Rachel Nuwer

Did ancient Greek priestesses brew a mind-bending potion drunk by Cicero and Marcus Aurelius? Researchers found the psychedelic elixir would have been possible to make using ingredients and techniques available in ancient Greece

Could ancient Greek priestesses have created the mind-altering elixir thought to lie at the heart of one of antiquity’s most secretive cults, the Eleusinian Mysteries? Researchers recreated the hypothetical psychedelic brew to find out.

@science.org

www.science.org/content/arti...

Galápagos tortoise once believed extinct is now roaming free The release of 158 specially bred Floreana giant tortoises is a win for both the animal and its long-lost island ecosystem

After 180 years, a unique tortoise thought to be extinct returns to its Galápagos home. @sciam.bsky.social

www.scientificamerican.com/article/gala...

"The bombardment betrays the lie." Thank you for this exposé of the wild world of book author scammers, @danbarry58.bsky.social. I'm going to start replying to my own new best friends' emails with a link to this story. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/b...

Could dewdrops explain why plants are flowering earlier? Water droplets set off a chemical cascade that tells a plant it’s time to blossom, new study finds

Around the world, plants are flowering earlier than they used to. Temperature alone doesn't explain it. Could crazy chemistry triggered by dewdrops be the real reason?

@science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Public Health Backlash Hurts Master's Program Enrollment | Think Global Health New caps on student loans and federal job cuts could be steering some away from degrees in public health

Educators fear that disappearing public health jobs and backlash against the field could soon impact enrollment in programs training the next generation of experts who keep us safe and healthy. @thinkglobalhealth.org www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/publ...

Can the "Galápagos of the Arabian Sea" Survive Its Popularity? The UNESCO-listed island of Socotra faces an onslaught of sustainability challenges, from climate change to an Instagram-fueled tourism surge.

Socotra is an otherworldly tourism destination. But behind the stunning photos lie serious sustainability challenges, including with garbage. On a recent trip, I tried taking all my recyclables with me off the island. Things did not go as planned.
www.afar.com/magazine/can...

Funding cuts could put research into emerging threats to lung health at risk Wildfire smoke, spore-spread fungal diseases and microplastic are all on the rise, even as the US government slashes support for respiratory research and policy.

“We are losing the capabilities and infrastructure to prepare.” How the Trump administration’s gutting of the EPA endangers lung health for all Americans—just as air pollution is rising nationwide.

@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Defending endangered trees against climate change and hungry goats Mohammed Amar manages conservation of imperilled flora in Socotra, a Yemeni island known as the Galápagos of the Indian Ocean.

One of the highlights of my vacation to Socotra - a Yemeni island with incredible biodiversity - was getting to meet a tree-loving local who helps protect endangered plants from nearly 500,000 free-ranging goats.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

'They saw them on their dishes when eating': The mushroom making people hallucinate dozens of tiny humans Only recently described by science, the mysterious mushrooms are found in different parts of the world, but they give people the same exact visions.

With most psychedelic drugs, you never know what you're going to get. But this mysterious mushroom from China - without fail - causes users to hallucinate tiny people: crawling up walls, popping out from under furniture and marching under doors. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

How Chinese criminals are grooming orphans into Africa's illegal wildlife trade Chinese wildlife traffickers are recruiting orphans from Malawi into their network of illegal ivory trading.

I chatted with NPR's Here & Now about my investigation into the Chinese and Taiwanese-run Buddhist orphanages that are grooming children in Africa to become wildlife traffickers. DM me for a link to the full Economist story. www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

'Beyond gender': Psychedelics are revealing hidden sides to people's identity There is growing evidence that mind-altering drugs can be used to help people explore aspects about themselves they may not have realised.

Psychedelic drugs are known for their ability to reveal sides of the self that previously lay hidden. For some people, this can lead to a change in sexual orientation or gender identity.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Not sure how spooky Crater Lake is, but I do give a spooky lakes shout-out on the Quanta podcast about the story that will be coming out soon :)

Mixing Is the Heartbeat of Deep Lakes. At Crater Lake, It’s Slowing Down. | Quanta Magazine The physics of mixing water layers — an interplay of wind, climate and more — makes lakes work. When it stops, impacts can ripple across an ecosystem.

Mixing is a fundamental process that functions like a heartbeat for lakes. But at iconic lakes around the world, climate change is slowing or even stopping that heartbeat - causing profound impacts to these very special ecosystems. @quantamagazine.bsky.social

www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-th...

Is ageing a disease? The debate that could reshape medicine Classifying ageing as a disease might bring funding and other benefits, say some researchers, but others say this is fraught with ethical and regulatory implications.

Should aging be considered a disease?

Some scientists argue that this would accelerate anti-aging research; others say it makes no biological sense and would be fraught with ethical implications @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

It's hard enough to get people interested in reading these days, but this is a new low. A book club wants to feature my book - but only if I "tip" each reader $15-30 "to recognize [their] effort." Is this a thing now??

The Wild Elephant in the Room Conservationists seeking to restore elephant populations in a Malawian national park inadvertently upended human lives, revealing the risks of large-mammal translocations.

After 263 African elephants were moved from one national park to another, the animals began wandering out - destroying property and killing people. My latest for @biographic.bsky.social, on the complexities of conservation in an increasingly crowded continent.

www.biographic.com/the-wild-ele...

‘It’s like a horror movie pregnancy.’ Researcher studies maggots—by letting them eat him Science chats with wildlife epidemiologist Tony Goldberg about what he’s learned from becoming a meal for parasites

When this scientist realized there was a maggot living inside his armpit, he sensed a (gross) opportunity for discovery.

www.science.org/content/arti...

How Psychedelic Mushrooms Evolved Their Magic

Psychedelic mushrooms evolved their magic twice, in two distantly related groups of species. What's more, those mushrooms take radically different biochemical routes to producing psilocybin.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/s...

And yes the illustrator really nailed it! So good.

Thanks, Jason, so glad you enjoyed it! Here's to hoping it makes some kind of positive difference..

The school for wildlife traffickers Chinese criminals are recruiting Malawian orphans into the ivory trade

A Taiwanese- and Chinese-run Buddhist orphanage in Malawi is recruiting vulnerable children into the illegal wildlife trade. Behind it all is a Chinese ivory kingpin who Malawian officials are about to release early from prison.

@economist.com

www.economist.com/1843/2025/10...

The Mystery of Ghostly Will-o’-the-Wisps May Finally Be Solved A phenomenon called microlightning may explain ghostly blue marsh lights

Spooky will-o'-the-wisp 'ghost fires' are caused by even stranger chemistry.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/mars...

People Are More Likely to Cheat When They Use AI Participants in a new study were more likely to cheat when delegating to AI—especially if they could encourage machines to break rules without explicitly asking for it

People are more likely to cheat when they use AI - especially if they can indirectly steer an LLM toward dishonesty instead of explicitly telling it to lie. @sciam.bsky.social

www.scientificamerican.com/article/peop...

At Burning Man, the Weather Can Feel Biblical. Will Climate Change Make It Even Worse? | KQED Extreme events like this year’s rain, heat and hourslong sandstorm could get more common on the playa as the world gets warmer.

Fascinating story about the impact of climate change on Burning Man - and with a few quotes by yours truly ;)

@kqednews.kqed.org

www.kqed.org/science/1998...

"If this wall and a few others are built, he said, “there will be no jaguars in the U.S. soon.”"

We Love Our Dogs and Cats. But Are They Bad for the Environment?

We should all just make the switch to pet rabbits.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/c...

These Toads Have Psychedelic Powers, but They’d Prefer to Keep It Quiet

The Sonoran Desert toad secretes a powerful psychedelic drug as a defensive mechanism. Now, people are pushing the species toward extinction in the name of healing and consciousness expansion.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/c...

Most U.S. Babies Are Missing These Essential Gut Bacteria. Here’s What That Means for Their Health Babies lacking in key gut bacteria are at greater risk of developing asthma, allergies or eczema

In infants, a healthy gut microbiome is key for developing a healthy immune system. But in the U.S., 75% of babies are deficient in critical types of bacteria, and these babies are more likely to development of asthma, allergies and eczema as toddlers. bit.ly/4lK1Mmd

Early-Career Researchers Reflect on the Emotional and Societal Fallout of Trump’s Funding Cuts Canceled grants and slashed budgets are disproportionately affecting junior health researchers, dealing a major blow to the future of science and society in the U.S.

Cuts to science funding by the Trump administration are set to negatively affect all Americans. One group most impacted, though, are science students and early-career researchers who are being robbed of their future.

@sciam.bsky.social

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Cancer Patients and the Medicaid Cuts in "One Big Beautiful Bill" | Think Global Health Under the GOP megabill, millions could lose access to potentially life-saving cancer screenings, treatments, and care

The Senate's new bill would cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, causing 10+ million people to lose insurance. Cancer patients are one group set to suffer (and needlessly die) the most. 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 3 children with cancer depend on Medicaid.
www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/canc...