Lisa Grossman

Actual lol, thank you for that

Calls to restart nuclear weapons tests stir dismay and debate among scientists Many scientists say “subcritical” experiments and computer simulations make nuclear weapons testing unnecessary.

The first nuclear explosion, called the Trinity test, was set off 80 years ago today in New Mexico. Since then, more than 2,000 nuclear explosions have rattled the globe, and a renewed interested has stirred dismay among scientists.

Assigned Media Assigned Media is your independent trans news source.

Assigned Media is doing cool, exciting, innovating journalism. We're a group of trans journalists and we're dedicated to serving our community.

Our most recent project is short video. Follow us on TikTok:

www.tiktok.com/@assignedmedia

or YouTube:

www.youtube.com/@AssignedMedia

Adding to my list posthaste!

Ahahaha these are both so good!

This Revolutionary New Telescope Will Observe the Whole Sky Every Three Days The game-changing Vera Rubin Observatory will collect more astronomical data in its first year than all other telescopes combined

"Astronomers eager to use the Rubin Observatory frequently talk about the value of just looking at the universe. Basic research is a public good...that can provide new insight into our history while improving our shared future." @rboyle31.bsky.social 🔭🧪
www.scientificamerican.com/article/bloc...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: NASA Budget Briefing. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join The Planetary Society's Space Policy & Advocacy team for a community briefing on the FY 2026 President's Budget Request for NASA. Participants will be able to submit questions during the briefin...

The Planetary Society will provide a NASA budget briefing on Thursday, June 12, at 12pm ET! We'll answer the top-rated scientific community questions, share everything we know, and give you our expert perspective on what's going on. Register for free here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Why These Trans Teens and Their Families Risked Everything to Get Gender-Affirming Care It’s as simple as love.

When I heard the mom of a trans girl say the night her daughter came out to her was the first time she'd ever seen her child happy, I knew it was a story I needed to share.

These are the stories the public isn't hearing. An honor to get to report on 3 family's journeys for @teenvogue.com.

🧪Source request: Are you a father in academia trying your best to be an equal partner in parenting? Do you want to tell me about why you think that is important? If so, please reach out! I'll only be able to speak to 1 source (it's a short piece), but tell me about your situation & it could be you!

So my family is relocating to Minnesota this summer. Luckily, I can keep my amazing job at @sciencenews.bsky.social - I've been a remote worker here for 8 years. My colleagues who happen to live in DC should have the same freedom to move cities if they need or want to. It bugs me that they don't.

Thank you!

Tech billionaires’ vision of an AI-dominated future is flawed — and dangerous Adam Becker’s new book, More Everything Forever, investigates the dangers of a billionaire-driven tomorrow, in which trillions of humans live in space, served by AI.

I've been waiting for @adambecker.bsky.social's book "More Everything Forever" to come out for YEARS. Unfortunately its release has the best/worst possible timing. Go read it, be horrified, get motivated.
www.sciencenews.org/article/more...

A claimed hint of alien life whips up spirited debate Astronomers have a lot of thoughts about the latest paper claiming we’ve found the strongest hints of alien life yet on the distant planet K2 18b.

Nice write-up of the exoplanet biosignature news this week from @astrolisa.bsky.social. A 3-sigma result is basically the scientific equivalent of an invitation to take a closer look www.sciencenews.org/article/alie...

A claimed hint of alien life whips up spirited debate Astronomers have a lot of thoughts about the latest paper claiming we’ve found the strongest hints of alien life yet on the distant planet K2 18b.

If you want to understand the headlines this week about “possible signs of life” on an exoplanet, I ask you to trust the astronomy journalists. Read @astrolisa.bsky.social with this great explainer

www.sciencenews.org/article/alie...

Thanks Becky!

A claimed hint of alien life whips up spirited debate Astronomers have a lot of thoughts about the latest paper claiming we’ve found the strongest hints of alien life yet on the distant planet K2 18b.

There may not ever be a moment when scientists definitively declare they’ve found alien life. Detections will probably trickle out like this one has... There will probably always be room for doubt. 🧪🔭
www.sciencenews.org/article/alie...

Thoughts_vfinal7_smh_thisone

I will always be extra skeptical of sulfur bearing species. There has been substantially less lab work done on them for a variety of reasons. They are sticky and corrosive so you often needed dedicated setups. And the precursors are toxic.

Ok one more thing. If it is DMS that’s really neat. We have a bunch of unanswered questions about DMS on Earth and being able to study it in another atmosphere might help us learn more about our own planet.

There. Write that story. No sensationalism needed.

If you are looking for life ONLY with chemical signatures, you need to have an incredible understanding of the abiotic background. An understanding that we do not even have for deep time on Earth even with all of the access and laboratory tools we current have.

A few weeks ago I was at Carnegie for an excellent workshop on the “abiotic background”.

Chemistry is happening everywhere, all over the universe. It makes all different kinds of molecules. This is good. This led to life eventually.

It’s also bad. It makes looking for life hard.

Fun details in this thread 🧪🔭

A NASA rover finally found Mars’ missing carbon The Curiosity rover identified hidden caches of the mineral siderite, which could help explain why Mars lost its habitable climate.

Meanwhile on Mars, another story of surprising spectra: 🧪🔭
www.sciencenews.org/article/nasa...

Yes, please clone me, I can't keep up with everything as it is 😅

Why Do So Many Astronomy Discoveries Fail to Live Up to the Hype? "Breakthroughs" come along regularly but often don't hold up under scrutiny — and they could undermine trust in science.

2/2 ...let's re-visit my @undark.org feature from a few years ago, on how and why #astronomy / #space stories so often lead us into the hype-o-sphere: undark.org/2021/01/18/a... #science

Why just being in the habitable zone doesn’t make exoplanets livable A reignited debate over whether a new planet is habitable highlights the difficult science of seeking alien life.

I have A Lot Of Thoughts about this K2 18b signs of life thing (and about the way that claim was communicated to the press and the public) but it looks like I already said many of them, five years ago, after another outsized claim about this same dang planet 🧪🔭
www.sciencenews.org/article/why-...

Feeling v conflicted about this launch🧪
Inner scientist: space shouldn't be the playground of the rich & famous ☹️
Inner kid: 🥳
Inner geek: An 11min journey 100km up does not make you an astronaut 😠
Inner feminist: powerful successful women showing the bravery and riches usually associated with men 🙆‍♀️

Our deputy managing editor Cassie and her baby with an important message 💛 @cassiemartin.bsky.social #faircontractnow @wbng.org @sciencenews.bsky.social @snexplores.bsky.social

Science News’ editorial assistant Aina with an awesome sign 😍❤️🌈 @wbng.org @sciencenews.bsky.social @snexplores.bsky.social #unionstrong

My former coworkers at @sn-media-guild.bsky.social held a rally as they fight for a fair contract today! The wonderful science journalism that comes out of @sciencenews.bsky.social and @snexplores.bsky.social wouldn’t be possible without these folks.

More support coming in from our remote workers, this time all the way from Oregon! ✊