Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists find a planet from the Avatar movies in real life One of the brightest stars in the night sky seems to be orbited by a planet like Jupiter. The news is sure to cheer fans of the Avatar series, which centers on a moon that orbits a fictional gas giant...

Are you a fan of the Avatar movies? Well, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have just made a possible discovery that is right up your alley: a possible gas giant planet orbiting the nearby Sun-like star Alpha Centauri A
www.npr.org/2025/08/07/n...

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

Plans are being made to shut down the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor planet-warming greenhouse gases -- new reporting from my colleague Rebecca Hersher ‪@rhersher.bsky.social‬
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...

It was 10 years ago today that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto, marking the first visit to the beloved dwarf planet. Here it is with its buddy Charon. It's a good day to reread my friend Tim Kreider's NYT essay "I❤️Pluto" www.nytimes.com/2006/08/23/o...

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's first images are stunning — and just the start The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released some of its first images. Its powerful new telescope will be able to quickly spot previously unseen astronomical objects.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released some of its first images. Its powerful new telescope will be able to quickly spot previously unseen astronomical objects. https://n.pr/405DN8P

NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House NPR and three Colorado public radio stations are suing the Trump administration over the president's executive order seeking to ban the use of federal money for NPR and PBS.

NEWS: NPR and three Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House over effort to ban federal funding for NPR & PBS

The lawsuit calls Trump's executive order "textbook retaliation" for protected free speech - threatening public radio

My story:

www.npr.org/2025/05/27/n...

The debate over possible signs of life on planet K2-18b continues, with independent groups coming out with their own interpretations of the James Webb Space Telescope data....which do not support the original claims....

Researchers puzzle over rash of baby monkey kidnappings Young, male capuchin monkeys have started kidnapping the babies of nearby howler monkeys. Why? Maybe boredom.

What a disturbing series of inter-species kidnappings says about boredom, innovation, and the role of randomness in culture:

www.npr.org/2025/05/19/n...

Humans still haven't seen 99.999% of the deep seafloor Human eyes have only seen a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the areas of the world that are covered by deep water. Scientists want to change how they explore these regions.

www.npr.org/2025/05/07/n...

Scientists reel as turmoil roils National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation, a major government funder of basic science research, is being shaken up with over 1,000 grants already terminated and the White House looking to halve its budget

One scientist "learned her two-year fellowship was being canceled in an email from NSF that she said misspelled the word "priorities." Her work no longer served those priorities, it said."
@ngreenfieldboyce.bsky.social on the latest at NSF
www.npr.org/2025/05/02/n...

President Trump's "skinny" budget request absolutely eviscerates scientific research funding.

The @aaas.org estimates the request would constitute an 82.5% reduction in research spending (and that's just the agencies named in the request).

White House budget request "phases out the grossly expensive and delayed Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and
Orion capsule after three flights" in favor of commercial systems. Also proposes killing lunar Gateway and Mars Sample Return.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Preliminary white House Budget request is out:
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

Just looking at NSF, if I'm doing my math right, it's a proposed $4.7 billion cut to the $9 billion agency. Also, an agency spokesperson said they axed another 344 awards

NSF spokesperson offers up "no comment" on Nature reporting that has agency has stopped funding new grants and existing ones. Today another 344 grants were terminated "that were not aligned with agency priorities"

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

Nature reports that the National Science Foundation has stopped awarding new grants and allotting funds to existing ones. All of them. @colincarlson.bsky.social says that unless the freeze is lifted, it “is going to destroy people's labs.” 2/10
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank : Planet Money Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more about the genetic makeup of her ancestors. Vovi was one of over 15 million 23andMe customers who…

When 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, the fate of its vast genetic database became unclear.

In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.

More NSF grants got the axe--over 700 cancellations today, on top of the numerous cancellations about a week ago. This comes the day after NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan abruptly departed, as the agency reportedly faces the possibility of losing half of its budget to cuts

New analysis casts doubt on 'biosignatures' found on planet K2-18b Researchers using data from the James Webb Space Telescope recently announced they had detected biosignature gases on planet K2-18b. A new analysis of the same data casts doubt on the earlier findings

After a week of studying claims of possible signs of life on planet K2-18b, the "overwhelming consensus" of astronomers: it was way over hyped. One re-analysis suggests there's too much noise in the data to really find anything. The original researchers seem unconcerned
www.npr.org/2025/04/25/g...

My story breaking this news exclusively was 7K+ words and had almost all of this in it, and more:
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...

Regional Climate Centers shut down abruptly this week. Here's why it matters The closure of four of the six Regional Climate Centers across the U.S. occurred after funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ran out. A recent report stated that the Trump a...

Several U.S. regional climate centers shut down Thursday — including those in the Midwest, Great Plains and South — after their federal funding from NOAA ran out.

Here's why you should care:

Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale

NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to more top universities Universities whose NIH funding has been frozen may face further strain as the agency holds off awarding new grants to at least a half dozen of them, according to an internal email.

#BREAKING: NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to more top universities

www.statnews.com/2025/04/18/n...

Updates on NSF Priorities

NSF now cutting grants it says are "are not aligned with agency priorities": ending projects specifically aimed at boosting DEI in STEM...also projects on combatting "misinformation".
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Know of an award that's cut? I'm on signal nellgfb.11

Brain drain at Census Bureau has employees warning about the country's statistics Staff departures and survey cuts are roiling the federal agency in charge of producing census results, job numbers and other key statistics as Trump officials continue to slash the U.S. government.

My latest @npr.org story: A brain drain at the Census Bureau is roiling the federal agency in charge of producing #2030Census results, job numbers and other key statistics as the Trump administration continues to slash the federal government

Things are getting really real down at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory....

Are there signs of life on alien planet K2-18b, or is it just a lot of hot air? The James Webb Space Telescope may have detected life-associated gas in the atmosphere of a far-off planet. The news is being greeted with both enthusiasm and skepticism.

Here's NPR's take on the news about planet K2-18b and what folks in the astronomy community have to say about it.

www.npr.org/2025/04/16/n...