims Russia has conducted a successful flight of a nuclear-powered cruise missile, Burevestnik. @danvergano.bsky.social explains how that missile might work—and why its existence leaves many experts perplexed. 🧪

scientificamerican.com/article/russ...

Sea Otters Are Stealing Surfboards in California. Again. Two years after Otter 841 menaced wave riders near Santa Cruz, there have been new encounters between the furry marine mammals and surfers.

Sea Otters Are Stealing Surfboards in California. Again.

There's a Dangerous Gap in Drug Research in Pregnancy Less than 1 percent of clinical trials include pregnant or breastfeeding people. Experts say that needs to change

With all the fuss over tylenol, we're missing a bigger issue: we don't know enough about medication safety in pregnancy because so few drug studies include pregnant people. And that harms both women and their fetuses. My latest @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

Bronx leaders rally against proposed $300B SNAP cut, warn of devastating local impact – Bronx Times Bronx elected officials, advocates, and farmers gathered Tuesday at the Bronx Borough Hall Food Market to denounce the Trump administration’s proposed $300 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), calling it a direct threat to low-income families across the country and particularly to residents of the Bronx.

"the impact would be especially severe in the Bronx, where nearly one-third of residents—approximately 500,000 people—depend on SNAP to afford basic groceries. Nationally, about 13% of the population relies on the program." share.google/7WshPitKGzAD... NEARLY ONE THIRD

"Conversion therapy is, for all practical purposes, no more legitimate than selling snake oil to cure cancer—and licensed professionals have no more of a legal right to provide it."

At 93 years old, LA artist who helped popularize Day of the Dead gets her first solo show L.A.’s preeminent altarista Ofelia Esparza’s work will be on display at the Vincent Price Museum from October to April.

If you are in L.A. , go see this exhibit! My friend's mother, Ofelia Esparza, is a force of nature and her art is so incredible and life-affirming.

The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

We used @sciam.bsky.social's 180th anniversary as an excuse to revisit an old favorite. Familiar with the efficiency of locomotion chart from the March 1973 issue? Here it is again, reimagined for 2025 by DTAN Studio, w/text by @parshallison.bsky.social 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

Only 1 week left to register for the annual ScienceWriters conference. More hotel rooms and more field trips! In Chicago. sciencewriters2025.org/register/

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

The science is in: COVID boosters are worth it, even if you've been vaccinated and/or infected before. Stay safe out there, friends!: 🧪 🛟 www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

This Year’s Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded to Three Scientists for Work in Quantum Mechanics John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work showing how bizarre microscopic quantum effects can infiltrate our large-scale, everyday world

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: This year’s physics Nobel goes to 3 researchers who demonstrated quantum tunneling on a superconducting chip. By bringing this microscopic effect into the macroscale world, they laid important foundations for quantum computing.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

Your daily moment of zen:

Rescued bear cubs at the Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire are given a donated pile of apples & acorns every year to fatten up before their first hibernation.

Kilham is focused on rehab & release, run by competent rehab experts.

This Year’s Medicine Nobel Goes to Discovery of Why the Body Doesn’t Attack Itself Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi shared the Nobel prize for their work on peripheral immune tolerance, a process that is key to organ transplants and treatment of autoimmune disease...

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to some neat fundamental research on the immune system: peripheral immune tolerance. It's what keeps the body's defense mechanism in check—and could be key to new therapies for autoimmune disorders. @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

Same and same! Great read on rocks.

😵‍💫😌

Listeria is a dangerous bacteria, with a 20 percent case-fatality rate. It also survives refrigeration. So if you have these meals at home, toss them now.

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

Early-bird reg. discount for ScienceWriters2025, the annual conference for science journalists and science writers, ends next Weds (Oct 1). I plan to attend SciWri, as usual. It's always great. Let's all attend to re-energize, learn, make job connex & hang out in Chicago. sciencewriters2025.org

Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis examines the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.

The @washingtonpost.com story on Tylenol & autism leaves out a MAJOR 2.5M sibling-controlled study of children in Denmark, which "found no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Want to Get Away? NASA Now Offers More Than 6,000 Alien Worlds to Daydream About It’s a crowded galaxy, the latest exoplanet tally shows

We've reached 6,000 confirmed exoplanets! I talked with @aussiastronomer.bsky.social about where things go from here. (A great graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social visualizes the amazing jumps in planet finds since the first ones were confirmed in the 1990s.)

The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage.

When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig.

Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?

Multiple choice question reading "What is the hallucinogenic compound found in 'magic mushrooms'?" Answer options are psilocybin, mescaline, dimethyltryptamine, and omeprazole.

Take my weekly science quiz for @sciam.bsky.social ! This week: psychedelics and sexual parasites www.scientificamerican.com/game/science... 🧪

This is really interesting. I learned something!

Congratulations to @maxkozlov.bsky.social for winning the 2025 Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award! The judges recognized his @nature.com investigations of turmoil at the NIH as essential, thorough and timely.

Kozlov will be honored in November at #SciWri25.

casw.org/news/max-koz...

What a heroic person! Legend. The M
Susan Lindee quote in obit is powerful: "They [women scientists] were invisible to history,” Professor Lindee added. “Their stories show us exactly how power works. That’s her real legacy.”

Her work had such an impact on me as a new graduate student. Why wasn't I being taught about any of these amazing science women? Oh. That's why.

happy skynet becomes self aware day to all who celebrate

Subscribe to Scientific American Subscribe to Scientific American Magazine

Scientific American magazine is 180 years old. To celebrate, they're offering digital subs for $18 (about half price). Offer ends 9/2.
www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/

Heads up science writers: Tomorrow 8/28 is the deadline to apply for a #SciWri25 Support Grant! Funds are available for both in-person and virtual attendees to help with travel, caregiving, and other costs. Plus: free registration.

sciencewriters2025.org/grants/