Tom Howarth

A vivid image of a nebula, showing a bright blue centre surrounded by a glowing ring of reddish-orange gas and dust, set against a backdrop of stars in deep space.

The iconic Helix Nebula! 🤩

The blue-green glow comes from oxygen atoms shining under the intense ultraviolet radiation emitted by the central star and the hot gas.

Discover more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0907a/

🔭 📷 ESO

This simple tool could let you find out your heart’s real age | BBC Science Focus Magazine The researchers behind it are hoping to reframe cardiovascular risk in a more relatable way

Most US adults have a heart that’s ageing faster than they are – sometimes by more than a decade – according to a new study led by researchers at Northwestern Medicine. ♥️ 🧪

Quite big disparities between sex, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

www.sciencefocus.com/news/heart-a...

OpenAI launches personal assistant capable of controlling files and web browsers AI agent can find restaurant reservations and go shopping for users, but OpenAI acknowledges there are ‘more risks’

I watched the launch of the ChatGPT agent last night. Seems like it could be a game changer.

Interested to see how the risks Sam Altman highlighted are managed.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Refractory solid condensation detected in an embedded protoplanetary disk - Nature Observations at infrared and millimetre wavelengths of the young protostar HOPS-315 show a gaseous disk captured at the point at which solids are first starting to condense, the t = 0 for planet forma...

Full paper published in Nature available here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A central bright, glowing region with orange and red clouds of dust and gas streaming outward in multiple directions. Blue and white jets of matter can be seen emerging from the center.

🚨 Astronomers have witnessed the dawn of a new solar system!

They observed the first specks of planet-forming material — hot minerals beginning to solidify around HOPS-315, a baby star 1300 light-years away.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2512/

🔭 🧪 ☄️ #planetsci

Astronomers have spotted a solar system being born for the first time | BBC Science Focus Magazine For the first time, astronomers have seen the earliest building blocks of planets begin to take shape around another star

Astronomers have, for the first time, spotted the very start of a new solar system. 🧪 ⚛️

This 't=0' moment marks the point where the very first crystalline minerals solidify from the hot gas in the baby star's disc.

A stunning JWST-ALMA collab. 🤝 🔭

@eso.org
www.sciencefocus.com/news/earlies...

NASA Pulls Back From Promise to Host Major Climate Change Reports, Citing Legal Loophole - Inside Climate News Earlier this month, the agency said it would work to re-host information from a federal website that went dark. Now it says it will no longer do so.

Accessibility is key to making science useful.

While the National Climate Assessments are not disappearing from the internet, this is a clear obfuscation tactic.
insideclimatenews.org/news/1507202...

Why your brain might be wired for extremism Instant Genius · Episode

🧠 Had the pleasure of sitting down with
@leorzmigrod.bsky.social a few weeks ago to chat about her new book, The Ideological Brain.

🧪 We talked politics, neuroscience, and how they come together in the emerging field of (you guessed it)… political neuroscience.
open.spotify.com/episode/2WdQ...

Alpha males are the exception, not the rule, bold new study claims | BBC Science Focus Magazine Clear-cut male dominance is surprisingly rare in our animal relatives – and many females hold more sway than expected

5 years in the making, this study blows apart the alpha male theory of primates. 🦍 🧪

www.sciencefocus.com/news/alpha-m...

BalancedWx Special: Tragic flash flooding in the Texas Hill Country Sometimes the worst case scenario sadly happens

Well worth reading to understand how the tragic flash flooding in Texas occurred.

"Sometimes, the worst case scenario sadly happens."

balancedweather.substack.com/p/balancedwx...

This Is Not the Way We Usually Imagine the World Will End

1-in-500 chance Earth gets knocked out of orbit or collides with another planet before the Sun explodes.

Should I be worried? 🧪

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/s...

The US military’s carbon footprint is mind-bogglingly big. Here’s how they could cut it | BBC Science Focus Magazine Cutting military spending could slash emissions more than expected – and help rein in the world’s largest institutional carbon footprint.

Interesting asymmetry found between budget cuts and increases and their impact on the planet regarding the US military. 🧪

With the current administration, however, cuts seem unlikely.
www.sciencefocus.com/news/us-mili...

The first commercial space station is nearly here. And it could change space forever | BBC Science Focus Magazine Next year, a team of astronauts will enter a new kind of space station – not built by a nation, but by a startup

Enjoyed sitting down with Max Haot and the Vast team to chat about their mission to launch the first commercial space station next year. 🚀

The race is on to build the next-gen station that will replace the ISS. Will Vast nudge ahead by getting up there first?
www.sciencefocus.com/space/vast-h...

Each year breaks records for the hottest temperatures - bringing droughts, floods and ocean heatwaves.

The government KNOWS that the only route to a liveable and secure future for the UK is investing in homegrown renewable energy.

It’s time they acted on it.

These are the worst ChatGPT prompts for the environment, study claims | BBC Science Focus Magazine Politeness costs nothing? Tell that to the planet

Time to stop being polite to your AI tools.

www.sciencefocus.com/news/worst-c...

China’s share in all the manufacturing stages of solar panels exceeds 80%, according to the IEA.

Now is probably not the time to cut tax credits if you want a more diversified global solar supply chain.

From 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina: 15 unforgettable photos of Earth from space | BBC Science Focus Magazine As its mission ends, we look back at Landsat 7's most stunning and revealing images — a visual record of a world in constant change.

Farewell Landsat 7 - you truly changed the game. 👋 🛰️

Here are some of the best images captured over its epic 26-year mission. 🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth...

How recording my research led to a photo-journalism career

Fascinating story.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

I mean, when has capitalism ever failed to deliver for the planet in the past? 🫠

Electric vehicle boom could hit major roadblock in just 5 years, study claims | BBC Science Focus Magazine With sales skyrocketing, a shortage of this key critical material could halt progress

Domestic lithium supply in US, China and Europe will fall far short of what's needed by 2030 for EV market growth. 🚗 ⚡

That means more competition for Li from Australia, Chile etc. Lots of $$$ to be made here, but will it slow down the EV boom? Let's hope not...
www.sciencefocus.com/news/electri...

There’s an elephant in the room at the Royal Society – and for once, it’s not (just) Elon Musk – Physics World A conference on the future of the UK space sector makes stunningly little mention of how proposed cuts to NASA funding might affect it

On our blog, our online editor @drmlharris.bsky.social writes about the surreal experience of attending a space conference where no-one seems keen to mention the biggest threat to the sector's future: drastic proposed cuts to US science funding, including NASA. 🧪⚛️🔭 physicsworld.com/a/theres-an-...

Hurricanes are getting so bad, we need a new category, expert warns | BBC Science Focus Magazine Nature’s fiercest phenomena are getting even more ferocious

Time for Category 6? 🧪

www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth...

Best fact I heard yesterday at Cheltenham Science Festival?

🌡️ We've stored 6bn Hiroshima bombs worth of energy in our atmosphere since 1970.

🌎 Put like that, it's easy to understand to profound effect we're having on this planet's climate.

On the ground at Cheltenham Science Festival today.

Looking forward to a jam packed day of interesting talks. Hopefully some interesting articles to follow. 👏

A 100 ft 'mega tsunami' could hit the US at any moment. And that’s only the beginning | BBC Science Focus Magazine This could be the worst disaster in US history, and it just got a whole lot worse

Saw this story covered elsewhere quite poorly, with claims of a 1,000 ft Tsunami and barely a mention of the new study itself. 🧪 🌊

The new science is fascinating, though. After the 'Big One' hits, swathes of coast will subside up to 2.5m in a matter of minutes.
www.sciencefocus.com/news/100-ft-...

6 brutal hurricanes could soon hit the US. Here's what that means | BBC Science Focus Magazine Deepening ocean heat, shifting Pacific patterns and atmospheric quirks are lining up to fuel a busy Atlantic storm season – and some of the fiercest hurricanes may strike late in the year

Had the pleasure of speaking to @accuweather.com's lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva, to find out everything you need to know as the Atlantic storm season gets underway. 🌀 🌧️

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be another lively one.
www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth...

Thank you ChatGPT

Humpback whales keep bumping into things because they're shortsighted, claims study | BBC Science Focus Magazine Humpback whales's eyesight might not be able to make out find details, potentially explaining why they keep getting tangled in fishing nets

The idea of humpback whales wearing glasses, or a monocle or something, makes me happy. 🐋 🧪

www.sciencefocus.com/news/humpbac...

Why Trump’s $175bn 'Golden Dome' could be a disaster, according to a weapons expert | BBC Science Focus Magazine Could a high-tech defence dream turn low Earth orbit into a war zone?

Golden Dome? Might not be such a golden idea.

I caught up with a weapons expert to chat about what this means for the future of space and whether the idea is even achievable (let alone doable on budget).

www.sciencefocus.com/space/trump-...

A lot of that, but some interesting findings about hypertension in midlife in there too.