Christie Wilcox

After the end-Permian mass extinction 249 million years ago, a pod of the small-bodied ichthyopterygian Grippia longirostris hunt squid-like ammonoids while a school of the bony fish (Boreosomus and Saurichthys) feed in the distance. Artist: Robert Back

The mass extinction at the end of the Permian was so bad that people call it the "Great Dying." But, it turns out marine life didn't take long to rebound. That story and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

a black and white logo for a company called chatgpt with a knot in the middle . ALT: a black and white logo for a company called chatgpt with a knot in the middle .

Want to change an AI's mind? Argue with it. Or just give it more information. Turns out the beliefs of language models are surprisingly malleable... That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Constanze Depp stands on a sidewalk

Constanze Depp is finding that microglia aren't any better at multitasking than we are—and that likely contributes to the development of Alzheimer's. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪 🧠

New research suggests this carnivorous Darlingtonia californica pitcher plant acts as both a friend and a foe to local insect populations. CREDIT: NoahElhardt via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS | CC BY-SA

Nightmarish as pitcher plants might seem, there's evidence that they give back to the insect communities they feed on. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Synthetic mix of “nanobodies” protected mice from lethal doses of venom from 17 of 18 African snakes—all except the eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps). CREDIT: Wolfgang Wüster

While a new, broad-spectrum 'nanobody' antivenom performed impressively in preclinical trials, the real significance is “showing this is possible,” @andreaslaustsen.bsky.social told me. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

If you've ever crunched wintergreen life savers in the dark to see flashes of light, you already know about mechanoluminescence. Some materials work similarly that aren't crystals. That and more from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti...

Chicago's "Rat Hole" is less rat, more Scrat CREDIT: Winslow Dumaine via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS | CC BY-SA

Michael Granatosky on debunking the “rat hole”: “I hope this project reminds people that science can start anywhere—even with something as small and funny as a mark in the sidewalk.” That and more from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Kristina Douglass performing Afro-Brazilian dance at the Malagasy Independence Day celebrations in Befandefa, southwest Madagascar, June 26, 2025, as part of a project to integrate embodied practices, like dance, into research and climate science. Credit: NGO VaeVae

Archaeologist Kristina Douglass is 1 of 11 scientist MacArthur Fellows this year. "For me, this award is a loud affirmation that the principles of community which have guided my work are not only valued, but essential to the way we must do science." #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Continued support for blue-sky research is essential to fuel the breakthroughs of tomorrow. Carola Vinuesa, Francis Crick Institute

It took decades for the work of Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi—the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology—to have clinical relevance. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

a bumble bee is playing with toys on a yellow table ALT: a bumble bee is playing with toys on a yellow table

Insects have long been thought of as "little robots," so their welfare hasn't been considered when it comes to scientific experiments. That's changing. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

a girl with red hair is holding a blue object in her hand ALT: a girl with red hair is holding a blue object in her hand

Will-o’-the-wisps, the fleeting flames occasionally seen above swamps and graveyards, may be tiny lightning bursts jumping between microscopic bubbles of methane. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

This stop-motion video made from 7 years of pictures of the young star IM Lup is the first of a star’s disk winding up to form planets. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

marie from the aristocats is looking out of a window with her paws crossed . Alt: Marie from the aristocats is looking out of a window and sighing

There’s more to sighing than simply forcing open any of the little air sacs in your lungs that have collapsed—the act actually helps prevent them from collapsing. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Aw thank you! It makes me so happy to hear that!!

ScienceAdviser: Why this newsletter doesn’t use ChatGPT Today in Science and science: Gene therapy slows Huntington disease, two volcanoes compete for magma, and more

Putting together a daily newsletter is a lot of work! But still, I don't outsource any of the writing to LLMs—and a recent experiment from the SciPak team confirms why. That and more from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Exciting news 🐍🕷️🐝🐠🐜🦂!!

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Christie Wilcox (@nerdychristie.bsky.social), renowned science writer and communicator, will serve as the Keynote Mentor & Speaker at our upcoming Venom Evolution, Function, and Biomedical Applications Gordon Research Seminar (GRS)

Awkward as it might look, sideways locomotion might have fueled the diversification of crabs and allowed them to conquer new habitats. That story and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Male rainbow lizard (Agama agama). Photo: Sergio Boscaino via Wikimedia Commons

Sure, everyone was obsessed with pizza rat. But have you heard about pizza lizard? That Ig Nobel-winning research and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti Amy E. Lockwood/CDC

The yellow fever mosquito has conquered the world—and that's kind of our fault. That story and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Where have all the wildebeests gone? A new AI analysis suggests half as many animals as previous counts. That story and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Festivalgoers lined up to find out just how much mosquitoes want to bite them. Photo: Sara Lynn Blanken

Talk about a buzzkill: Mosquitoes seem to be especially attracted to people who drink beer, smoke pot, and share their bed with someone else. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

This footage of a teeny hydra was taken with a microscope that's about the size of a grape. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Lasker Award winner Steven McKnight Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Steven McKnight was driving to Montana when he received the call about winning a #LaskerAward. "I was flabbergasted. I probably should have pulled over," he told me. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

That time I was subject of scientific study, and not an editor.....🏃‍♀️🧪

Anderson Feijó examining rodents in the collections of the Field Museum. CREDIT: Field Museum

Thumbs are cool and all, but have you ever thought about how important thumbnails are? They just might have been the key to rodents' evolutionary success. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Bubbles can be pretty powerful—potent enough to propel this little bot more than a meter into the air! That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Christiana Fogg, 11.7 miles into the 2024 Stone Mill 50-miler. Photo: Dan Reichmann, MCRRC

In this edition of #ScienceAdviser, Science Immunology Senior Editor @cnfogg.bsky.social talks about how her love of running led her to be the subject of science—rather than the editor of it. Plus more of the best from @science.org and science: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

The seeds of the valuable African ebony tree (Diospyros crassiflora, left) rely on African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis, right) for more than dispersal. (Left) Vincent Deblauwe/IITA, CBI, UCLA; (Right) Richard Rosomoff

Ebony and ivory really are a perfect harmony—African forest elephants consume the tree's fruit, and in return, their fecal matter disperses and helps protect seedlings. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

I feel like this beautiful bot needs the right symphony accompanying it. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

A party in my mailbox today 🥳 Thanks @nerdychristie.bsky.social @science.org for the daily newsletters and the fun free socks!! #ScienceAdviser